Countering the Espionage of Spyware
By Anna Traylor

According to the research firm eMarketer, adware (also known as “spyware”) is among the fastest growing segments of the $6.9-billion-a-year online advertising market.

According to the research firm eMarketer, adware (also known as “spyware”) is among the fastest growing segments of the $6.9-billion-a-year online advertising market. Whether or not you have been a frustrated victim of this intrusive technology, it’s important for you to understand the basics of spyware and how your business can avoid it.

What is “Spyware”?

Unwittingly downloaded by users, these programs are often covertly bundled with peer-to-peer file-swapping products and free downloads.

Spyware is generally defined as any technology that aids in gathering information about a person without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Unwittingly downloaded by users, these programs are often covertly bundled with peer-to-peer file-swapping products and free downloads. Virtually unheard of a year ago, the application is rapidly catching up to spam in prevalence. But where spam tends to be mostly an annoyance, spyware is much more insidious. Once installed, the program has the ability to scan files, read cookies, monitor keystrokes, install more spyware programs, and change the default home page of your browser. It can gather names, email addresses, passwords and even credit card numbers.

Spware vs. Adware

In the most basic form, spyware programs show you ads—pop-ups or ads on Web pages—but given their potential, the implications for less benign possibilities are clear.

The terms “spyware” and “adware” are often used interchangeably, as they both have the ability to track, gather, and report to a third party. One distinction includes that adware tends to be nominally permission-based: After offering paragraphs and paragraphs of a “user agreement” or “licensing agreement” that is filled with legal jargon, the user clicks to accept the download. Of course, few people read—much less understand—these long documents. Whether it’s tracking your actions online or lurking in your computer and going through your information, spyware hides in hard-to-access places on your machine. As it collects data, it sends it back to a central server, or third party business. In the most basic form, spyware programs show you ads—pop-ups or ads on Web pages—but given their potential, the implications for less benign possibilities are clear.

Bad for Your Business

Spyware applications end up sapping your company’s computer resources, memory and bandwidth.

Putting aside ethical arguments and the sinister motivation of applications that can snoop through your computer, spyware also has real effects on your business. Because these programs are going through your information and relaying it back to the sender, spyware applications end up sapping your company’s computer resources, memory and bandwidth. Your network may be more vulnerable to crashing and will be, on the whole, less stable. In some instances, spyware can proliferate to the point where it can slow your system by 10-40 percent! And don’t forget all the time, energy, and annoyance in getting rid of it.


Protecting Yourself: Preventative Measures

When asked to download anything online, always click “no” if you are uncertain of the program.

1. Pay attention to what you download. The main source of spyware infection is freeware and shareware. When asked to download anything online, always click “no” if you are uncertain of the program. 2. Increase your security settings. Check your browser’s options and make sure your security is high enough to protect you from automatic installations.

3. Delete spam. Something you should do anyway to protect yourself from viruses, getting rid of unsolicited email is now more important. Spyware is increasingly being sent to inboxes.

4. Update anti-virus software regularly.

5. Follow the FTC recommendations outlined in their spyware alert, including:
- Set up file-sharing software carefully. Make sure you aren’t sharing private folders or files.
- Consider using spyware prevention or detection software.
- Close connections after file sharing so you won’t accidentally download spyware.

Spyware technology is growing increasingly sophisticated and its techniques are making it easier for code to get onto individual computers—and harder to find it once it’s there. The good news is that the Federal Trade Commission has started to get involved and may soon issue stricter regulations on hidden downloads. In the meantime, simply be cautious. The majority of shareware and freeware applications are not bundled with spyware, but as usual in business, that ounce of prevention is well worth taking.



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