Courtney, You have a misconception about what spyware is. In contrast to software which logs keystrokes, etc. (which would be classified as keylogging software), spyware is software that is designed to return information about your websurfing habits to a central server somewhere. Spyware is often packaged with some other piece of software, ofter 'freeware' or shareware, and its installation is often (but not always) disclosed in the license agreement that comes with the primary software. The usual purveyors of spyware are marketing firms who want to collect information about websurfing habits and online purchase behavior. None of the spyware that I am aware of actually performs any type of keylogging activity per se, but there are clear and significant privacy issues associated with it, and in some cases, the spyware application(s) have been associated with instability of the underlying OS. In addition, they can really clog up your LAN bandwidth.
The best known spyware removal software is called 'Ad-aware' from Lavasoft (you should be able to google for them). The software is free, and they also provide a free updating utility to make sure you have the most recent spyware signature files. Fred -----Original Message----- From: Carere, Courtney [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 11:49 AM To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Subject: Adware, spyware, and trojans -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Upon reading "The Art of Deception" by Kevin Mitnick yesterday (an excellent book, by the way), he writes that most antivirus software does not detect spyware, which was a shock to me. Spyware seems to be defined as software that logs keystrokes, screenshots, user actions, etc. I have a couple of questions: 1. What's the distinction between spyware, adware, and trojan software? (My antivirus software says it protects against Trojans, and I've seen programs like SubSeven in its log files.) 2. Is there any good software that detects and removes spyware, ideally controlled and updated continuously from a central server? Thanks! - - Courtney Carere -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP 7.0.4 iQA/AwUBPfDTHHcM/5zG0KHEEQIcrACg73VSeTkX/ecvtX+HOWnFNCVNsUUAoMqs n4t8pKXIbtMIQaMiwRhLW/gN =4uWy -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
