Spyware - Definition and Descriptions

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Spyware - Is a program that installs on your computer and monitors and tracks various aspects of your computing habits and sends this information to another person or computer on the internet. This behavior of sending information out is the opposite of "adware"'s behavior of bringing information in to you. This tracking can be as simple and harmless as what advertisements have been displayed on your computer from what sites. Notice I did not say what advertisements "YOU" have seen. The reason is that the simplest form of spyware is what is called a tracking cookie. These tracking cookies are just a type of cookie and unless you have told them who you are con not discern your identity. They are used by advertisers to help them display ads that are more relevant to what you are interested in. Personally I don't find that very harmful.

I do however find the more malicious forms of spyware extremely harmful. These include programs that actively search your machine and your habits for personally identifiable and often times confidential information. Some spyware programs called "key loggers" even track every single keystroke made on your keyboard and send this information to another person on the internet. "what is the point of that?" simple if you think about it..... you check your bank account balances online, using the keyboard you type http://www.citibank.com (or some variation with your banks address) into your address bar. The banks page loads and you then procede to enter, via the keyboard, your username and password. If your system is infected with a keylogger your banks website, your username, and your password have been logged and will be sent to another person on the internet who now has full access to any and every dime in your account.

This information is not designed to scare you off the computer but rather to open your eyes to the very real threats that are on the internet.

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