Spyware intrudes on personal privacy

It's good, it's bad and at times it can get really ugly -- spyware is on a computer very near you. According to a study by Atlanta-based Earthlink Inc., an Internet service provider with more than five million customers, the average PC is infected with 28 spyware programs.

Yet a study by TheInfoPro Inc. for Secure Computing of San Jose, Calif., found many employers don't see spyware as a significant threat. Only 25 per cent of the study's respondents recognized spyware as a major problem.

Spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge.

This definition, from searchCRM.com, also says spyware on the Internet is programming that is put in someone's computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties. Spyware can get into a computer as a software virus or as a result of installing a new program.

Most computer users are now aware of technology terms such as freeware, shareware, cookies, media players and file sharing and have likely used one or more of these applications. Users may not, however, be aware that such programs could contain code or components that allow user information to be collected and sent without the user's knowledge or consent.

Information or activities that might be collected and forwarded from your computer include Internet surfing habits, on-line shopping habits and keystrokes.

It is important to distinguish between programs that are downloaded with the user's consent and those that are not.

Adware is often criticized for being a form of spyware. Adware is the software application that delivers advertising banners while the program is running.

Adware may serve a positive purpose if it helps keep down costs on websites that are supported by advertising revenues. However, if the adware includes code to track personal information and pass the information to a third party, without authorization, there are privacy and security concerns.

Applications allowing parents to monitor the computer and Internet use habits of their children, without the child's knowledge, would also be good uses of spyware technology.

A further term used to describe a method by which spyware programs gain access to your computer is drive-by download. These programs can be initiated simply by visiting a website or viewing an HTML e-mail message.

If security settings are not properly considered, drive-by downloads can occur without any action on your part.

Having updates of patches or service packs automatically downloaded and installed by a form of drive-by download may be quite helpful. System administrators must always ensure, however, that any update does not conflict with existing system configurations.

Although recent survey results appear to indicate that businesses are not treating spyware as seriously as the threat warrants, research also shows that more than two-thirds of users have computer policies in place that in some way relate to spyware. Unfortunately, respondents also claimed these polices are not being enforced.

Increasingly, organizations are installing software to detect and deal with spyware. Practices that increase the risk of spyware infection, such as instant messaging and file sharing, are being addressed.

Anyone interested in learning about detecting and removing spyware may find Lavasoft's AD-aware and PestPatrol offer helpful information and tools.

Given the potential for your computer to operate like a server sending out information about you and your computing habits to people or entities you don't know, perhaps you would want to give more consideration to your own privacy practices and assess your computer's level of infection by spyware programs.