| What is Spyware? | PRODUCT REVIEWS aNTIVIRUS |
Speaking generally, spyware is any software that:
Adware is very similar to spyware (for example, it will often embed itself deep within your computer and make it almost impossible for you to remove it). Its main difference is that it pops up ads on your desktop constantly -- it makes its money from ads, not necessarily from selling information about you. For the purpose of this article, we'll group spyware and adware together and refer to them both as 'spyware.' You can think of spyware, then, as any software you really don't want but can't get rid of or don't even know is there. So where does spyware come from, and how do you get it? The answer to this question is probably as large as spyware programs are numerous. Spyware often comes packaged with free software. If you download a program that says it's "ad-supported," you probably got more than you bargained for when you installed it. File- and music-sharing programs (often called "P2P") are the most serious offenders. KaZaA, BearShare, Limewire and others are packed with spyware. When you install KaZaA, for example, you get six programs in one -- KaZaA plus five spyware programs. The makers of KaZaA get paid for every person who installs the spyware from their partner companies. That's how a lot of large semi-legal companies like KaZaA make their money, but it's also popular with small software makers as well. |
|
Dangers of SpywareA lot of the danger of spyware is obvious -- companies are building databases about the sites you visit and the things you search for, people can watch everything you do on your computer, advertisers can shove pop-ups in your face even when you're not surfing, and hackers can even wreck your computer. But much of the danger is hidden. Since spyware watches everything you surf, or everything you type, and since there are many types of spyware that can all be installed on your computer at once, spyware can really kill your computer's performance. Some computers can even be rendered unusable by spyware, so slow and so unstable that it's impossible to do anything constructive on them. And since spyware almost always hides itself, you never realize that your computer is perfectly capable of doing what you need it to do – while you assume it's broken or too old. How Anti-Spyware WorksJust like people, files have unique fingerprints. Anti-spyware software uses huge databases of spyware fingerprints to recognize spyware files hidden on your computer, often in the midst of regular, harmless files. The fingerprints ensure that the anti-spyware software can recognize spyware but will never recognize your data or legitimate programs on your computer. Actually, disabling spyware is more difficult than it might seem. Many spyware programs have advanced "satellites," little programs that hide on your computer and will reinstall the spyware if it is deleted. Some use "tricklers," which function like "satellites" but wait for a few days before reinstalling the spyware. The technology behind anti-spyware has to be as complex as the spyware itself in order to counteract the aggressive methods used by spyware, and anti-spyware's fingerprint databases must be comprehensive and always up-to-date in order to catch everything that could be on your computer. Combating spyware is a hard problem, and like many hard problems it can be made simple through advanced technology. ConclusionAs computer users, we need to recognize the danger that spyware poses and deal with it actively. By taking simple steps, including those listed above and certainly using anti-spyware software, to protect ourselves without spending a lot of time or energy. (Coutesy : Tenebril Research Lab)
|
|
The offers may vary from time to time. The buyer is suggested to confirm the same from the respective websites