What is Spyware ?
Jul 27th, 2007 by Vladimir Flemming
Spyware who ? Is that a spy? A detective?… in case you asked yourself this when reading the title of this article you would like to read forward.
Spyware is a computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer, without the user’s informed consent. (English
Wikipedia)
Even if Spyware makes you think it’s a software that secretly monitors your activity as a personal computer user, the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. This kind of software can collect various types of personal information without your consent, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing software, redirecting the web browser activity, etc.
Adware which often is synonymous with spyware is spyware that monitors your access for the intent of delivering advertisments. SPyware may display pop-up advertisments no matter what software you are using, but most spyware instead hooks into your web browser to deliver advertisments based on where you travel on the Internet.
The first recorded use of the term spyware occurred on October 16, 1995 in a Usenet post that poked fun at Microsoft’s business model. Spyware at first denoted hardware meant for espionage purposes. However, in early 2000 the founder of Zone Labs, Gregor Freund, used the term in a press release for the Zone Alarm Personal Firewall.
According to a 2005 study by AOL and the National Cyber-Security Alliance, 61% of surveyed users’ computers had some form of spyware and 92% did not know about the existence of this kind of software on their systems.
Unlike viruses and worms, spyware does not usually self-replicate. Like many recent viruses, however, spyware — by design — exploits infected computers for commercial gain.
Source: Wikipedia.com