SPYWARE: Is It Lurking on Your Machine?
by Shawn Lander on June 23, 2003
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Spyware is Internet jargon for any program that resides on your computer to track your online activities and periodically 'phone-home' in order for its maker to collect statistics about you. It does this without disclosing to you what it is doing; thus, you have no idea what information is being collected and who is benefiting from it. From a privacy standpoint, this is a very, very 'bad thing' and that's an understatement.

In its most intrusive form, spyware not only records your browsing history, but your IP address (what part of the country you come from), browser type and version, screen resolution, time zone, version numbers of software installed on your computer, and, believe it or not, information from online forms you fill out. Not only does this more intrusive spyware record this information, but it can also change your Internet search page, your default homepage, and other browser and software settings. Xupiter and Gator eWallet are examples of this more intrusive spyware.

How does this stuff get onto your computer in the first place?

Most spyware makes its way onto your computer through the installation of adware (advertising supported software). Adware is a way for shareware authors to make money from a product by partnering with large media companies to place banner ads in their products. This way you don't have to pay for the software, but the developers are still benefiting financially from the ads that are displayed. It is important to note, however, that not all adware software is spyware.

Other spyware makes it onto your computer through a 'drive-by download,' or more aptly named a 'browse-by download.' If your Internet security controls aren't properly set, just visiting a website or clicking on a web ad can install spyware onto your computer.

Now you can see just how much privacy spyware can cost you. The tracking cookies used by a company like DoubleClick are fairly innocuous and may not cost you much; but, the more intrusive spyware can be quite concerning to privacy advocates. Believe it or not, spyware isn't always illegal either. State and Federal anti-hacking legislation say that without a contract, no one is allowed to deploy this sort of software. With certain types of software, however, you actually agree to the contract. There usually is a long list of "terms and conditions" within the end-user license agreement (EULA) that you must agree to in order to install the software; by agreeing, you give permission to install other applications, including spyware.

Additionally, sometimes you tacitly agree to a contract. DoubleClick doesn't explicitly ask you to load its cookies on your computer; but the privacy policies of its partner websites explain the process. Simply visiting the site is approving their use of cookies on your computer.

Of course, almost no one reads the entire software's EULA or a website's privacy policy. A more simple way of protecting yourself from spyware than spending hours reading and interpreting these contracts is by running applications that identify and remove spyware. These tools operate much like anti-virus software. If you are concerned about your privacy, than these types of tools are essential.

MIS has made the following spyware detection software available to users of the Engineering Administration file servers (available on J:APPS). Additionally, both of these software packages will be part of the standard installation process in the future. If you want assistance installing or configuring this software please contact MIS (mis@eng.ufl.edu).

SPYBOT Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies. Spybot- S&D is free, so there's no harm in trying to see if something snooped into your computer, too :)

AD-AWARE Ad-aware Standard Edition is THE award winning, free*, multicomponent detection and removal utility that consistently leads the industry in safety, user satisfaction, support and reliability. With its ability to comprehensively scan your memory, registry, hard, removable and optical drives for known datamining, aggressive advertising, and tracking components, Ad-aware will provide the user with the confidence to surf the Internet knowing that their privacy will remain intact. Let Ad-aware protect your privacy.