|
 Experiencing
computer trouble? Any crashes lately? It could be Gremlins.
No seriously, it could! And the one we're talking about today
comes with a name and a reputation that makes spam seem nothing
more than a minor headache. We're talking… SPYWARE.
Sounds a little spooky, doesn't it? Though it can come to
us maliciously, it's usually a bit more subtle and hard to
detect. Maybe that's why it also uses something a bit more
innocuous and pleasant sounding such as the word, cookies.
Before you start smelling the lovin' from the oven, let's
take a look at what we're talking about. For certain, these
are not the cookies you remember from home.
Cookies
are small packets of information placed on your computer by
web sites you visit. They may contain and provide identifying
information about you to the web sites that place them on
your computer, along with any other information the site wants
to retain about your visit. To an extent, cookies allow us
to traverse the internet with greater convenience and speed
as it personalizes the visit. Passwords, preferences and personal
information are stored and sent from your computer to the
web site.
How
are cookies used?
Typically, when shopping online, a product is selected and
placed in the cart. Before completing the sale, the user may
decide to price comparison shop at other sites. The online
store can choose to save information about the products in
the cart on the user's computer, so when they access the site
later, they can finish the sale if they choose.
In the
next example of how cookies are used, keep in mind this is
where we lose consensus about the innocuous cookie, because
the information gained about our preferences can be used for
online targeting ads. It's rationalized that web sites must
generate revenue to pay for its overhead expenses in order
to continue to service users. Additionally, untargeted and
obtrusive ad campaigns don't carry the same money making umph
as targeted and directed campaigns. Though they may or may
not know my name and address, they certainly know from watching
where I've been and what I buy that I like Ray Charles--and
they profit from this information. Garnering this information
without my expressed permission is spyware.
John C.
Dvorak, PC Computing, reported in his October
11, 2004 article that the House of Representatives had
just passed the Internet Spyware Prevention Act. The proposed
federal law will eventually make it illegal for companies
to install spyware of any kind - in all its forms. I agree;
it's convenient when my password pops up when accessing a
site, but as Mr. Dvorak also underscores in his article, "Whose
idea was this anyway?" A better solution exists. According
to Ari Schwartz, Associate Director of the Center for Democracy
and Technology, a privacy-advocacy group, "failure to
properly address spyware and users will not want to use the
Internet for commerce, for government services, for interaction
with other people. We'll lose the great potential of the Internet."
What
is Spyware?
Steve Gibson, Gibson
Research Company, is to Spyware developers what Ralph
Nader is to those that profit from polluting the environment.
Steve's definition of spyware is the best I've read by far:
"Spyware is any software which employs a user's Internet
connection in the background (the so-called "backchannel")
without their knowledge or explicit permission. Silent background
use of an Internet "backchannel" connection must
be preceded by a complete and truthful disclosure of proposed
backchannel usage, followed by the receipt of explicit, informed,
consent for such use. Any software communicating across the
Internet absent these elements is guilty of information theft
and is properly and rightfully termed: Spyware." Here's
a few more examples of awful Gremlin names: Adware, Spies,
Cookies, Key Loggers, Parasites, Trojans, Worms, Dialers,
Browser Hi-jacks, etc.
Symptoms
of computers infected by Spyware
America Online and the National Cyber Security Alliance conducted
a study where spyware was found on 80 percent of participants'
computers. According to Tim Lordan, staff director of the
Internet Education Foundation, "Often, you don't just
have one. You might have a half-dozen or even a dozen that
can bring your computer to a screeching halt." Since
Earthlink began offering subscribers free spyware scans, they
found in the first 3 months of the offer, "scans of more
than one million hard drives found an average of 28 spyware
installations per PC." The most common type of spyware
is known as adware and its main goal is to generate annoying
pop-up ads. Another malicious type actually hijacks your browser
setting and directs it to dubious search engines from which
these developers derive commissions.
Symptoms:
--Endless pop up windows
--Browser is redirected to unwanted web sites
--Unexpected toolbars in your web browser
--New icons in your task tray
--The tab key may fail to work
--Random Windows error messages appear
--Computer crashes frequently
--System seems slow and sluggish to simple tasks
This general
list was taken from www.spywareonline.org
and provides you an idea of what to look for the next time
you feel Gremlins have invaded. Before you take an ax to your
CPU consider: spyware programs are often poorly written and
contain bugs and are ever hungry for more of your systems'
resources. So, what to do?
Protect
yourself and be aware of the freebies
It holds true after all, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Spyware programs are creative and often look like our system
files. The most common ways to pick up adware/spyware is to
download file sharing software, screen savers, games, music
and other free programs. Honestly, how many of you out there
actually read the End User License Agreement and how many
of you just click through it? Now you'll be encouraged to
read carefully for certain. Otherwise, you may actually grant
permission for the gremlin to enter by accepting the agreement
that contains third party software may be installed wording.
Be aware and suspicious anytime anything prompts you to download.
Be sure to keep your antivirus updates current and ensure
the program is running before you traverse through the Internet.
And regularly update and run your spyware scans.
Gremlin
search and destroy
Steve Gibson highly recommends Lavasoft
who developed a freeware spy removal utility as well as offers
a fully featured version by the name of Ad-aware. This was
personally recommended to me a long time ago by my ISP's expert
tech help at bluetie.com. There are tons of free spyware programs
out there now--be careful which ones you choose--check them
out first. Blue Tie's excellent customer assistance led me
to the tucows.com site for the free download. It rates 4 cows!
Here's the link to Lavasoft's free Ad-aware
removal utility: http://www.tucows.com/preview/236049.html
I know I said free and you should be aware,
but tucows.com enables you to see who the freeware manufacturer
is and provides a link to their site. You are your first line
of defense. Check out the company and decide for yourself
the level of risk you're willing to accept for the benefit
of freeware and who it is you're willing to trust and at what
cost. Ethical and business is not necessarily an oxymoron.
The spyware
developers sure have created quite a market for clean and
sweep programs. They know you're filtering and you can bet
they're staying updated on the latest filters and changing
their code accordingly. We have no choice but to remain vigilant
until the Federal Laws catch up with technology. Even when
change finally occurs, we are still our own first line of
defense and nothing can take the place of vigilance, staying
on top of the issues, good judgment and common sense.
Sources:
Bedell,
Doug. Spying software increasingly invades computers.
Knight Ridder News Service. The Oregonian 26, May, 2004.
Gibson, Steve. http://grc.com/optout.htm
Jesdanun,
Anick. Aggressive spyware turning off some computer users,
The Associated Press, The Oregonian, 1, November, 2004.
For more
help staying on top of this issue, check out the following:
CNN: A
spyware mystery - Who's behind it?
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/11/02/spyware.purveyors.ap/
Dallas
Morning News
http://www.dougbedell.com/spyware.html
More on
fighting spyware
http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,118058,00.asp
The Sun
News: Kazaa contains spyware
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/business/5623961.htm
Along
came a spyware
http://editor.actrix.co.nz/byarticle/0306spyware.htm
Spyware
© 2004 Diana Baker
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