Spyware: The Eyes of Strangers

Would you give your house keys to a stranger you met on the street? Most of us would give a resounding no to that question yet thousands of us do exactly that on a daily basis. We send out our social security numbers, banking information and even the names and ages of our children to stranger's every time we turn on our computers.

This is accomplished by mini programs that are often times attached to other programs such as search bars or utilities.
These programs have been appropriately entitled spyware. Spyware is dangerous and hard to control for many reasons. It not only invades the computer users privacy but can cause computer crashes and is extremely hard to legislate.

When it comes to privacy many computer users find themselves running around in the dark. We tend to think of spyware as nothing more than a nuisance that interrupts our daily internet travels. The truth is that spyware is extremely dangerous not only to individual computer users but also to businesses. According to Kian Saneii the vice president of business development at Websense, 30 to 40 percent of their computers are infected with spyware. (Carlson, 2003) This means that the customer information listed on these infected computers is at risk. There is no possible way to know the exact number of business computers infected across the country. The information contained on these computers, however, can be very sensitive.

By definition internet privacy is the ability and right of a computer user to control their personal information and who sees it while on the internet. (Kay, 2004) Spyware takes this control out of the user's hands. It runs invisibly on the computer gathering information and sending it back to the originator of the program. So how much danger are computer users really in? According to a recent article in PC Magazine Sunbelt Software discovered a massive identity-theft ring stealing personal information from literally millions of computers across the country using the very familiar CoolWebSearch spyware program. (Naraine, 2005)

The privacy issue alone is of great concern but when you add the fact that Microsoft has reported one half of all computer crashes this year were caused by spyware the problem becomes even more frustrating. (Vaida, 2004) Computer users are unaware these crashes are linked to spyware programs this unfortunately means that they disregard them. Then the program continues to degrade their system until they need to reformat and reload their operating system causing massive losses in data.

How does spyware cause computer crashes? The answer is quite simple. Spyware runs a number of programs in the background unseen to the user. This will slow the computer, prevent proper connection to the internet and if let go will force your system to crash frequently. (Gutner, 2004)

With all the problems surrounding spyware it is hard to conceive that more laws are not in place to prevent its use and to protect computer users. When it comes to the law, however, things are rarely easy. The main problem is that there are no definite definitions for spyware. What is spyware? No one really seems to know. Generally spyware can be defined as a program that monitors user activity such as key strokes, website visitations and other personal information. (Seltzer, 2005) This term is too broad and covers programs that are not only benign but in the case of NetNanny and other internet monitoring programs are very useful to both parents and employers.

To further complicate the issues each anti-spyware company has its own definitions and standards that they follow in defining spyware and in how they deal with it. (Seltzer, 2005) This means that the infamous CoolWebSearch program would be classified by some anti-spyware programs as a threat but not by others. In an effort to clear this up the Anti-Spyware Coalition has supplied definitions and standards that could possibly be adopted. (Seltzer, 2005)

Another major loop hole is that the bulk of spyware programs enter the computer with the users permission. How is this possible? They are bundled with freeware, shareware and internet downloads. The computer user fails to read the licensing agreement and unknowingly installs the spyware with their desired program. (Gutner, 2004) This is used by many spyware advocates as proof of being legitimate. Both the lack of definition and user permission are major stumbling blocks in the way of tougher laws to prevent spyware attacks.

Spyware is here to stay, at least for a while. Unlike our homes computers do not come with a set of keys and there are no curtains to pull. Users must actively protect themselves and their information. This means becoming informed and realizing that a computer is a window through which the outside world can see and learn everything about us that they desire.

References
Carlson, C. (2003). Tougher spyware bill mulled.. eWeek, 20(47). Retrieved October 23, 2005, from MasterFILE Premier database

Gutner, T. (2004). What's lurking in your pc?. Business Week, (3902). Retrieved October 18, 2005, from MasterFILE Premier database

Kay, R. (2004). Privacy glossary. Computerworld, 38(11). Retrieved October 18, 2005, from MasterFILE Premier database

Naraine, R. (2005). Id theft ring discovered. PC Magazine, 24(17). Retrieved October 23, 2005, from MasterFILE Premier database

Seltzer, L. (2005). Is it spy ware?. PC Magazine, 24(17). Retrieved October 18, 2005, from MasterFILE Premier database

Vaida, B. (2004). Tossing out the script on 'spyware'. Nation Journal, 36(19). Retrieved October 18, 2005, from MasterFILE Premier database