Spyware 2004

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Spyware 2004

• New concerns in the second year of the Spyware era

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Spyware Is Everywhere

• A survey of more than 420,000 PCs by EarthLink
  and Webroot showed nearly one-third infected with
  Trojans or system monitors.
• -Information Week 6/17/04

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What can Spyware do?

• Monitor your surfing activity
• (Key Logging)
• Collect data about you to direct ads to your
  computer
• Hijack your browser or Google
• Cause your PC to make very expensive phone calls

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Trojan Horse Spyware

• Trojan Horses appear to be software programs a
  user has requested but actually aid hackers in
  stealing computer data.

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Viruses versus Spyware

• Viruses are a form of vandalism
• Spyware is primarily motivated by financial gain

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How to get Spyware

• Download cute little programs like Weather Bug,
  NetSonic and Gators eWallet (Users Agree to the
  EULA that allows the Spyware without reading it
  first)
• Sometimes just clicking on an ad or a Web page
  will cause a Spyware download without offering a
  EULA

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Eliminating Spyware

• Prevention First Be careful what you download
  and read those EULAs
• Download and use three free Anti-Spyware programs

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Why use three?

• There is no one program that detects and removes
  all classes of Spyware

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A Power Users Quick Launch Tray
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Spybot-Search Destroy 1.3

• Beware of imitations that are spyware
• This is probably the premier anti-Spyware
  software, but cant be relied on alone

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SpywareBlaster 3.1

• A passive shield that does that best job at
  preventing Browser Hijacking

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AdAware 6.0

• Its greatest strength is finding and removing
  AdBots

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The Most Common Hijacker is CoolWebSearch

• It can be removed by a separate program
  CWShredder 1.59

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How do you get these wonderful programs?

• Google

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Can Spyware be legislated away?
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SPY ACT

• The Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber
  Trespass Act (SPY ACT) bill approved by the House
  Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer
  Protection, would levy fines as large as 3
  million on lawbreakers who illegally collect
  personal information, deliver pop-up ads that
  can't be closed, change the browser's default
  home page, log keystrokes, and steal identities.
• -InternetWeek 6/18/04