What is Spyware?

But before a user considers how to protect himself against spyware, he should first understand what exactly spyware is and what risks it brings with it.

According to most accepted definitions, spyware is software installed without the full knowledge of the user. Spyware is often covertly transferred to a user's computer during the downloading of file sharing programs, or when surfing certain websites. (Adware, which though objectionable, does not transmit information to a third party and is not included in our definition as spyware.)

As if that isn't bad enough, spyware poses a security threat by transmitting the user's private information back to a third party. Spyware allows its creators to:

• Gather a user's private/personal information
• Steal copyrighted or confidential information
• Create irreparable system instability
• Damage or interfere with legitimate application operations
• Open a backdoor on infected systems
• Take over an infected system

Spyware damages productivity, drains help-desk resources, and most importantly, creates security holes which enable the uncontrolled flow of data out of an organization.

Recognizing the signs of spyware infection on your computer is an important step in securing your interests.

These signs include:

1. Significant increase in network activity
2. Significant decrease in PC performance
3. Strange, dialog boxes, asking suspicious questions
4. New modem dialup connections
5. System instability
6. Excessive pop-up windows
7. Website re-direction
8. New toolbars, menus or buttons
9. Persistent homepage address changes
10. Default search engine change
11. New taskbar icons
12. New items in Favorites
13. Excessive hyperlinks added to webpages

Aladdin.com Content Security Research Team recently analyzed the top 2,000 spyware in the wild for the first half of 2005.

They classified spyware into three threat categories, based on the nature of, and actions taken by the spyware program:

• Severe Threat - 15% of spyware threats send private information gathered from the end user currently logged on to the infected system: logging the user's keystrokes, logged-on user name, hash of administrator passwords, email addresses, contacts, instant messengers login and usage, and more.
• Moderate Threat - 25% percent of spyware sends information gathered from the victim's operating system, including the computer (host) name, domain name, logs of all processes running in memory, installed programs, security applications, client's internal IP address, OS version, the existence and versions of service packs and security updates, TCP ports the spyware is listening to, Computer Security Identifier (SID) ,default browser's homepage, browser plug-ins, etc.
• Minor Threat - 60% of spyware transmits gathered commercial-value information about the end user's browsing habits. This includes keywords used in search engines, browsing habits and ratings of frequently visited websites, shopping reports etc.

These statistics demonstrate the seriousness of the threats of corporate espionage and computer crime which companies face from spyware.

Published: January 11, 2005 | Updated: March 13, 2007

Skip the details and download the tool

The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks computers running Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 for infections by specific, prevalent malicious software-including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom-and helps remove any infection found. When the detection and removal process is complete, the tool displays a report describing the outcome, including which, if any, malicious software was detected and removed.

Microsoft releases an updated version of this tool on the second Tuesday of each month, and as needed to respond to security incidents. The tool is available from Microsoft Update, Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center.

Note The version of the tool delivered by Microsoft Update and Windows Update runs in the background and then reports if an infection is found. If you would like to run this tool more than once a month, use the version on this Web page or install the version that is available in the Download Center.

Because computers can appear to function normally when infected, Microsoft advises you to run this tool even if your computer seems to be fine. You should also use up-to-date antivirus software to help protect your computer from other malicious software.

To download the latest version of this tool, please visit the Microsoft Download Center.

You can also perform an online scan of your computer using the Windows Live OneCare safety scanner.

Run an Online Scan of Your PC for Malicious Software

If you would like to scan your computer for malicious and potentially unwanted software from a website, please use the Windows Live OneCare safety scanner.

Windows Live OneCare safety scanner is an online service that lets you scan your computer to help protect, clean, and keep it running at its best. Use our free protection scan to check for and remove viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software and to find vulnerabilities in your Internet connection.

Learn How to Protect Your PC

To help protect your computer against a wide variety of security threats, see Protect Your PC.

Technical Assistance

Contact your antivirus vendor for assistance with identifying or removing virus or worm infections. If you need more help with virus-related issues, contact Microsoft Product Support Services.

• For support within the United States and Canada, call toll-free (866) PCSAFETY (727-2338).
• For support outside the United States and Canada, visit the Product Support Services Web page.

Some net searches are leading users to websites that expose them to spam, spyware and other dangerous downloads, reveals a report.

According to the research the most dangerous words to search for are "free screensavers".

The report found that 64% of the sites found using this phrase were flagged as causing problems for users.

The authors urged search sites to tighten up rules to ensure users are not inadvertently exposed to harm.

Dangerous game

It is well known that visiting sites offering porn, gambling and free MP3s leaves users at serious risk of falling victim to spyware and adware. However, the research by Ben Edelman and Hannah Rosenbaum reveals that those carrying out searches for innocuous subjects are at risk too.

The report looked at the websites returned for 1,394 popular keywords searches found via Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL and Ask.

The results returned for each search term were then analysed using the Site Advisor security tool. Once installed this piece of software warns users when they browse websites known to be dangerous.

