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Spyware
and what you should know about it |  |
Spyware is one of the most common types of malware in circulation.
As its name suggests, this type of program is designed to snoop on users’
activity, especially when they are connected to the Internet. As any kind of spyware
essentially compromises the confidentiality of data stored on a computer, it is
considered a potential threat that needs to be dealt with.
These applications
collect and send out information about the websites most frequently visited by
users, the connection time, etc. Similarly, they can capture data about the computer
on which they are installed: operating system, processor, memory, etc. There are
even spy programs that detect and report if software installed on a PC is original
or not.
These programs have become so widespread, largely due to
a set of common characteristics, including:- Near perfect camouflage techniques.
Spyware is usually installed along with other applications: P2P application clients,
hard disk utilities, etc.
- Inconspicuous file names, allowing them to go
unnoticed along with the rest of the files belonging to an application.
- As
they are not viruses and don’t use any routines that can connect them to
viruses, antivirus programs don’t detect spyware, unless they have been
specially programmed to do so.
- They don’t show any visible symptoms
in the computer, neither when they are installed nor when they are running. For
this reason, users don’t usually worry about whether these types of applications
are installed on their computers or not and as a result, spyware can hide in systems
for a long time.
Source: http://www.pandasoftware.com | |
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