Spyware, Adware — Be Aware!

With all the focus on spam emails and computer viruses, another invasion of our computer systems has gone almost unnoticed.

Right now a hidden program on your hard drive could be stealing your financial details or waiting to redirect your browser the next time you try to log on to one of your favorite sites.

It could even be telling your computer to dial an overseas telephone number that will access a pornographic website at 3am when you’re probably asleep – a phone call that will show up on your bill as a very expensive item when it’s too late to do anything about it.

“Spyware” is a broad category of commercially driven software that is usually bundled with other programs and downloaded innocently. A good way to attract a piece of spyware is to download the software for peer-to-peer services like KaZaA that offer free access to music tracks stored on other people’s PCs.

Many other “freebies” of this type aren’t really free – not of spyware, anyway. It’s even possible for spyware to load itself when all you’ve done is to visit a particular website. This is called “drive-by downloading” for obvious reasons.

Once spyware loads itself onto your computer it simply does what it’s told to do. One variant, known as “adware” puts pop up messages on your screen. Some adware is just random and displays an advertisement without regard to what you’re doing at the time, but other types are smarter and display advertisements whenever you access a competitor’s website.

Another kind of adware performs a sort of market research function – it records every site you visit and reports back to another server that assimilates this information and sends you targeted advertising based on your choice of websites.

Adware can also “hijack” your browser and take you where you don’t want to go. If the program detects that you’re trying to access the site for Hertz Rent-a-car it can take you to Avis instead.

A very dangerous type of spyware creates what’s called a “backdoor” on your computer so that someone can access it when they like and either steal information from your hard drive or mimic you for whatever reason they wish.

At its most dangerous is the spyware that harvests information from your computer and passes it to someone else. It’s programmed to identify combinations of keystrokes that look like bank account passwords or PIN numbers and relay those back to another server. From there it’s relatively easy for sophisticated thieves to empty your bank account.

Spyware can do a lot of things of which you’ll be totally unaware including:

▪ Monitor every keystroke on your computer
▪ Scan the files on your hard drive
▪ Delete specific files from your hard drive
▪ Download and install software
▪ Access external PCs and telephones
▪ Read the “cookies” in your Windows files
▪ Change your default homepage
▪ Monitor your web browser and identify the websites you visit
▪ Alert the spyware company if you try to remove its program

Spyware has been known to cause a range of computer problems including system slowdowns, error notices, browser crashes, and even appearances of the dreaded “Blue Screen of Death”.

Although the computer systems usually return to normal when the spyware has been detected and deleted, at least one spyware product is known that disables your internet access when you try to delete it.

Oddly, spyware and adware don’t seem to be illegal. Not yet, anyway. The U.S. state of Utah has legislated to force spyware “providers” to tell their targets that it’s being installed and ask for their permission but this legislation is being challenged on the basis of freedom of speech.

Federal lawmakers are also trying to enact their own laws to protect PC users from spyware but early versions of this legislation have been disappointing. They mainly aim at getting permission for a spyware installation – something that can be obtained through deceit or misrepresentation, and difficult to track or disprove.

Spyware is big business. The world’s largest adware firm grossed $US 90 million in 2003 and is now planning an IPO. The “big three” in spyware say their programs are installed on 100 million PCs. They obviously have a lot at stake when it comes to anti-spyware legislation and will spend a considerable amount of money to protect their positions.

So, how can you protect yourself from the dangers and inconvenience of spyware and adware? It’s very similar to preventing any other “nasties” from getting into your computer – have a reliable anti-virus program and a properly-configured firewall between you and the world, and keep them updated frequently. An anti-spam program is also a good idea.

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Copyright 2004, RAN ONE Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from www.ranone.com.