The Spy Who Robbed Me: What You Need To Know About Spyware
The Spy Who Robbed Me: What You Need To Know About Spyware
With the exception of those who are battling in reality TV programs, who wants to be watched? Who wants to be seen in their most vulnerable and private moments? Who wants to be stripped of his privacy and his freedom to keep things for and to himself? Above all, who wants to risk his security by unwittingly exposing the things he should be keeping a secret to someone who's watching from afar?
Before you start wondering if we're referring to a psychopathic voyeur who is observing you from the building close to your house, let us clarify that we're going to discuss spyware. Yes. Spyware: a program which has been the bane of Internet users for the past few years.
Spyware is one of those things that was invented for a good purpose, but was eventually exploited in time. Spyware was originally meant as a tool that would allow you to monitor the usage of your PC terminal while you're away from the keyboard so that you can prevent illegal access to the same. Eventually, it found alternative borderline uses, like catching a cheating spouse or significant other, snooping on your daughter's liaisons, and watching over your children's Internet activities from a remote computer.
From pure to gray to black, spyware has since become a backdoor to high technology security protocols. It does this, not by hacking any system, but rather, by deluding an user into unwittingly installing the spyware program on his PC. From there, the program would work invisibly, sending key logs, or log files of the characters you have tapped on your keyboard, to someone else on a remote terminal. This is why spyware is also known as a key logger program.
Eventually, spyware evolved into more damaging forms. Today, you may have invisible scripts redirecting you to certain websites which you do not want to view, or pop-ups that keep sprouting left and right even if you're viewing a pop-up free website. This has impelled the Anti-Spyware Coalition, a group of industry giants who are adversely affected by this digital malady as well, to label spyware as something that "impairs users control over material changes that affect their user experience, privacy or system security; use of their system resources, including what programs are installed on their computers; or collection, use and distribution of their personal or otherwise sensitive information."
The security risks posed by spyware programs cannot be dismissed. Imagine engaging in an online transaction wherein you send your credit card details in a secured network, only to find you have lost such details once you log off as your key logs would be sent to A third party. Also, personal details can be stolen, resulting into a greater risk for your actual safety.
But it is the violation of your rights that is the biggest issue. With spyware, your freedom of choice and to feel secure about your personal effects is deprived of you. This has no room in an advanced society.
Indeed, spyware is a modern day affliction that should be curbed. It now comes in a range of forms aside from the aforementioned key loggers:
. ADWARE - is an invisible program that sends exact banners for you to see. It may seem innocent, but this program actually compels your PC to send personal information to the mother source so that the latter may identify which ads to display. Get a free trial spyware remover here: http://eauthorresources.com/naw.htm
. HIJACKERS - these are programs that take command of your browsers, opening up pages which you do not elect to view.
. MALWARE - these are programs which are not spyware per se, but operate under a similar principle. They are determined scripts that don't appear to stop until your data is destroyed. Examples of these programs are Trojans and worm viruses.
There are a lot of free tools on the Internet that would allow you to rid your computer of these malicious programs. Sometimes, however, the process of cleaning up can cause the loss of valuable files. The maxim "an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure" seems to be the most fitting policy as regards spyware. Regularly update your anti-virus setup, so that spyware may not be allowed to incubate in your hard drive.
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