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Malicious websites may attempt to install spyware on readers'
computers. In this screenshot a spamblog has triggered a pop-up that
offers spyware in the guise of a security upgrade.In the field of
computing, the term spyware refers to a broad category of malicious
software designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer's
operation without the informed consent of that machine's owner or
legitimate user. While the term taken literally suggests software that
surreptitiously monitors the user, it has come to refer more broadly
to software that subverts the computer's operation for the benefit of
a third party.
Spyware differs from viruses and worms in that it does not usually
self-replicate. Like many recent viruses, however, spyware ? by design
? exploits infected computers for commercial gain. Typical tactics
furthering this goal include delivery of unsolicited pop-up
advertisements; theft of personal information (including financial
information such as credit card numbers); monitoring of Web-browsing
activity for marketing purposes; or routing of HTTP requests to
advertising sites.
As of 2005, spyware has become one of the pre-eminent security threats
to computer-systems running Microsoft Windows operating-systems (and
especially to users of Internet Explorer because of that browser's
collaboration with the Windows operating system). Some malware on the
Linux and Mac OS X platforms has behaviour similar to Windows spyware,
but to date has not become anywhere near as widespread due to their
comparatively smaller user base.
History and development
The first recorded use of the term spyware occurred on October 17,
1994 in a Usenet post that poked fun at Microsoft's business model.
Spyware later came to refer to espionage equipment such as tiny
cameras. However, in early 2000 the founder of Zone Labs, Gregor
Freund, used the term in a press release for the ZoneAlarm Personal
Firewall. Since then, computer-users have used the term in its current
sense.
In early 2000, Steve Gibson of Gibson Research realised that
advertising software had been installed on his system, and he
suspected that the software was stealing his personal information.
After analyzing the software he determined that they were adware
components from the companies Aureate (later Radiate) and Conducent.
He eventually retracted his claim that the ad software collected
information without the user's knowledge, but still chastised the ad
companies for covertly installing the spyware and making it difficult
to remove.
As a result of his analysis in 2000, Gibson released the first anti-spyware
program, OptOut, and many more software-based antidotes have appeared
since then. International Charter now offers software developers a
Spyware-Free Certification program.
According to a November 2004 study by AOL and the National
Cyber-Security Alliance, 80% of surveyed users' computers had some
form of spyware, with an average of 93 spyware components per
computer. 89% of surveyed users with spyware reported that they did
not know of its presence, and 95% reported that they had not given
permission for the installation of the spyware.
Spyware, "adware", and tracking
The term adware frequently refers to any software which displays
advertisements, whether or not it does so with the user's consent.
Programs such as the Eudora mail client display advertisements as an
alternative to shareware registration fees. These classify as "adware"
in the sense of advertising-supported software, but not as spyware.
Adware in this form does not operate surreptitiously or mislead the
user, and provides the user with a specific service.
Many of the programs frequently classified as spyware function as
adware in a different sense: their chief observed behaviour consists
of displaying advertising. Claria Corporation's Gator Software and
Exact Advertising's BargainBuddy provide examples of this sort of
program. Visited Web sites frequently install Gator on client machines
in a surreptitious manner, and it directs revenue to the installing
site and to Claria by displaying advertisements to the user. The user
experiences a large number of pop-up advertisements.
Other spyware behaviours, such as reporting on websites the user
visits, frequently accompany the displaying of advertisements.
Monitoring web activity aims at building up a marketing profile on
users in order to sell "targeted" advertisement impressions. The
prevalence of spyware has cast suspicion upon other programs that
track Web browsing, even for statistical or research purposes. Some
observers describe the Alexa Toolbar, an Internet Explorer plug-in
published by Amazon.com, as spyware (and some anti-spyware programs
report it as such) although many users choose to install it.
Routes of infection
Spyware does not directly spread in the manner of a computer virus or
worm: generally, an infected system does not attempt to transmit the
infection to other computers. Instead, spyware gets on a system
through deception of the user or through exploitation of software
vulnerabilities.
