What is spyware?
Over the past few years, a new class of software has emerged that's
up to no good. It goes by many names: spyware, adware, foistware,
malware, eulaware, or even crapware. For simplicity we'll just call
them all spyware.
Here are some of the "features" you get from spyware. Some spyware
may only use one or two of these tactics, while others do quite a
bit more.
- Deceptive functionality.
Spyware often uses a classic "trojan horse" tactic--like a
virus. It offers to synchronize your PC's clock or keep track of
forms, but it is also doing other hidden things while you
browse.
-
Home page hijacking.
Did you ever find that your home page was changed, or discover
new sites in Favorites that you didn't add? It might be spyware.
-
Loss of privacy.
Some spyware keeps track of the web sites you visit and sends
that information back to the spyware vendor. Do you want to tell
everyone?
-
More
advertising. Did you
install a popup stopper but you are still getting popups? The
ads you are getting may not be from the web site you are on, but
from spyware.
-
Stolen
advertising. Instead of
showing the ads that should appear on a web site, some spyware
substitutes its own ads which can rob a web site of revenue.
- Broken web sites.
Spyware sometimes changes the actual content on a web page, and
in the process it "breaks" the page. The page may not look
correct, or you may get Javascript errors.
- Reduced performance.
Spyware uses up system resources, CPU time, memory, disk space,
and Internet bandwidth, making your system slower.
-
System instability.
Most spyware isn't very well tested or debugged, and there is no
way to report bugs or obtain tech support. The result can be
system crashes, hangs, or other strange behavior.
-
Security risks.
Some spyware has a built-in update feature that lets the spyware
maker download and install new code to your system without your
knowledge or approval.
Why
don't most antivirus utilities block spyware?
The short answer is "spyware is
not a virus."
Webopedia
defines a virus as "A program or piece of code that is loaded onto
your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes."
Spyware takes advantage of the fact that people click
I Agree to most software licenses
without actually reading them. So technically, spyware is
loaded with your knowledge and permission if you read the license,
so it's not a virus. Of course, if your teenager uses the computer
and installs spyware without your permission, that's your
problem too.
This tricky use of software
agreements puts the antivirus companies in a tough situation. It is
possible that you really did agree for some of this software to be
on your system. If antivirus utilities flag these borderline
programs as viruses and remove them, the antivirus companies could
find themselves in a legal battle with spyware makers who claim they
were given permission to install.
How do
I get rid of spyware ?
You can either remove each program
manually, or use a utility to automatically remove all spyware. For
the automatic route we recommend
Pest Patrol
because it does the best job of finding and removing all spyware.
To use a manual removal method, you
first need to determine what types of spyware have infested your
system. This
quick scan can find some of the
most common spyware (but see below for an important note). Each
piece of spyware requires different removal procedures. Sometimes
the spyware maker has an uninstaller at their site, but usually
there will be some additional steps required before you have
completely eliminated it. (This can include editing the Windows
registry and/or deleting files, so it is not something that
we recommend for novice users!) You can ask in the Spyware section
of the
PC Pitstop Forums
or use
Google to search
for removal instructions using the name of the spyware.
Please note: Although this online
spyware scan will find the most common types of spyware, it's not
meant to be a replacement for a commercial product to defend you
against spyware and viruses. This test is small and simple so it can
quickly find the most common spyware threats. If the scan detects
several different types of spyware on your system, it's possible
that there is even more spyware that it did not detect.
For free spyware removal software,
click
here.
Spyware
Tricks
Dirty Spyware Tricks
If you had a complete
knowledge of what most spyware was doing to your system, you
would never agree to install it. So how does it end up
installed on so many PCs? Here are some of the dirty tricks
that spyware uses to worm its way onto your system and stay
there. (Not all spyware uses every technique.)
1)
Hide inside another program's installer.
You will often see this
technique in peer-to-peer programs like Kazaa. Hundreds of
"freeware" programs install some form of spyware along with
the main application. In some cases the spyware is
relatively innocuous, but in others it can crash your system
or invade your privacy. The only hint you may see is a short
sentence or two in the end user license agreement (EULA) to
the effect of "third party software may be installed along
with the application."
2)
Use confusing legalese.
The license agreements don't
just come out and say "we're going to collect information
and screw up your browsing" since that wouldn't get them a
lot of customers. Instead, the licenses are full of vague
and confusing prose.
3)
Keep asking until you say Yes.
This is particularly common
with drive-by downloads. Some spyware is delivered by an
ActiveX control that tries to load each time you visit a web
page where the spyware is present. As a security measure,
the browser will ask if you want to install. If you say
No it's only good until the next web page you load,
where you'll again be asked the question. After a few pages
of this, some people will give up and say Yes. (A
better move would be to give up and leave that site.)
4)
Create a false pretense for needing the software.
You get this email message
from a friend: "I've just sent you a greeting card, go to
this web site to read it!" When you get to the web site it
asks you to install a "greeting card viewer" that turns out
to be spyware, and it sends a similar card to everyone in
your address book. In the license agreement you didn't read
but agreed to, you gave it permission to do that!
5)
Look essential, or be invisible.
Some spyware will use an
official-sounding name like "winstartup" so that you'll be
less likely to disable it if you see it running. Others
maintain a low profile by using dozens of different file
names and locations, or even generating a random file name
to escape detection. To further mask its existence and
reduce your awareness of it, many spyware packages will even
install software updates without your knowledge.
6)
Don't uninstall, even when asked.
Whether by design or
mistake, a lot of spyware does not remove itself when you
uninstall the application that originally installed the
spyware. In many cases the only way to completely remove
spyware is with a utility like
Pest
Patrol.
|
|
Copyright 2004.