Feeling more secure these days because your IT people have installed anti-virus software and firewalls to protect your computer systems? Don't get comfortable yet.
The latest threat to hit our precious data systems is spyware, which like spam, was once considered just an annoyance, but has since blossomed into an imminent threat. The House of Representatives and several states have passed legislation attempting to criminalize its use.
Spyware is a program or program plug-in that once put on a computer system gathers data about that system's use. A large problem with it, however, is that users often have no idea the program has been installed because it's packaged with seemingly harmless free downloads such as simple calendars or desktop icons. In fact, the National Cyber Security Alliance says more than 90 percent of all web users unknowingly have spyware installed on their computers.
While spyware started out as an attempt by marketers to monitor a user's activity to find pockets of opportunity, it has grown to a point where criminals are using the software to gather sensitive data (including financial records), to gain access to passwords, to perform large-scale attacks against certain websites and all sorts of other nasty tasks.
But perhaps the greatest danger it poses is that people don't see it as a danger until an incident occurs, which often takes the form of a computer or a web browser slowing way down or pop-up ads that keep appearing even when no one is on the Internet. And people generally believe that other forms of computer protection software will protect them, which is rarely the case. Software companies have created fixes for specific spyware problems, but those fixes usually work only for one type.
A recent survey by Equation Research for security vendor Webroot, found that of the 275 IT managers and executives interviewed, 70 percent considered spyware a danger and 82 percent said desktops in their organization were infected. Yet 96 percent also indicated that they think anti-virus and firewall defenses protect them from all outside threats, and fewer than 10 percent had deployed specific anti-spyware software to protect their networks.
One company, Aluria Software, feels the problem is acute enough that it is offering a Spyware SAFE certification program - it will test a company's site to ensure it adheres to strict criteria, then certify that the site is spyware-free. Another computer software security company, iolo technologies, LLC, has initiated a web site dedicated to the education and eradication of spyware www.spython.com
Check with your software company to see if it can help you find a program specifically designed to detect and remove spyware.
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