- spyware -

Spyware or 'snoopware' is a relatively new and underestimated threat that often gets over looked or ignored as a minor inconvenience. Adware is more of an inconvenience bringing pop ups onto your screen and downloading usually harmless but irritating software. Spyware is potentially more lethal being able to record passwords and private information and send them onto the Internet for users to see.

The varying levels of Spyware and Adware range from annoyances to serious security threats. At the lower end of the scale is Parasiteware.

- Parasiteware Threats -

Parasiteware also known as Scumware is software that can divert links you click on and guide you to alternative sites that increase in revenue every time someone visits the site. Affiliate tracking links are often found on free sites on the basis that the free sites will attract people to the click on the legitimate affiliate link so that the company responsible for bringing you the free site and keep it going, will receive money when you visit the site. This a kind of way the free site can pay rent for having a website on the internet for free. The Parasiteware can hijack the links you click on which would normally take you to legitimate affiliate sites, and direct you to other affiliate websites usually associated with the Parasiteware or Adware, therefore denying the legitimate site the money they should get. This not only fuels the makers of the Parasiteware, but also restricts you visiting the sites you wish to visit. There is also potential for you to be re-directed to sites where the Internet Browser borne viruses can infect you just by visiting the website.

Adware is slightly more serious and a lot more annoying. Adware is responsible for a host of issues from repeated popups with advertisements to re-setting your homepage. The popups are not to be confused with legitimate popup window ads on some sites. As mentioned in the Parasiteware section, free sites (as well as paid sites) rely on the visitor clicking on advertisements to provide revenue for them. So it is not uncommon for a site to have a popup to appear when you visit the a page occasionally. If you have several popups appear whether you are surfing or not, and sometimes have windows keep repeatedly appear and multiply on your screen, this is a result of Adware. Adware is can be downloaded by 'drive by' downloads occurring without your consent when you visit a webpage, or is often bundled with free software. If you read the End User License Agreement (EULA) somewhere contained within this it will say something regarding the installation of third party products and often admit the fact it is Malware, Adware, or Spyware. For this reason it is a good idea to read this agreement before you install free software. Known offenders for this sort of activity are free shareware programs such as popular music or file sharing download programs. Adware is notoriously difficult to delete and very stubborn when it comes to removing the software from the computer, often having several pages of forms to be filled out and submitted before the software will be removed. Besides this point, a lot of software you install rely on this malware to be installed so that it can run. So beware when running Adware removal tools that the removal of some of the Adware can have a detrimental effect on some shareware installed programs on your PC.

Spyware is quite a large threat and can have tendencies similar to Trojans such as logging activity on your computer and then sending it across the Internet. Spyware can record your history of websites visited, every press on your keyboard you make (key logging), passwords used, credit card numbers and other sensitive or confidential information recorded on your computer. This information is stored and logged somewhere on your computer secretly regardless of whether you are connected to Internet at that time. This information will be sent when you are connected to the Internet to a source others have access to. Sometimes the Spyware software can try to connect you to the Internet automatically. Sometimes set to a certain time at night according to the system clock on your computer in the hope you will be asleep or away from you computer. Spyware is getting increasingly more dangerous and starting to have viral tendencies such as disabling your AntiVirus or Spyware programs installed on your machine, and giving the Spyware applications polymorphic abilities to prevent Spyware removal tools from removing the threats.