Chapter one Spyware The ultimate uninvited guest Defining spyware

Short Description
Techies adopted the term spyware as their own in 1999, … Spyware describes software that is installed on a computer and covertly gathers …

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Content
Chapter one
Spyware: The ultimate uninvited guest
Spyware. This sinister-sounding word conjures up an assortment of images, from tiny
CIA espionage cameras to those annoying pop-up ads that infest computer systems.
Techies adopted the term spyware as their own in 1999, using it to describe software that
is installed on a computer to record information about the computer user. In the last four
years, spyware, like viruses, has grown into a plague that affects almost everyone who
uses a computer. Regardless of how well you police against them, spyware installations
still manage to find their way onto computer systems. Let’s look at the purpose of
spyware, some examples of how these applications are propagated, and how these
programs work.
Defining spyware
Spyware describes software that is installed on a computer and covertly gathers
information through the user’s Internet connection without his or her knowledge. Often
benign in nature, spyware is most commonly used to collect information for advertising
purposes. As with viruses, many types of spyware exist. These categories tend to overlap,
and the terms that describe them are often used interchangeably. The following list
defines several types of spyware and illustrates the differences between them.