Chad Boeckmann, CISSP, GSEC
Your access to the Internet is a window to the world. To shield that window, you probably want some shades. Internet use offers great benefits, and many of us rely on it daily to perform our job. However, we all need to keep in mind the pests tapping on our window, which the industry refers to as spyware. Spyware is a piece of a program, individual software, or plug-in that has one, and only one, purpose -- to track your actions. Over the past two years, spyware reports have increased by 167%!
The 2003 Congressional session's main focus on Information Technology and the Internet was spam. For the 2004 calendar year, Congress is focusing on spyware. Why? Invasion of privacy.
When spyware is installed, you didn't press the "accept" button to have this tracking software installed on your computer. This is because many spyware programs are downloaded and installed automatically when you use free software. Spyware acts like a virus or Internet worm after it has crept inside your computer. Things suddenly do not work as fast or at all. Many times users will have many variants of spyware installed, and it does not get noticed until PC performance is affected.
Spyware has many functions. Some simply track the sites you visit and the links you click on. Others capture all keystrokes and mouse clicks, including your user accounts and passwords to the business network and even to your online financial accounts. But what all spyware has in common is the ability to report back to the organization that has programmed the spyware to capture this data. Now for obvious reasons this is illegal, right? No, it is not, simply because many operations occur outside the United States. This is the same reason that spam is so difficult to control and outlaw.
Tips to stop Spyware: