Spyware is a broad category of software that usually runs in the background on your computer, watching and recording your activities and gathering information about you. Many popular freeware and music programs silently install Spyware along with their software. Some Spyware may have lengthy user agreements, 15 or more pages, that you implicitly "agree to" when you click "yes" or "next" to install an application. Some Spyware programs even monitor your Web surfing habits and launch targeted Pop-Up and Pop-Under ads.

Some Spyware programs often run completely hidden - neither visible in the task list nor the standard startup areas. Even after you think you have uninstalled the Spyware program, Spyware may re-install itself and continue to be an annoyance. Other security software, such as virus scanners and firewall's are not designed to detect or protect you from this type of invasion.

Hacker Busted for Identity Theft: Teen tricked surfers into downloading a key-logging tool. —IDG News Service: Thursday, October 09, 2003 The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against a young Pennsylvania man for computer hacking and identity theft in a scheme last July to dump worthless options for Cisco Systems stock. —Full Story

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'Spyware' steps out of the shadows': CNET News.com November 19, 2003 —More dangerous are the kinds of software programs like the one found by Clearswift in its "Wedding Invitation" e-mail. That program, a commercially available "remote surveillance" application called iSpyNow, allows the spying software to be disguised on a computer, and then reports back every keystroke that is made on the computer to whoever installed it. These kinds of remote-spying applications were solely the property of hackers or other malicious computer programmers, but for the past few months they have been marketed by some vendors as ways to keep tabs on children's or spouses' computer use. Corporations are increasingly worried that these types of "key loggers" might also be installed by hackers or spammers on employees' machines, capturing confidential data. —Full story.

Spyware is a generic term for many different kinds of malware [Malware (for malicious software) is any program or file that is harmful to a computer user. Thus, malware includes computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and also spyware — programming that gathers information about a computer user without permission]. Some are fairly friendly like tracking cookies, but there is malicious code out there that really has no other motive than to steal. That might be your identity, or the use of your computer, and/or your social [insurance] security and/or credit card info. In many cases, it is now organized cybercrime that does their nefarious work via internet sites in Russia, Asia the Middle-East and South America.

If you see popups you did not ask for, or your browser gets hijacked, or your PC is slowing down and your CPU is busy inexplicably, you have a good chance your PC is owned by someone other than you. Computers that are always on are now often used to send spam, send viruses, or are part of a network of zombies that are controlled by the bad guys and used to attack another sites.

IT-Expert on Call recommends that you should consider purchasing:

• Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware applications like: ESET NOD32 Antivirus + AntiSpyware  Runs quietly in the background. Proactive, precise, lightweight and fast
• Make sure to update the virus and spyware definitions on a daily bases by utilizing auto-updates scheduling.

Of special Interest: Learn about Bots and Botnets