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Article: Spyware; How to fight back against insidious attacks from cookies gone bad.
- Article from:
- Network World
- Article date:
- January 26, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Network World, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: DEBORAH RADCLIFF
What is spyware? And what harm can it do to my network?
Even in its most innocuous form, spyware is an invasion of privacy.
Spyware programs such as Cydoor, Gator, Lop.com and Xupiter install without the user's knowledge by piggybacking on peer-to-peer file-sharing programs, cute executable images or a long list of freeware.
Primarily used for target advertising purposes,
spyware tracks a user's Web habits. Some programs log keystrokes and even capture and transmit screen images.
"These programs are hard to avoid because they come bundled with other things, and it's not always apparent when ...