WirelessVT Residential Internet Service

What is Spyware?

Spyware is a type of program that watches and possibly records what you do, what you type, and what sites you visit on the web. It usually does this without your knowledge.

What is Anti-Spyware?

It is a piece of software that is designed to seek out and remove programs considered to be Spyware.

Who makes Spyware?

Many companies make these products. Most of the time they are advertising companies. They use the results of the spying software to determine what kind of person you are, what you like to buy, and target other advertising at you which they think you might like.

Who makes Anti-Spyware?

There are a number of companies, only a few that are big names. Spyware originally had a purpose when it was created, and therefore has many people upset when their software is classified as Spyware. Many companies who make Spyware do not feel their software should be classified as Spyware, and start legal battles with companies who remove their software. Therefore, the large companies have been reluctant to get in the game. Most anti-spyware companies are from Europe. However, Microsoft and Computer Associates are the two newest companies to enter the anti-spyware market with products. Computer Associates has "Pest Patrol" and Microsoft has "Windows AntiSpyware".

How do I get Spyware?

There are two ways computers get infected with Spyware. The first is by installing one program that you want to install, which automatically installs the Spyware program. If you read the License Agreement when you perform the installation, in most cases, you will read that the program states it will be installing the spyware! That is why these software makers are upset - because they tell you that the software is being installed so they say they aren't being sneaky about it. However, they know no one reads the license agreement, which is why they choose to tell you about it there. The other way is completely without your knowledge, through a web site. You may install a toolbar for your web browser, and during that installation, something else, some spyware, will install. The companies who deliver software this way truly deserve to be classified as spyware.

How do Spyware makers profit?

In the internet world of advertising, there are different ways people pay for advertising. When you go to msn.com and see that ad across the top of the page, that is blanket advertising. MSN gets paid based on the number of times that ad gets seen. You may like or dislike the ad, and you may or may not care about the product it is selling. Profits for such an ad are low. The other way to advertise is to pay per click, that is the advertiser only pays if the viewer clicks on the ad. This gives the company displaying the ad, MSN, much more money since it is much more likely the ad made an impression on the viewer and is more likely to result in a sale. This is more risky to MSN because they don't know what you like, or if their viewers are going to care about the product. MSN could have a product so specialized that their audience doesn't care about the product, and MSN may not make any money. The way around this is targeted advertising. When you go to MSN, it puts a cookie on your computer. This cookie tracks each ad you click (when you personalize MSN). Once you do that, you will notice that the ads get more personalized. If you are a man, you may stop seeing ads for women's clothing, or if you look at sports and travel a lot when reading the news on their site, you may start seeing more ads for things related to that. This type of tracking happens on every site you personalize or sign into. That is why they offer this type of service for free! But what about the companies who don't have a news portal to bring people into to specifically target-advertise to? How do they get the people to buy their products? They hire one of these spyware companies. Spyware programs usually pop ads in your face, or pop web sites based on the data they record over time about your habits. If you visit a lot of lawn and garden places, you may see an ad for a sale at the Home Depot. If you are shopping for a new PC, you may see a Gateway Computer ad while at one of these sites. Understand that the spyware is told to show you ads from the people who hire those companies. So, if you keep getting pop-ups for Gateway computers, then the company that hired the spyware maker is Gateway! (Although they don't do it anymore, they used to do it a lot through a company called Gator). The purpose of spyware is to show you ads which you will likely follow and purchase a product through. That is how the spyware company makes money. They use the statistics of the number of people who purchase products by following ads they show to charge more of their advertisers. That means spyware works! Some people don't even know they are infected and just think they are lucky to see a deal or coupon for something they like at the "right" time.

What anti-spyware program do you suggest?

We have a couple suggestions. First, the Pay programs by Computer Associates and Microsoft have proven to be good and work well. However, the free program called "Spybot Search and Destroy" by a company called "Safer Networking" is one of the best we have ever used. The key to it's success is the Real-Time scanner. Unlike other programs, Spybot stays running all the time and keeps your computer from becoming infected. Other programs just deal with removing software after it is too late. Microsoft's program also has a real-time component which works well. If you are already infected, we recommend a combination of Spybot and Ad-Aware by Lavasoft to remove the infections. Spybot is great for protecting but not great at cleanup. Ad-Aware is great for cleanup but has no real-time protection.

Why doesn't my Anti-Virus program handle Spyware?

The world agrees what Viruses are, and that they are illegal. However, the battle over the legality of Spyware and the fact that the makers of these programs are allowed to continue making the programs, and the fact that they are software that usually needs to be installed, means they are subject to opinion as to whether they are good or bad. Most users want to be rid of spyware, but not all. All people want to be rid of viruses. Spyware has the same problem as Spam and telemarketers. Some people like to get the offers. Therefore, it can't be banned as easily as viruses. Additionally, virus protection programs know how viruses are going to work, because they have to be sneaky. No one intentionally infects their computer with a virus. However, 80% of the spyware is installed by the person intentionally (although as previously mentioned, they usually don't know it is being installed since it is being installed along with another program, the real one desired). Since it is an entirely different type of problem to handle, it is not likely there will ever be a single program that handles both. It is likely that a company will come out with a suite that has both programs in it, but not a single product that handles viruses and spyware.

Is Spyware Legal?

At this point in time, yes. Since most of the time, the spyware is announced in the License Agreement, by clicking "I Agree" when installing software, you are agreeing to the installation and all effects of the spyware when installing the other software. While there are many people working to make Spyware illegal, it is unlikely they will succeed. They may be able to make the other installation method illegal, but if it is listed in the License Agreement, it won't be illegal. Therefore, we just need to cope with it by installing these anti-spyware programs. WirelessVT Solutions will ask you if you want Spybot installed when we install your Internet.