Anti-virus Software - What Is Safe?
Spyware refers to types of software programs down loaded to a consumer’s personal computer either as a stand-alone application or as part of a bundle. It collects information about a consumer’s internet activities or other personal information without providing meaningful notice to the consumer or obtaining the consumer’s consent. While the term spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user’s behavior the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Instead, spyware gets on a system through deception of the user or through exploitation of software vulnerabilities.
The distributor of spyware usually presents the program as a useful utility — for instance as a “Web accelerator” or as a helpful software agent. Users download and install the software without suspecting that it could cause harm. In some cases, spyware authors have paid shareware authors to bundle it with their software. Some authors infect a system through security holes in the Web browser, they would also have some extensive knowledge of commercially-available anti-virus and firewall software.
Some types of spyware disables the firewalls and anti-virus software, and reduce browser security settings, thus opening the system to further opportunistic infections, much like an immune deficiency disease. As new spyware programs are released, anti-spyware developers discover and evaluate them, making “signatures” or “definitions” which allow the software to detect and remove the it. However, since the rise of widespread broadband Internet access, more malicious software has been designed for a profit motive. As a result, anti-spyware software is of limited usefulness without a regular source of updates.
Programs
Spyware programs do not spread like viruses; they are generally installed by exploiting security holes or are packaged with user-installed softwar. Originally, the term computer virus was used for a program which infected other executable software, while a worm transmitted itself over a network to infect other computers. Executable-infecting viruses are dependent on users exchanging software or boot floppies, so they spread heavily in computer hobbyist circles. Often attempting to delete malicious software on a computer may activate other software, causing damage and the infection of files in the computer. This may take effect immediately and can lead to many undesirable effects, such as deleting all the user’s files, or more commonly it may install further harmful software into the user’s system to serve the creator’s longer-term goals.
One of the most common ways that spyware is distributed is as a Trojan horse, bundled with a piece of desirable software that the user downloads off the Web or a peer-to-peer file-trading network. When the user installs the software, the spyware is installed alongside. Through a form of social engineering, users have added links to web pages that contain malicious software with the claim that the web page would provide detections and remedies, when in fact it was a lure to infect. In the case of newly installed software, an administrator would need to set up default profiles for the new codes.
Unfortunately, with the recent explosion of publicity and awareness of spyware, there are also a great many companies trying to cash in with incompetent, misleading or even deliberately harmful ‘spyware removal’ software. While there are many sites trying to mislead people into buying questionable anti-parasite software, there are also many good resources for information and discussion of parasites, spyware and related issues.
The Anti-Spyware Coalition has been working on building consensus within the anti-spyware industry as to what is and isn’t acceptable software behavior.
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Tags: adware, Anti-Virus Software, Security Software, Spyware