Spyware
Spyware is becoming a reoccurring topic of conversation with most computer users nowadays. It has evolved into one of the most annoying and frustrating problems your computer can encounter. Although it is not a virus, it can still rob the computer of vital processing power. It is not there to actually harm the computer, but to hide behind the scenes and view the computer’s activity. In some cases, this is actually worse than a virus.
Spyware is a category of computer programs that attaches itself to the specific operating system. They are designed to track your Internet habits, nag users with unwanted sales offers or generate traffic for their host Web site. According to recent estimates, more than two-thirds of all personal computers are infected with some kind of spyware. This is disturbing given the fact that computers are becoming a necessity in America’s society.
Mistakes are often made when people believe their computers have been attacked by a virus, when in reality it is often spyware. A computer virus is a piece of code designed to replicate itself as many times as possible, spreading from one host computer to any other computers connected to it. It can damage your personal files and sometimes even the operating system. The damage spyware inflicts is actually more of a by-product of its real mission, which is to serve users targeted advertisements and/or make your browser display sites or search results.
Spyware does not affect everyone however, as it mainly targets the Windows Operating System. People who use Macintosh Operating Systems are relatively safe from spyware infections, but that does not mean spyware companies are not trying. At the rate in which spyware has made itself so popular, the p...
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...suspicious of installing new software, and use the “X” to close pop-up windows.
Although there is no way to tell where spyware is heading in the future, with the knowledge of prevention and treating infections, people are able to keep their computers safe from harm and intrusions. Just because spyware is illegal, it still happens. Companies will do anything to find new ways to make a “quick buck.”
Works Cited
Coustan, Dave. “How Spyware Works.” How Stuff Works. Retrieved 28 Nov. 2006
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Source: McAfee. Spyware - A Hidden Menace. 3 Jun. 2004. Retrieved 28 Nov. 2006.
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Wagner, Christian. “Spyware/Adware/Malware FAQ.” Retrieved 29 Nov. 2006
At the Aim Higher College there have been recently discovered malware on the campus systems that are due to many recent attacks. I used an Anti-virus protection software called AVG on the computer systems on campus and ran a whole computer scan. The results came back very quick of numbers of malware being high and medium priorities that these should not be taken lightly. Furthermore, the scan found many viruses, Trojans, and malicious software and applications.
Online predators, pornography, drug trafficking, piracy, and hate sites are just some of the dangers that a child can face on the internet. The article “The Undercover Parent” by Harlan Coben states that parents should use spyware to monitor their children. Coben argues that parents should be able to know what is in their children’s lives. he believes that spyware can prevent children from being targeted by internet predators on social networking sites and even prevent children from being cyber bullied. I agree with Coben’s claim that parents should consider using spyware as a protection for their teens online. There are many possible dangers facing children on the internet and it is essential that parents install spyware.
Privacy and security issues have become one of the top concerns among computer users in today’s market. It has become a game of survival of the fittest in protection of your security. The only true way to defend yourself is knowledge. You should prepare your self against hackers, spammers and potential system crashing viruses and web bugs. Lets focus on how you can protect yourselves from the would be thieves.
Everyone deserves privacy, whether on the Internet or in person. Even Coben acknowledges that “there is a fine line between being responsibly protective and irresponsibly nosy” (Coben). Keylogging through spyware
Ever since day one, people have been developing and creating all sorts of new methods and machines to help better everyday life in one way or another. Who can forget the invention of the ever-wondrous telephone? And we can’t forget how innovative and life-changing computers have been. However, while all machines have their positive uses, there can also be many negatives depending on how one uses said machines, wiretapping in on phone conversations, using spyware to quietly survey every keystroke and click one makes, and many other methods of unwanted snooping have arisen. As a result, laws have been made to make sure these negative uses are not taken advantage of by anyone.
Marshall, KP & Swartwout, N 2006 “Marketing and Internet Professionals' Fiduciary Responsibility: A Perspective on Spyware..” Journal of Internet Commerce, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 109–126. (online EBSCOHOST)
In the beginning hackers hacked into computers and networks out of curiosity or for fun, but more recently they have been caught using their skills for personal financial gain (Stein). Hackers who use the skills for crimes are sometimes referred to as black hatters and the hackers whom are working for good, such as working for law enforcement, are referred to as white hatters (Chamelin475). Six months into the year 2010 cyber-crimes had jumped from sixty million to one hundred-eighty million cyber-crime cases (Chamelin475). One of the most popular forms of cyber intrusion is through malware or malicious software. Malware is any software with the intentions of blocking computer use remotely, to covertly steal computer data, to secretly intercept computer data, or to subvert the transmission of data for personal profit. Most malware is...
Harlan Coben’s article, The Undercover Parent (2008), claims that keeping an eye on your kids with spyware isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I agree with his argument, because without any sort of online monitoring, your child could get into serious trouble.
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The advantages of technology and the internet have led more criminals to use cyberspace to commit crimes. The threat of cybercrime is increasing as globalization continues to spread across the world. While the impact of globalization has led to amazing, new discoveries throughout the world, Internet connectivity has also made cybercrime easier. America and the rest of the world have become more reliant on technology and use it in more aspects of their lives, technology-users make themselves more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Globalization and the growing use of computers in the world have given people a motive to learn more about computing and become more knowledgeable as programmers. As these people learn more, there is a risk that they will use their new intelligence to commit cybercrimes.