Privacy & Security Tips - Page 4


 

April & May, 2005

• Spyware is, as the name implies, software that gathers information about a computer user or an organization
  without their knowledge. Using confusing or illegal methods, spyware embeds itself on desktops and can be directed to steal personal information, display pop-up advertisements, monitor Web browsing activity or redirect browsers to other sites.

• Spyware can get onto a victim’s computer through a virus, or simply when a user browses to a particular Web page or opens an e-mail. 

June & July, 2005

• Today’s Spyware goes far beyond being annoying but essentially harmless software that tracks a user’s Web browsing habits to sell him discount drugs or a cheap vacation.

• Spyware is instead one of a virulent ecosystem of harmful software that works together to clog systems, frustrate help desks, steal confidential information or even shake down victims for protection money.

August & September, 2005

• The problem is growing. A Computerworld survey of subscribers with IT security responsibilities shows that 79% have had problems with Spyware in the past 12 months.

• Seventy-one percent said they see it as a threat to their organizations, and 84% said the threat is increasing. Users can infect themselves with Spyware unwittingly when they visit the wrong Web site, open the wrong e-mail or simply allow their browsers to download software such as ActiveX controls needed to run games, listen to music, or share software or other files over the Web.

• The performance drag imposed by Spyware is so great that Microsoft Corp. estimates that it causes as many as one in three system crashes.

October & November, 2005

• Spyware can also be the conduit through which viruses and other malware are secretly loaded onto PCs or corporate servers. Once there, spyware can do its most significant damage, stealing important, confidential and valuable information — a point that hasn’t been lost on criminals.

• Increasingly, Spyware writers are targeting and shutting down sites that can’t afford to be out of service, such as transaction processing
  companies and even sites that sell software (such as anti-spyware tools) over the Web.

December, 2005

• Spyware and other threats could already be crimping the growth of e-commerce, as surveys show many consumers changing their behavior (and avoiding
  making some online purchases, such as music downloads) to keep from getting infected with spyware.

• Warned by a rising tide of publicity (and wary of having their identities, or worse, stolen by spyware), many consumers and corporate IT managers have installed software to find and delete spyware before it can cause harm.