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The Ten
Truth's About Spyware
© 2004 By
Wayne Porter
No one should be too paranoid,
but an informed user is a safe user. Spyware has
recently begun cascading into the computer
market at an astonishing rate. Surprisingly
there are a lot of misconceptions about what
spyware really is and how dangerous it can be.
Fact #1: Spyware and Adware are fundamentally
different-
This is important and often made confusing by
the media and privacy advocates. Many people
have the common misconception that spy software
is made by advertisers to profile their shopping
and surfing habits. This is a false and
potentially dangerous assumption.
This misconception probably stems from the fall
of two companies- Radiate and Conducent. Both of
these companies attempted to sell banner space
inside of freeware applications and to share
this revenue with software authors in exchange
for letting them distribute and selling space
inside the freeware. This seemed to be a fair
deal but what they didn't disclose to software
authors and didn't tell consumers is that they
were secretly profiling and logging surfing
habits and sending this information back to
their servers for analysis.
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Conducent and Radiate are no longer functioning, or at least
they don't seem to be, but they left the legacy of adware
paranoia with them. Adware may have spyware-like features,
it may profile shopping habits, it is usually annoying, has
the potential to be a security threat but it is nowhere near
the security threat that real spyware can be. In short most
Adware is not trying to capture your sëcret chats, e-mails
or passwörds. It usually is trying to entice you to buy
something by showing ads, throwing out pop-up windows,
profiling your surfing habits or gathering broad and general
information about you.
Fact #2: Spy software creates dangerous security holes-
The latest "rage" among spyware vendors is the ability to
let the spy remotely connect to the target's computers. We
have identified several spyware programs opening a default
port on the system and using a hard-coded or default, easy
to guess or easy to brute force password. We have analyzed
and carried out simulated attacks in this scenario. Hackers
can use a simple port scanning tool to scan entire networks
and easily penetrate affected machines.
People who have certain remote spyware programs installed on
their machines are literally sitting ducks. Ironically, in
the case of shared-machine spousal spying, the spy has
actually opened themselves up to severe security threats
because they operate on the same machine as the victim. The
very same spyware that was supposed to protect their
children by monitoring their activity is leaving them
vulnerable to outside attacks.
Fact #3: Spyware is often illegal-
The use of Spyware or key recorders is illegal in some
countries. If you are thinking about spying on people's
computers then think again. It may carry stiff lëgal
penalties, up to and including prison time. In the U.S.
installing a keylogger or spyware on someone's machine
without their permission carries severe lëgal penalties.
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Unfortunately there are virtually no laws
currently restricting an employer from
monitoring computers in the workplace for
citizens of the United States. The good news
is there is pending legislation to tighten
these rules focusing on requiring
notification of employees if their computer
activity is being monitored. As of today
this disclosure is not required.
Recently The Utah state legislature passed a
bill, the Utah Spyware Control Act,
outlawing certain activities in which most
spyware engages. This includes, without
first seeking permission from the owner of
the computer, reporting online behavior,
sending information about a user to third
parties and creating pop-up advertisements
based on the context of a web site a person
is visiting. Currently this bill is being
challenged by WhenU, a large adware vendor,
on the grounds of limiting frëe speech.
Fact #4: Spyware is common-
We know what you might be thinking; spy
software seems rather "James Bondish" and
beyond the reach of average users. This is
not so. It is mass-marketed, cheap and very
easy to acquire. You can find spyware for
sale through Internet auctions, via e-mails
(often sp@m), and all over the Web. You can
even get spyware for frëe if you know where
to look.
Fact #5: Spyware is easy to install-
There are no special technical skills needed
to install these programs. A teenager can do
it and according to reports received by
ourselves and other anti-spyware vendors
they sometimes do. Spy software companies
have made it very easy for just about anyone
to start spying. We have documented cases of
children installing spyware on their
parent's machines to circumvent parental
control software.
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Fact #6: Spyware may be sold under legitïmate
pretenses-
Many spy programs are marketed as "child monitoring
systems" when in fact they are bought by employers,
spouses, and other individuals for the sole purpose
of gathering system and personal information without
a user's consent. Because of this "legitimacy" these
programs are often missed by anti-virus software
designed to target viruses and trojan horses. Let's
be realistic, spy software makers know exactly why
people are really buying these programs.
We believe parents have a right to monitor there
children but if a system is monitored it should be
made clear this software is in place and the
software should give the user adequate warning while
it is in operation. The same holds true for
employers and employees.
Fact #7: Spies intentionally 'misuse' monitoring
software-
Established spy software companies usually ask
purchasers to agree through a EULA (End User License
Agreement) not to monitor users without their
knowledge and consent. You guessed it- most spies
have absolutely no intention of letting users know
they are under surveillance.
Fact #8: Spyware software can be detected-
Spy software makers will go to great lengths to
convince users they are 'untraceable' or they cannot
be sniffed out by counter-surveillance probes. While
spyware makers often use very sophisticated
counter-detection and stealth technologies the vast
majority of them can be scanned against and removed.
If it is being sold on the commercial market- it can
be targeted.
Fact #9: Some commercial spy programs are
repurposed 'Trojan horses'-
This is sad but shockingly true. Some spyware
vendors have gone as far as to repurpose old Trojan
horse programs found on technical minded boards and
are selling them as new spy technology. (A Trojan
horse is a malicious, security-breaking program
disguised as something benign.)
Fact#10: Deleting history and computer use logs
does nothing against true spyware-
While erasing usage history is useful to protect
your privacy this type of protection is useless if
your activity is being logged or snapshots are being
taken of your computer use. Deleting history, files,
cache and cookies cannot and will not protect you
against the prying eyes of active spies on your
machine.
The safest way to remain frëe from spyware is to use
one or more anti-spy programs that actively scan
your system for intrusion and utilities that help
inoculate your system from penetration. Good
anti-spy programs will use a variety of methods for
detection including registry scanning, md5
signatures, digital fingerprints, filesize, CLSID,
windows titles and other traces that spyware leaves
on your machine.
Even with anti-spy software programs active, do not
develop a false sense of security. The battle to
contain these programs rages on daily basis with
some rogue programs creating over two-hundrend
variants in a single day! One lapse in security can
lead to unwanted infection, so above all- use common
sense. Don't download files from sites you don't
know or trust, don't use P2P file sharing software,
do not open e-mail attachments and be sure you have
good anti-virus and firewall software running at all
times.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Wayne Porter is the Co-Founder of
SpywareGuide.com a leading online database of spyware and
adware information. Mr. Porter also serves as CEO of
Xblock Software
the creators of the popular X-Cleaner and RegBlock personal privacy
products.
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