Spyware—What is it?
- Posted by Giselle on January 25th, 2008 filed in Spyware
Spyware is most often associated with software that displays advertisements (called adware) or software that tracks personal or sensitive information. It is a general term used to describe software that performs certain behaviors such as advertising, collecting personal information, or changing the configuration of your computer, generally without appropriately obtaining your consent first. There are software, though, that provides ads or tracks your online activities which are not considered bad. Example is when you sign up for a free music service, with a trade off of agreeing to receive targeted ads, as such agree to let the company track your online activities to determine which ads to show you.
There are spyware that makes changes to your computer, which can cause your computer to slow down or crash, or change your Web browser’s home page or search page. Sometimes they add additional components that you do not want to your browser, making it very difficult for you to change your settings back to the way you originally had them.
Spyware or other unwanted software can get on your computer in various ways. One way to avoid this is to covertly install the software while installing other software you like, such as a music or video file sharing programs. Make sure you carefully read all disclosures, including the license agreement and privacy statement, when you install something on your computer. Chances are, the inclusion of unwanted software in a given software installation is documented at the end of a license agreement or privacy statement.