February 2002 - Volume 1, Issue 1

Spyware

In many countries, a growing number of advertisers, marketers, government agencies, and even law enforcement agencies may be using spyware to record the travels in cyberspace of Internet users.

Spyware is a software component installed on your PC that gathers information about you (generally pertaining to your online activities) and transfers that information from your PC to advertisers or other companies/individuals without your knowledge or permission. The spyware component itself is often incorporated into otherwise benign software, such as game demos, MP3 players, and the like. The exact information a spyware program obtains may be something as simple as listing the MP3 selections you store on your PC or recent Web sites that you've visited. In extremely malicious cases, it may transfer password files or other sensitive information.

It's important to note that you shouldn't confuse Spyware with honest forms and secure sites that gather information you provide voluntarily (such as your name and e-mail address for a weekly e-zine on PC repair or other topics of interest).

Spyware basically works because the Internet is a two-way street. Many users download Web pages, images, files, and other information without realizing that given the right instructions, their computers may be gathering information and sending it out while they surf. (Such unannounced background communications are often referred to as back- channel transmissions.)

The first step in protecting yourself from spyware is to understand where it comes from. As mentioned earlier, much of the spyware floating around the Web today consists of programs built into free but useful applications you'd actually want to download and install (see the RealPlayer example above). But even boxed, commercial software applications may contain spyware components. Well-known examples of spyware include modules from Comet Cursor, DoubleClick, and Gator.

Web sites present a spyware threat both in the form of cookies and Web bugs. A cookie is a small text file that a Web server sends to your hard drive via your browser. In most cases, the cookie remembers pages you've visited, or fills in information, such as usernames and passwords. Fortunately, Web sites generally don't hide cookies, and you can easily set your browser to warn you about receiving cookies, or reject them entirely (so not all cookies are considered spyware). Web bugs are tiny image files in a Web page or HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)-formatted e-mail message. You don't actually see Web bugs, and cookie filters don't catch them. But Web bugs can gather information ranging from your computer's IP (Internet Protocol) address (which identifies your computer on the Internet) to your surfing habits. In many cases, Web bugs can access cookies and send their information back to the Web bug's originator.

Another form of spyware exists as part of Trojans or computer viruses. Infected systems may send usernames and passwords from popular banking programs to the person that created the virus. Fortunately, current antivirus software can intercept and eradicate many forms of viral spyware.

Spyware can be tough to identify, but there are a few tricks you can use to sniff it out. On the next issue we will tell you how to check for spyware and how to remove it from your system.