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The BearShare file-trading program, "supported" by WhenU spyware. In
order to install BearShare, users must agree to install "the SAVE!
bundle" from WhenU. The installer provides only a tiny window in which
to read the lengthy license agreement. Although the installer claims
otherwise, the software transmits users' browsing activity to WhenU
servers.
Spyware can also come bundled with shareware or other downloadable
software, as well as music CDs. The user downloads a program (for
instance, a music program or a file-trading utility) and installs it,
and the installer additionally installs the spyware. Although the
desirable software itself may do no harm, the bundled spyware does. In
some cases, spyware authors have paid shareware authors to bundle
spyware with their software, as with the Gator spyware now marketed by
Claria. In other cases, spyware authors have repackaged desirable free
software with installers that add spyware.
A third way of distributing spyware involves tricking users by
manipulating security features designed to prevent unwanted
installations. The Internet Explorer Web browser, by design, prevents
websites from initiating an unwanted download. Instead, a user action
(such as clicking on a link) must normally trigger a download.
However, links can prove deceptive: for instance, a pop-up ad may
appear like a standard Windows dialog box. The box contains a message
such as "Would you like to optimise your Internet access?" with links
which look like buttons reading Yes and No. No matter which "button"
the user presses, a download starts, placing the spyware on the user's
system. Later versions of Internet Explorer offer fewer avenues for
this attack.
Some spyware authors infect a system by attacking security holes in
the Web browser or in other software. When the user navigates to a Web
page controlled by the spyware author, the page contains code which
attacks the browser and forces the download and install of spyware.
The spyware author would also have some extensive knowledge of
commercially-available anti-virus and firewall software. This has
become known as a "drive-by download", which leaves the user a hapless
bystander to the attack. Common browser exploits target security
vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and in the Microsoft Java
runtime.
The installation of spyware frequently involves Microsoft's Internet
Explorer. As the most popular Web browser, and with an unfortunate
history of security issues, it has become the largest target. Its deep
integration with the Windows environment and its scriptability make it
an obvious point of attack into Microsoft Windows operating systems.
Internet Explorer also serves as a point of attachment for spyware in
the form of browser helper objects, which modify the browser's
behaviour to add toolbars or to redirect traffic.
In a few cases, a worm or virus has delivered a payload of spyware.
For instance, some attackers used the W32.Spybot.Worm worm to install
spyware that popped up pornographic ads on the infected system's
screen. By directing traffic to ads set up to channel funds to the
spyware authors, they can profit even by such clearly illegal
behaviour.
Effects and behaviours
Many Internet Explorer add-on toolbars monitor the user's activity.
When installed and run without the user's consent, such add-ons count
as spyware. Here multiple toolbars (including both spyware and
innocuous ones) overwhelm an Internet Explorer session.This article or
section does not cite its references or sources.
A piece of spyware rarely "lives" alone: an affected computer can
rapidly become infected with large numbers of spyware components.
Users frequently notice unwanted behavior and degradation of system
performance. A spyware infestation can create significant unwanted CPU
activity, disk usage, and network traffic which thereby slows down
legitimate uses of these resources. Stability issues, such as
application or system-wide crashes, are also common. Spyware which
interferes with networking software commonly causes difficulty
connecting to the Internet.
When Microsoft Windows users seek technical support ? whether from
computer manufacturers, Internet service providers, or other sources,
spyware infection emerges as the most common cause. [citation needed]
In many cases, the user has no awareness of spyware and assumes that
the system performance, stability, and/or connectivity issues relate
to hardware, to Microsoft Windows installation problems, or to a
virus. Some owners of badly infected systems resort to buying an
entire new computer system because the existing system "has become too
slow." Badly infected systems may require a clean reinstall of all
their software in order to restore the system to working order. This
can become a time-consuming task, even for experienced users.
Only rarely does a single piece of software render a computer
unusable. Rather, a computer rarely has only one infection. As the
2004 AOL study noted, if a computer has any spyware at all, it
typically has dozens of different pieces installed. The cumulative
effect, and the interactions between spyware components, typically
cause the stereotypical symptoms reported by users: a computer which
slows to a crawl, overwhelmed by the many parasitic processes running
on it. Moreover, some types of spyware disable software firewalls and
anti-virus software, and/or reduce browser security settings, thus
opening the system to further opportunistic infections, much like an
immune deficiency disease. Documented cases have also occurred where a
spyware program disabled other spyware programs installed by its
competitors.
