In the last few years, spyware has been targeted in a lot of ways. Many countries, including the United States, have passed laws that definitively outlaw some of its uses. There is also the constant updating and distribution of anti-spyware software that runs alongside or as a part of antivirus programs. Lastly, one of the biggest ways spyware has been targeted is through informative media campaigns.
People are all pretty much in fear of spyware. This is fair and expected, and actually for pretty much obvious reasons it’s encouraged. The thing is though that not everything that often gets classified as spyware is malicious, or at least not illegal. There are forms of software that are designed to run undetected on a computer and record and report that aren’t necessarily breaking any laws. Whether or not these programs should still be considered spyware is up for debate.
A few examples of both non malicious spyware and the more destructive kind are listed below.
A lot of employers track the work that their employees do and there is nothing wrong with that at all. The types of tracking used once included things such as casual observation, end of day reviews or checking back to see when and how long they were logged into their computers. Nowadays, employers are able to go the spyware route instead of doing those other things. The more common types of spyware that employers use are keylogging applications. These run on the computer undetected and actually keep track of every key that’s pressed, thereby allowing the employer to easily look back over the amount of work being done.
When one spouse suspects the other of cheating, or doing anything else undesirable, they can do all sorts of things. Short of actually having a conversation, they can hire detectives, follow them around, or catch them in a lie. Now there’s a more high-tech option in the form of keylogging applications that can be used to spy on a spouse. In a situation where the computer is mutually owned property, this has been argued as being a legal practice. The result is the ability to see if they are scheduling dates, writing love emails, etc.
Screen capturing goes by a few different terms depending on the specific function at play and method used, but in the end it’s the same basic thing. This type of software will capture screenshots of a person’s computer. URL monitoring would be used in this case as well so that the screenshots are only captured when the type of data being entered onto a website if worthy. This would include banking sites or even consumer sites where credit card info gets entered.
URL monitoring involves malicious software that tracks what websites a computer visits. This can be done for a number of reasons. One is to work in tandem with screen capturing so that the spyware knows when the site being visited is a worthwhile target. Another reason is to simply log a person’s habits and tastes so as to be able to tempt them with the most appropriate advertising later on. In this last case the spyware isn’t always malicious and sometimes operates with user consent.
In conjunction with anti-virus software and a firewall, you need an effective spyware removal tool in order to protect your computer and your personal data from hackers and thieves. Fortunately, there are a number of freeware spyware remover tools available which you can get at any number of sites that have freeware spyware removal software.
categories: spyware,malware,computer software,computers