Spyware: What You Need to Know - Internet users hear about the dangers of spyware all the time. But what are these vile applications that install themselves on computers and web browsers, and what can a person do to avoid or eradicate them? By Kim Zetter. [Security Blanket]

In her article “Spyware: What You Need To Know,” Wired Magazine writer Kim Zetter states that spyware “can turn your system against you, slow your browser to a crawl and inhabit your computer like some grotesque parasite. It can cling to your windows registry with its grasping mandible and suck away its very life.” While the statement is quite dramatic, it is actually very accurate. Spyware is an increasingly serious and malicious problem that all PC users must address.
Spyware is defined by the Anti-Spyware Coalition, whose members include Yahoo! and Dell, as “any application that impairs user’s control over material changes that affect their user experience, privacy or system security.” It is generally downloaded onto a user’s PC when downloading free programs, such as shareware and peer-to-peer networking programs, from the internet. Once in the PC’s registry, spyware tracks the user’s every click when they are surfing the internet, reporting back to the website’s owner about his or her preferences and most visited websites. In altering the computer’s registry and browser settings, spyware leaves everything more susceptible to identity theft from hackers across the web. Spyware can also be installed on your computer when you simply click on the “x” in the right hand corner to close a pop-up add on your computer’s desktop.
Once Spyware is installed on one’s PC, he or she will often people inundated with pop-up ads, even when no one is surfing the internet. A user’s browser’s homepage often changes with his or her knowledge, or sometimes a tool-bar is added seemingly out of nowhere. These are direct results of “Trojan horse” viruses that are also a part of spyware. In addition, random programs such as “My Daily Horoscope,” appear mysteriously on the Control Panel’s Program List.
While the practice may seem unethical and is definitely annoying, it is not completely illegal—yet. Many of the freeware that user’s download from the internet come with “User’s End License Agreements” that contain clauses regarding the installation of third-party programs on a PC. Basically, if users want something for free, they have to be willing to accept the advertising programs that make it free. More and more, lawmakers are bringing new statues and proposing legislation to Congress that seek define what’s illegal and unethical in the world of internet advertising and create a more enjoyable internet experience for all users.
Ridding your PC of spyware is a tedious, long process. It generally cannot be removed like normal, legitimate programs from the control panel and when user’s attempt to remove the spyware in this way, residual programs are often left in the computer’s registry that eventually spawn more spyware attacks. The easiest way to remove spyware is by using a program that specifically targets it such as “Spybot Search & Destroy” or “Ad-Aware” by Lavasoft. PC users looking to rid their computer of harmful spyware must be weary of which program they choose however, as bold advertisers are now using seemingly legitimate spyware programs as a means to install more spyware on PC’s.