What is Spyware?

Whilst most people have at least heard of computer viruses, there is now another rapidly growing threat that is generally not quite as well known: Spyware.

Actually, spyware is really just another name for a type of software known as 'Malware'. Malware is loosely defined as being 'any piece of software, software component or file that may in some way compromise a computer's performance and / or the security or privacy of the user, often without providing any direct benefit to that user'. Errrrmmm... OK. Let's translate that into English!

Basically, Malware can be thought of as small programs, files or additions to your existing programs (like certain search bars that can appear in Internet Explorer) that get installed onto your PC either with or without your consent and generally have some kind of negative effect. How much of a problem or threat they pose to your PC or security depends on a number of factors, since there are quite a few different types of malware. The main types are:

Trackers / Loggers

What are they?

The most common type of tracker is known as a 'Spy cookie'. Cookies are small text files that are placed into your temporary internet files folder whenever you visit certain websites. A lot of websites use cookies for 'positive' reasons, for example they can be used to safely store your username and passwords so that you don't have to repeatedly log in and out every time you visit a certain site (like Ebay or Yahoo), or they can be used to remember your preferences and provide 'personalised' web pages for you (like Amazon).

What do they do?

Unfortunately, cookies can also be used to allow Internet advertising companies to keep track of which websites you have visited, how often you visit them, the dates and times that you have visited them and even how long you spent looking at each page of the website. Whilst this in itself isn't really a big security risk, it does allow the companies that recieve the information to determine the kinds of websites that you like visiting the most and then 'serve' you with pop-up and / or banner advertisements that they think might be of interest to you. Of course, these advertisements are rarely of any interest to you and, to most people, they are nothing more than an annoyance!

Who uses them?

By far the biggest users of true spy cookies (cookies that serve no purpose other than to track your surfing habbits) are the so-called 'free' adult oriented websites. Most of these sites make their money soley through the sale of banner and pop-up advertising, making the use of spy cookies a rather attractive proposal!

Other types of web sites that commonly use tracking cookies include 'warez' sites (sites that claim to offer commercial products for free), some sites that provide song lyrics and some sites that provide free downloads of desktop wallpapers or screensavers for your PC, ringtones for your mobile phone or 'shareware' applications. Basically, if you're offered something for free, the chances are there's going to be a catch!

What's the risk to me and my PC?

Thankfully, quite low. As mentioned earlier, spy cookies are more of a nuisance than a real problem, although the pop-up advertisements that they often encourage can occur so frequently that it becomes almost impossible to use the internet!

How do I prevent / get rid of them?

It is possible to prevent cookies from being stored on your PC in the first place by adjusting the privacy level to a higher setting in your web browser's configuration settings, however this is not really adviseable since many legitimate web sites require you to allow cookies in order to view their content. Clearing your browsers' temporary files folder from time to time may help a little, but really the best thing you can do is:

1) Use a reputable pop-up ad blocker. FastFix Computers recommend Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer users. AOL users should use AOL version 8.0 or above since this has a very good pop-up blocker built in. An alternative for all internet users is to use the Mozilla FireFox web browser instead of Internet Explorer. FireFox is completely free of charge, has a built-in pop-up blocker and is very similar to and just as easy to use as Internet Explorer.

2) Use an Adware removal application such as Adaware. This is because spy cookies often work hand-in-hand with another type of malware called Adware, which we will explore in the next page...

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