Help With Adware and Spyware
Published in "SOURCE" Sept. 27, 2004IS warns: Don’t download spyware, adware
If you have ever downloaded popular Internet freeware or shareware programs such as Kazaa or WeatherBug, you have probably downloaded spyware and/or adware. Because spyware can wreak havoc with computers, users should go to http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/devioussoftware.mspx at once to find out how to remove and control it.
“Nothing is truly free,” said Brian Walsh, information security officer in Information Services. “When you think you are getting something for nothing, the price you really pay is that the product is monitoring your Web activity and using it for market research purposes. These products can also cause operational problems on your PC and can possibly lead to the disclosure of confidential information (yours or the College’s).”
If you have any questions about whether your PC has spyware on it, call Walsh at x5384.
A few severe cases of spyware have caused student computers to crash, and Information Services wants to make faculty and staff PC users aware of the issue before they, too, have that problem. Mac users are not affected.
Spyware is any software that covertly gathers user information through an Internet connection without the user’s knowledge, said Walsh. Usually used for advertising purposes, spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet; however, it should be noted that the majority of shareware and freeware applications do not come with spyware. Once installed, spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers. “It is similar to a Trojan horse in that users unwittingly install the product when they install something else,” said Walsh.
Spyware can eat bandwidth, slowing a system or crashing it; monitor keystrokes; scan hard drive files; snoop on running applications; install other spyware programs; read cookies and change the default home page. Licensing agreements that accompany software downloads sometimes warn users that a spyware program also will be installed, but notice is often couched in obtuse, hard-to-read legal disclaimers.
Related links:
Microsoft Spyware Info
CNET Download.com
Last Modified: Friday, August 10, 2007 11:37