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When you visit Web sites or open email messages,
tracking programs can be installed on your computer without
your knowledge. Spyware infects an estimated 90% of all
Internet-connected computers. Most spyware is designed
to track your Web browsing and online purchasing habits,
but some programs can leave you vulnerable to identity
theft, data corruption, or personal profiling.
Adware is advertising-supported software
that displays pop-up advertisements whenever the program
is running. Often the software is available online for
free, and the advertisements create revenue for the company.
Although it's seemingly harmless (aside from the intrusiveness
and annoyance of pop-up ads), adware can install components
onto your computer that track personal information (including
your age, sex, location, buying preferences, or surfing
habits) for marketing purposes.
Most advertising-supported software
doesn't inform you when it installs adware on your system.
Adware does require initial consent from you, but in many
cases the software will not function without the adware
component. Some adware can infiltrate your computer even
though you decline the installation.
Cookies are pieces of software that
Web sites store on your hard drive when you visit a site.
Some cookies exist just to save you time-for example,
when you check a box for a Web site to remember your password
on your computer. But some sites now deposit adware cookies,
which store personal information (like your surfing habits,
usernames and passwords, and areas of interest) and share
the information with other Web sites. This sharing of
information allows marketing firms to create a user profile
based on your personal information and sell it to other
firms.
Adware cookies are installed and accessed
without your knowledge or consent.
These programs monitor your computer
activity. System monitors can capture virtually everything
you do on your computer, from keystrokes, emails, and
chat room dialogue, to which sites you visit and which
programs you run. System monitors usually run in the background
so that you don't know you're being watched. The information
gathered by the system monitor is stored on your computer
in an encrypted log file for later retrieval. Some programs
can even email the log files to another location.
There has been a recent wave of system
monitoring tools disguised as email attachments or free
software products.
Trojan horses are malicious programs
that appear as harmless or desirable applications. Trojan
horses are designed to steal or encode computer data,
and to destroy your system. Some Trojan horses, called
RATs (Remote Administration Tools), give attackers unrestricted
access to your computer whenever you are online. The attacker
can perform activities such as file transfers, adding
or deleting files and programs, and controlling your mouse
and keyboard.
Trojan horses are distributed as email attachments,
or they can be bundled with other software programs. |
