Added: 07/19/2005 |
What is spyware and how it should be foughtThe anti-virus and anti-spam software producers have a lot of work for today. Malefactors develop new tasks for the anti-virus software developers, and the information about these malicious things is interesting for users and programmers. The real menace for modern corporative networks and home computers is the spreading of spyware or adware.
Spyware is a common name for the software modules, which have any spy or annoying functions. There are some types of spyware, which can be met very often at users' computers: Adware, Browser Hjacker, Browser Plugin, Dialer, Mailware and Trojan. The Adware includes the software modules that show unexpected online advertisement. The most popular examples of adware are the following - a web page is reopened sometimes in your browser, there is a floating window proposing to buy something unwanted and so on.
The existing types of adware should be overviewed in details. Mainly, the adwares are the software modules, which are doing their indecent work from the inside of your favorite web browser. The Browser Hjacker is a set of software that changes the settings of your web browser, in the way the malefactors would like it. The Dialer is a different software module, which makes calls through your modem to far countries. Huge bills from the telephone company are the usual results of this adware work. The Mailware includes various software modules, performing different actions.
One of the most popular types of mailware, used in Internet, is the Trojan. Everybody knows issues of this name. Actually, the Trojans hide malicious functionalities under the mask of usability. The main usage of the Trojans in our days is the gathering of confidential and billing information. For instance, it may prove passwords and the list of the software, installed at your PC.
There are some common ways of the spyware spreading such as the vulnerability of the operation system or browser, mail clients security holes, regular tools, inattentive reading of license agreements.
Who and why needs this type of software? The answer is very simple. They are the people, who make money with your help. There are some traditional ways to make money with the help of the spyware. The information spins up of a web resource and the online advertisement in target groups are clear enough purposes. The traffic redirection is a very interesting variant. When a resource has significant number of visitors, the incoming traffic can be resold to third persons. The pay per click is a comparatively honest and easy method of money extraction. This replacement of links at popular search machines is to redirect queries to another search system, where the clicks are sold. The Spyware is also effective for delivering some software products to the clients' computers and imposing its usage. Let us look at a real example: after a click at some link, containing an address of a zip archive, a window proposing to download and to install appears. The user cannot get rid of this annoying window by any means and the user is obliged to install the software to his PC. This window does not disappear and, even the worse thing happens, this annoying window extends its functionality and affects the work of the whole system.
This is just a short acquaintance with the world of the spyware. The description of each case for the spyware usage is too vast, and it could take off all the space at this server. In fact, the knowledge of the spyware details and the ways of spreading are the best ways to avoid troubles.
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