what is spyware?

[lokeshdb_ms]

hi all there

well it's a matter of laugh so lol but i wan to know what are spyware's and adware and how there infections could be disastrous, are they differ from virus infections,

i m asking it because i have read alot about new spywares, people geting into trouble, etc, never have come to know what are spywares or may be i never got struk with one allthough some of my friends do got hit by them but all i got from them is "help me i got it and need a remover".

Lokeshdb_ms

[nihil]

OK

1. Spyware.................as the name implies, it spies on you and collects computer usage information. Mostly this is for dubious "market research" purposes, but could also be used to target you for SPAM or even collect personal information, passwords, credit card details and so on.

2. Adware.............this is used to "serve" adverts to you as pop-ups or whatever. It also has the nasty habit of hijacking your browser start page or re-directing you to sites it wishes to advertise.

3. Diallers..............you forgot those these attempt to connect you to premium rate sites (usually pornographic) so you end up with an enormous telephone bill. The perpertrators get a slice of the action from the telephone companies. I class these separately, as they neither spy nor advertise..........they just steal

Hope that helps

[lokeshdb_ms]

yep

thaks a lot nihil

is it illegal to use spyware's.....

ok

if spyware's can collect our some personal information can they also prevent us from using certain featues of windows becose one of my friends got stuck up with one and he cannot use internet can not launch yahoo messenger,etc he had use panda spyware remover,

so is he got stuck with a spyware or a virus.

[littlenick]

Originally posted here by lokeshdb_ms
yep

thaks a lot nihil

is it illegal to use spyware's.....

ok

if spyware's can collect our some personal information can they also prevent us from using certain featues of windows becose one of my friends got stuck up with one and he cannot use internet can not launch yahoo messenger,etc he had use panda spyware remover,

so is he got stuck with a spyware or a virus.

are porn sites illegal?
is hacking someone's email address illegal?
is hacking someone's computer illegal?
is stealing & using someone's credit card information illegal?

Depends on your local law.

In some of the countries law doesn't say a word about spyware(at some places law doesn't even recognise credit card theft and misuse as a crime there is no definition and preventions for this crime).....shocked ?

Don't be these are facts.

[nihil]

OK

1. Spyware can be used for identity theft, credit card fraud and the like.
2. Diallers run up your telephone bill, and steal your money that way
3. Adware is just a nuisance and an annoyance

Now,

None of this stuff is tested in all the environments it invades. It is not aware of other applications running, or other versions of its own type.

This can cause conflicts, deadly embraces or a massive degredation of system performance, due to the amount of resources being used.

The law is pretty unclear and/or inconsistent throught the World but such activities are illegal in the EU and in the USA (I believe) the problem is that most of the perpertrators operate "offshore" and are difficult to trace/catch anyway.

A lot of recent versions will alter system settings and disable running applications like firewalls etc. This leaves the victim vulnerable to all sorts of other attacks.

I hope that legislation will catch up with reality, but as usual I am afraid that it is the tortoise chasing the hare

[Black Cluster]

Spyware and Adware....

Very nice to know what they operate and most importantly "how"?
"Prevention is Better than cure" Right?
Everyone of us string Google looking for some cool programs and applications {Without generalization}, I guess most free programs do this. Actually, these innocent looking programs mostly include Spyware and Adware, which installes itself whithout your authorization. It can get installed through ActiveX controls as well.
As nihil stated it can be used in many ways to monitor your online behaviour and gain access to your personal information, including Credit Card number rapiding the identity theft.

P2P aplications also playes a key role in spreading these kinds of applications.

Why Adware...

IMHO, companies created this kind of programs in order to hijack users web browser and redirect them to the desired product of Ad. We all know that the rate of TV is going downhill as the internet is becoming popular more and more. Another fact that today you can create your own ad-free TV station or radio station. So this kind of applications is becoming a more reliable for those "Intrusive" marketing agencies... This does not imply that I justify thier acts, nope. Users must be fully aware of what is going to happen. There is pleanty of ways to call people to watch ads, like Viral Marketing "like Send this page to a friend" Or "Invite ot tell a friend about us". Google and AO are a very nice example....

Here is quote might be of useful

Here is a brief breakdown of what some of these newer adware/spyware programs can do once they are installed on your computer: In addition to doing a detailed check of your browser history, they install a wide assortment of DLLs and other executables files, they send a continuous data stream to the parent marketing company out from your computer and leave a backdoor open for hackers to either intercept your personal data or enter your computer, they can install other programs directly on to your computer without your knowledge, they can send and receive cookies to other adware/spyware programs and invite them into your computer (even if you have cookies disabled), and they can add Trojan horses into your system which perform a wide range of "mischief"on a users system including changing your home page and downloading unwanted images and information.

Many spyware and adware programs are fully independent executable files which are self sufficient programs which take on the authorization abilities of the user, they include auto install and auto update capabilities and can report on any attempts to remove or modify them. These programs can hijack your homepage, reset your browser favoirtes, reset your auto signature, disable or bypass your uninstall features, monitor your keystrokes on or off line, scan files on your drive, access your word processor, e-mail and chat programs, change homepages inaddition to displaying advertising content on or off line. Many of these spyware programs can read, write and delete files and in some instances sometime even reformat your hard drive and they do this while sending a steady stream of information back to the advertising and marketing companies.

Click Here to find more

[lokeshdb_ms]

if so much a spyware or an adware can do then wat's the difference remains between a virus and them.
then how could you define a virus. what left for a virus if a spyware can make backdoors for hacker, can play with computer settings & can manipulate them, ....... auto executable........can block access to certain points or network......get auto update ........etc,
so
if a spyware is capable of doing all most every b*** **** (sorry for that).why do we still call them as spywares and not as viruses becose as said by "black custer" they do come as attachment with an program and do not need any authentication to get into system.

[kyrios]

To prevent and remove spyware, adware and dialers, download and install the following, they are great at removing and some at preventing.
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html < this one prevents them from being installed in your web browsers.

http://www.download.com/3000-2094-10...ml?legacy=cnet < this one removes them...

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/ < this one also removes them

The best of all, all of them are free of use /* With no adware included */ lol

[valhallen]

he perpertrators get a slice of the action from the telephone companies.

just to make a slight correction - in the UK at least the telephone companies (eg BT) are simply relaying a charge for premium rate numbers. The actual call charge is set by the premium rate profider which is governed by a different body than the normal telelcommunications industries (they are governed by Ofcom and premium rate lines are governed by Icstis)

From working in the telephone industry have came across many people who think it is the phone supplier who is charging them for Premium Rate calls (hence why they would callup the likes of BT to discuss premium rate call charges even tho they could do nothing about them) when in actual fact the company you should contact if you ahve any disputes is Icstis.

v_Ln

[scratchONtheBOX]

lokeshdb_ms,

if a spyware is capable of doing all most every b*** **** (sorry for that).why do we still call them as spywares and not as viruses

Most probably, to efficiently identify threats and what they are capable of, these categories have been implemented to also help in speeding up the process of at least introduce to users how to prevent it or help in explaining things so that we would understand it more.

If you could take a look back at Computer History, you would have heard Viruses, Trojans, Worms, Spywares, Adwares, Keyloggers, Dialers, etc. New b*** **** comes up and should be categorized for the purpose of us understanding it clearly and easily.

Yo!