NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Imagine what could happen if every keystroke or mouse movement made on your computer was being tracked.
Advertisers and merchants would know your online browsing habits, everything you bought over the Internet in the past two years, and how you paid for those purchases. Worse yet, your credit card numbers, or other sensitive financial information, could be floating around in cyberspace.
This is hardly a comforting thought, but these visions aren't too far from reality as more and more companies -- and criminals -- rely on spyware for data.
Spyware is a type of software that covertly collects personal data to be sent to a third party. You may not be aware of its existence, but it knows a lot about you.
"You don't necessarily know it was downloaded, and that's where the spy lies," said David Hallerman, a senior analyst with eMarketer. "It's not always installed in an obvious or clear way."
Webroot CEO David Moll says spyware can be divided into four main categories: Tracking cookies, adware, Trojans, and keyloggers.
Tracking cookies allow marketers to develop a detailed user profile based on the Web sites you visit. Adware takes that one step further by allowing companies to develop context-based ads, based on what sites you've visited.
Trojans and keyloggers are far more insidious, according to Moll, and are often used by criminals to obtain personal data. Trojans provide hackers with remote access to your computer, enabling them to commandeer your hard drive or e-mail. Hackers can also gain access to your passwords, credit card numbers, or other sensitive information via keylogging software, which records each stroke your hand makes.
If you still see no need for concern, consider this: you don't know who has access to this information or how they are going to use it.
"This is not something that happens to the other guy," Moll said. "It is written to be stealthy."
First do no (more) harm
If your computer hasn't been acting like itself lately, there could be a problem. Ask yourself, are there any icons sitting on your desktop for software you didn't install? Have you noticed a proliferation of pop-ups as of late? Are there any new bookmarks on your favorites list? Has your computer been running more slowly than usual?
You may have inadvertently downloaded a spyware program when agreeing to the terms of agreement for another software program or by clicking "yes" to a seemingly safe pop-up box warning your computer security is low. Opening unknown attachments is another no-no as they often contain spyware.
Many legitimate sites, however, often ask users if they want to download Macromedia Flash, a digital media program, which is usually harmless.
"When you are browsing the Web, reading lyrics or learning how to play video games better, if the Web site wants you to install software the answer is almost always 'no,'" said Benjamin Edelman, a spyware researcher and Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University.
Edelman also advises computer users to sift through the marketing-speak with any software they download as you may not be fully aware what you are consenting to. If a program asks whether you want to see special offers that will help you save money, those offers may very well be pop-up ads, he said.
One last point -- update your operating system and Internet browser with the latest security patches as soon as they are available. Spyware programs are written to exploit holes in both.
Clean sweep
A firewall can prevent your PC from being hacked into, but it may not be an effective solution for spyware since, technically, you gave these sites your permission to install the program.
Pop-up blockers won't do much to prevent adware either as they intercept ads tied to a particular site, not ones generated by spyware-based programs.
If, for example, you are on Amazon.com, any ads related to that site can be suppressed by your pop-up blocker. A pop-up blocker, however, cannot prevent an ad for rival BarnesandNoble.com from dashing across your screen as it was produced by spyware.
Luckily, there are several anti-spyware software programs that will scan your PC for spyware and clean it up. Edelman says Lavasoft Ad-Aware and Spybot are two of the best ones out there, but cautions they may not be able to remove it all. Both programs are free.
"Either program should be sufficient, on its own, for most users. Neither is perfect, but running both is overkill," Edelman said.
Additionally, Webroot offers free spy audit and privacy analyzer scans on its site.
Edelman added that it's a good idea to scan your computer for spyware at least once or twice a week, or more often for PCs showing signs of an infection.
Spyware isn't likely to be going away anytime soon, so you're going to have to be more proactive in terms of getting rid of it. The adware market alone reaped $155 million in revenue last year and that number is expected to rise by 32 to 35 percent to at least $206 million in 2004.
Congress is taking a close look at spyware and there are several anti-spyware bills making the rounds on Capitol Hill. Edelman believes the government can effectively regulate spyware, but notes many of the existing bills are too weak.
"Most grant enforcement rights only to the FTC," Edelman said. "A tougher approach to this problem would let anyone harmed bring suit."
|
