What is Spyware and How Do I Get Rid of It ? Q and A

Q: What is "Spyware?"

A: There are four general types of software out there:

1. Freeware - This type of software is available for free, no strings attached, usually online. You can download, install, and use it as often as you want.
2. Shareware - This type of software is usually distributed free of charge, but you're expected to pay a small fee to the author if you like it and use it on a regular basis.
3. For-pay Software - This type of software is purchased online or in a retail store. You fork over money to buy a license for the right to use the software.
4. Ad-aware - This type of software, usually available online, is offered to the user at no charge. However, the author of the software still wants to get paid, so he incorporates advertising technology into the software. As a result, you get the software for free, but you have to view banner ads while using the software. Sometimes ad-aware is offered also in a for-pay version that does not include the ads, giving you a choice from free and ads, or for-pay without ads.

However, there is a major catch with most (not all) ad-aware programs. In order to deliver the advertising to you, the installation program for the software not only installs the program you want, but also installs additional tracking software without your knowledge.

This tracking software monitors your surfing habits and sends this data back "home" any time you're online, again without your knowledge. The advertising company analyzes the data and uses it to deliver targeted ads to you when you use said software. For example, if you have visited several web sites checking out DVDs, this information will be sent back to the marketing company, resulting in them displaying DVD-related advertisements when you use the software.

Therefore, any software that tracks users' surfing habits, abuses a user's Internet connection to secretly send data "home", or employs any other techniques to profile or gather data about a user without express permission is called "Spyware."

Spyware also comes in other forms such as cookies that track your surfing habits.

Q: What's the problem with Spyware?

A: Spyware enables advertising and marketing companies to gather data about you without your knowledge, abuse your Internet connection to send the data back to them, analyze and profile the data, then use it for their own profit by selling advertisement.

This is an inexcusable invasion of anybody's privacy. If somebody asked you whether it's OK for somebody to look over your shoulder while you surf, make notes of sites and products you view, put this info into a database, use this info to serve you annoying ads and on top of that make money off of it, would you say "Yes, sure, go ahead" and be comfortable with that? Didn't think so.

Some of the companies defend themselves by pointing out that they clearly disclaim their practices in the fine print. However, any user you ask and inform about this type of software didn't realize it at the time she or he was installing it.

The majority of companies distributing Spyware are very covert about it and take extra steps to hide the presence and activity of these Spyware components, making it even more despicable.

In addition, Spyware only encourages and enhances annoying pop-up ads and flashing banners, wastes your bandwidth, screen real estate, time, and disk space.

Some Spyware is also known to cause crashes and stability problems on users' computers. Other Spyware offers a serious security risk by opening a backdoor on your system, offering the capability to secretly install software.

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