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Published: 11 Aug 2006
What exactly is spyware? Wenpoint Security Team defines it as "any application that stealthily utilize a user's Internet connection without their permission or knowledge, and gathers or transmits information on the user or their Internet browsing behavior."
Spyware can secretly record personal information through multiple techniques including logging keystrokes, recording web browsing history and scanning documents on a computer's hard drive and flash drive. According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. In fact, one of the biggest problems with spyware is that some malicious programes can collect personal information, including user names and passwords, history of website visits, and online search pharase. This can lead to other problems such as identity theft, which in turn can result in legal action, fines from failing to comply with regulations and privacy laws, and bad publicity.
Spyware can exist in several different forms, such as keylogger. Wenpoint Security Team defines keylogger as a software program that surreptitiously records keystrokes and then transmits the log of keyboard activity through Internet to someone else, who used to be hackers. Keyloggers are common in trojans, but are sometimes used in the payloads of viruses. Keyloggers are also available in commercial form. Commercial keyloggers are sometimes used to spy on targeted users. When a keylogger is installed all information typed into the keyboard is at risk including passwords, account numbers, and other personally identifiable information.
Spyware also appears in the form of backdoors. These are programs that secretly open file and other resource access to a others through a network connection. An intruder could use backdoor to exploit a system's vulnerability and open it to future access.
The more spread spyware exists in browser plugin, like Internet Explorer Browser Helper Objects(BHO) and Firefox plugin. Browser Helper Objects (BHO) are executable applications that attach to Internet Explorer and later and have access to all of Internet Explorer’s objects and events. They can manipulate what you see on the screen, have access to every place that you visit with your webserver, and have access to all information you sent to a website including usernames, passwords, and other personal and sensitive information. They also have access to the Internet and can send information to a listening server.