Spyware (spyware)

The word mean spyware program spy, being formed of the words spy, spying, and software or computer program.

With this terminology we describe an incredible amount of computer programs designed to spy on its own operations carried out by the user of the PC, steal confidential information, so as to make the pc certain operations often without the knowledge and against the will of the rightful owner .

What can you do to my pc a spy program? The literature in the field is very wide: store user preferences, steal passwords, check the folders, view specific files, perform transactions in the network, automatically connect to certain sites, make calls through our modem (see dialers), etc..

The presence of spyware within the pc is something alarming, both because it is an undoubted violation of our privacy and our freedom (who can be said to be free if it is constantly being spied on), and because it might allow the creator of the spy program to seize of some of our sensitive personal information or even our entire pc.
Once you have taken possession of the pc, the programmer may perform the attacks to other sites through it (using it as a bridgehead virtual).

It could drop us any unlawful without our knowledge (using it as a hideout virtual). Could steal our personal information and use it to commit illegal, such as sign bills, make orders of expenditure, book tickets all on our behalf (digital identity theft). Of course not all spyware have these features, but they are all potentially dangerous.

How is it possible to come across a spyware? The ways are many: through an attachment contained in e-mails, browsing through the internet, purchasing or installing programs you do not know the origin. What's unique is that many apparently innocent software may contain spyware.

For example spy programs are contained within the XP operating system in computer graphics software such as Photoshop and Corel. It can also happen to run into spyware within sites or servers that allow the exchange of resources between connected computers (file sharing), frequently called P2P (peer to peer, or peer to peer).

For example, one of these, Kazaa, contained spyware that recorded the choices made by the user by keeping track of all transactions carried out on the PC, so, for example, can allow you to download a file resuming an interrupted download during a previous navigation. The most well-known spyware programs were apparently even more harmless as Godzilla and Gators.

Who produces spy software, and who sends them in the user's computer? The main manufacturer of spyware is Microsoft, but the peculiar aspect of this type of software is that they are well regarded by the big software companies and governments. In fact, the U.S. government allows its cybercops to send spyware in user's computer in order to verify the possible commission of violations of the law on copyright and / or patent.

Even in Europe, this trend is beginning to take hold: France has recently allowed some manufacturers of videogames to use spyware to verify users who use pirated copies of video games produced by companies.

How do I know that I have spyware? It is not always easy to see that there's a spy software within our pc, often indexes of its existence may be excessive slowing of its performance, frequent system freeze, intense activity of the processor and hard disks (CPU).

The elimination of spyware is not always easy because often these have been grouped together with other programs making it impossible for subsequent cleavage. The only solution is to format the computer. To prevent, however, the phenomenon the best solution is to adopt an updated firewall, a mechanism for the recognition and block all attempts to install software in the PC.

Mr. Marcello Pirani - legal@anti-phishing.it