The most benign of the pages that Site Advisor flags up try to change browser settings (to redirect people to ad sites) and the most dangerous deluge users with spam or bundle adware and spyware in with downloads.

In one case signing up with one site led to a test e-mail address getting more than 300 spam messages per week.

Some of these risky sites use security flaws and loopholes in browsers to install software without users' knowledge and can lead to that machine being hijacked or to a user losing personal data.

The riskiest search terms were associated with downloads (such as "screensavers" and "free ringtones") and file-sharing (such as "Bearshare" and "limewire"). Searching under these categories returned a substantial proportion of dangerous sites.

The authors speculate that spammers and scammers are turning to websites to try to snare victims as efforts are made to stop spam before it reaches e-mail inboxes.

"Where internet users go, attackers follow," wrote the authors.

Across all searches approximately 4-6% of sites returned were flagged as dangerous. The authors noted that this was more "alarming" than it first appeared because American net users carry out almost 6 billion searches per month. This translates to 285 million clicks on these potentially dangerous sites every month.

"Even a single visit to a dangerous site can have serious and lasting implications for the average internet user," wrote the authors.

The number of risky sites increases when users click on sponsored results - the adverts generated to accompany particular search terms. Dangerous sites are two to four times as common in sponsored results found the research.

"We are troubled by the untrustworthiness of search engines' ads," said the authors.

The authors urged the search engines to get much tougher on those who buy adverts to accompany searches and expose those that abuse visitors.

"We're alarmed by the scope of these problems - by the many ways search engines lead users to sites that turn out to be untrustworthy or worse," concluded the report.

Original post here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4765199.stm

You just purchased a brand new computer. You turn it on and discover how wonderful it is. It runs super fast, going from one page to another. Your surfing really is much faster now. Life is wonderful.

Fast forward a few months. Your brand new computer doesn't seem to be performing like it used to. It's now running very slowly and your hard drive seems to be making a lot of noise.

What's happened? There is a strong possibility that you have had some sort of spyware, adware, or malware installed on your computer. These unwanted programs can wreak havoc on your computer. Symptoms can vary. The number one symptom is that your computer is not nearly as fast as it used to be. Other symptoms can include the following: pop-ups are now appearing while you surf, strange icons appear on either your desktop or start up menu that you haven't seen before, your browser gets replaced for another, your mouse cursor seems to float across the page while at rest, your computer locks up frequently, and displays a lot of error codes, and you start receiving a lot of spam in your email.

These symptoms are just the beginning. Left unchecked, they will get worse. As annoying as these problems are, there is a more serious result that can occur if action isn't taken.

Spyware is basically a program that gets installed on your computer by advertising companies that want to monitor your surfing habits to assist them in their marketing efforts. However, a more serious form of spyware, called malware can get installed on your hard drive that can cause some really serious problems. One, malware can basically crash your computer, making it a necessity to erase everything on your PC and start over from scratch. This is not a fun task. I have had it happen to me and I lost a lot of important information during that process. There are also forms of spyware that can get installed on your PC that will allow a remote user to use your PC from a distance for all kinds of illegal activity such as child porn to spamming. If you find yourself in this situation, it will be difficult to prove your innocence.

Identity theft can also occur as a result of spyware, adware, and malware. Your banking information, credit card numbers, and passwords can get stolen.

So, the question arises, how do you prevent these events from happening?

The main activities that people do that exposes them to spyware are downloading files related to the following: Screensavers, music, PC games, movies, and pictures. So to start off with, I would avoid downloading anything from the Internet in those categories.

Be sure that you have a high quality firewall installed and have it set to either medium or medium high. If you set it to high, you will find that it won't let you perform a lot of activities on the Internet.

Change your passwords monthly on your online banking accounts, credit card accounts, email accounts, or any other sensitive accounts that you would not want anyone having access to.

Whenever you do sign into important accounts, always open up a new browser window to log-in and always be sure to log yourself out. You don't need your passwords floating out there in cyberspace.

Be sure that your virus program is set to receive automatic updates. The same thing goes with windows. Be sure it is set to receive automatic updates, also. The reason being is that important patches will be sent out as soon as their programmers find gaps in their programming that allows these activities to filter through their programming. Without these patches, you are leaving yourself wide open to attack.

It should go without saying that a high quality spyware removal program should be obtained. This will work in tandem with your main security program, such as McAfee or Norton. There are some free ones, like Ad Aware SE that can be obtained, however, in my experience, I have found that the free ones don't offer near the protection that the paid versions do. A high quality spyware removal program can detect the following: spyware, adware, malware, worms, viruses, and trojans. It will also alert you in real time before any of these unwanted programs are actually installed on your PC, allowing you to prevent the unwanted program from being installed in the first place. Another program that I would encourage you to purchase is a registry repair program. This one tool is invaluable as most of the damage done by spyware will wreak havoc on your windows registry.

Protecting your PC and preventing identity theft will be an ongoing battle. As the hackers develop new ways to cause trouble, spyware programmers have to find ways to battle back. The battle can be won as long as the right precautions are taken in your surfing habits and you have the right tools to address the problems.