An overview of spyware

What exactly is spyware? Webroot, the creators of the impressive Spy Sweeper software package, define it as "The categorical name for any application that may track your online and/or offline PC activity and is capable of locally saving or transmitting those findings for third parties, sometimes with, but more often without, your knowledge or consent". They've got it exactly right - spyware installs itself, tracks and monitors your activity and seriously slows down your PC. Sneaky, isn't it?

Spyware is fast becoming as intrusive and harmful as viruses and anyone who has a computer is at risk of infection. The "I don't download so I don't have to worry" attitude, just doesn't hold true anymore, as the simplest of Internet activity can attract a spyware infection.

The most damaging thing about spyware is that it can operate silently in the background of your system so you may never know your machine is actually infected. Simple tasks such as reading your email and surfing the Internet can open the gateway for spyware to install files and programs into several places on your system. This could be your startup menu, your registry or anywhere else the unscrupulous program chooses.

Getting rid of a pest like spyware is no easy task, as to ensure its survival it will spread traces of itself throughout your system, making getting rid of it unbelievably difficult. Fortunately, there are software programs that make it possible to remove spyware, and there are simple practices you can follow to avoid being infected. We'll cover that all soon, but first take a moment to look at the overview below and when you're ready, run Spy Audit to find out if you're infected.

Symptoms These are just a few of the common symptoms of a spyware infection. Does anything look familiar to you? Sluggish PC performance An increase in pop-up ads Mysterious new toolbars you can't delete Unexplained changes to home page settings Puzzling search results Frequent computer crashes

Consequences Left untreated, spyware can do some nasty things. These are a few that many users are unaware of. Open your PC to identity theft Expose your personal information and private accounts Corrupt your hard drive Share your passwords and user names

Are you infected? Not seeing any of the symptoms yet? You may not know it, but your system could still be infected. One simple, free and easy way to find out for sure is Webroot's Spy Audit. It's a safe, simple and easy way to put your mind at ease.

Adware and Spyware - what's the difference?

There seems to be a lot of confusion about what the difference is between "adware" and "spyware". Lets set the record straight with a brief description of what each one is.

Adware

Any software application that has the ability to display advertisements on your computer. Some adware may track your Web surfing habits. These advertisements may be displayed in many forms, including, but not limited to, pop-up, pop-under, and banner advertisements. Adware may slow your Web browser's performance. Worst case scenario: Some adware may have the ability to download third party software programs on your computer without your knowledge or consent.

Spyware

Software that transmits information back to a third party without notifying the user. It is also commonly referred to as malware, trackware, hijackware, scumware, snoopware or thiefware. Some privacy advocates also call legitimate access control, filtering, Internet monitoring, password recovery, security or surveillance software "spyware" because it could be used without notifying the user.

I'm not sure if I have spyware?

Not to worry, here are some of the main indications and effects of spyware:

Slow Internet access: Spyware slows your connection down by importing information like pop-up ads, while sending out information such as user activity, bank account numbers etc.

Less productive computer: Spyware can grossly slow a PC down because it operates in the background, taking up valuable resources. Other spyware applications store advertising on a computer's hard drive.

More pop-up ads: Adware uses something called a tracking cookie. Cookies that sit on your PC serve pop-up ads related to the site you are visiting, your personal information or online activities. True to form, the more cookies you have on your system, the more pop-ups you'll get.

Strange search toolbars: Spyware-riddled applications often install a new search toolbar on a system with the intention of hijacking searches for search terms. Depending on the legitimacy of the toolbar, searches may end up on a pay-per-click site, and some of those sites load additional spyware onto your PC via drive-by download.

Malfunctioning anti-spyware or anti-virus software: To survive, spyware sometimes targets the software designed to find and remove it.

Changed default homepage: The homepage hijacker spyware can reset your homepage so each time you start your browser, you end up at the wrong site.

Strange toll charges on your phone bill: A dialer can initiate outgoing calls from your PC generating large phone bills charged to that phone line. They can also change your dial-up settings to an international number, instead of your local one.

How spyware can find you

Spyware can Infect your system in many ways:

• Something as simple as surfing the net.
• Free software can carry adware and spyware, read any documentation to see what you are installing exactly.
• Using file share software can open your system up to infection.
• Attachments on emails from unknown recipients could do damage if opened.
• If you are not the only one using your computer this could have a great effect on the amount of spyware that enters your system.

With the vast span of ways spyware can find its way into your system, it's hard to consider yourself safe no matter how careful you are using the Internet.

What are these threats called and what can they do?

There are thousands of different variations of spyware on the Internet, but, similar to viruses, it's usually a handful of very well designed culprits that cause the most havoc. Here are some of the top spyware threats online that you should be aware of:

Gator (GAIN)

Displays banner advertisements based upon your Web surfing habits. Usually bundled within free software.

Internet Optimizer

This one will hijack error pages and redirects them to its own controlling server at http://www.internet-optimizer.com.

180search Assistant

Delivers targeted pop-up advertisements to your computer.

CoolWebSearch (CWS)

Can hijack web searches, home page and other Internet Explorer settings.

Transponder (vx2)

An Internet Explorer browser Helper Object which delivers targeted advertisements by monitoring requested web pages and data entered into online forms.

ISTbar/AUpdate

ISTbar is a toolbar used for searching pornographic web sites that may display pornographic pop-ups and hijack user homepages and Internet searches.

Advance Keylogger

Has the ability to monitor keystrokes and take screenshots.

Hot as Hell

This one is nasty! It's a dialer program that dials toll numbers in order to access paid pornographic Web sites. It can disconnect you computer from your Internet provider and reconnect the user to the Internet using an expensive toll or international phone number. This one doesn't exactly spy on you but it may give you a huge phone bill.

BlazeFind

Can hijack web searches, home page and other Internet Explorer settings. Could change your home page to it's own search engine at www.blazefind.com. It can also change other Internet Explorer settings.

TIBS Dialer

A dialer that can hijack your modem and dial toll numbers that access paid, pornographic Web sites.

Summary

This first step should have given you a pretty good idea what spyware is and you may know whether you're infected or not. Great! Unfortunately, that's not the whole story - understanding how to deal with an infection and how to avoid contact with spyware in the future are key skills required to protect yourself.

If your machine is infected with spyware there is no need to wipe your entire hard drive or chuck your computer out the window! If you have reason to believe that you have spyware, you need to take action and prepare yourself with the tools to eradicate the problem. We cover these tools in Step 2.