After years of worrying about viruses and trojans, users have a new nemesis: spyware. This term refers to any program that distributes information from a user's computer without that user's knowledge.
To be sure, most of this software is more annoying than harmful. However, as Jamie Garrison, co-owner of Aluria Software, which produces the spyware stopper, put it, "Some spyware can ruin your life. It's that invasive."
So, what can a user do to avoid the onslaught of underhanded tracking programs?
The Spyware Menace
Garrison said the most pressing issue related to spyware is that people do not take it seriously enough. Part of the problem is awareness. Many people are only now finding out about spyware. "Few users are aware that everything they do on the Net or even while not connected to the Internet can be tracked," Ken Lloyd, lead developer at Aluria, told NewsFactor.
After all, spyware can range from a stealthy program that runs in the background, transmitting your surfing habits to a company for marketing purposes, to keylogging software installed by a spouse to monitor communications.
"Well over 85 percent of people have spyware on their computer," Lloyd said.
Programs That Fight It
Gartner analyst Richard Stiennon told NewsFactor that while antivirus products from companies like McAfee and Symantec can be used to detect spyware, the user is also an important ingredient in stopping spyware. He or she must recognize spyware programs -- and know enough to remove them -- when they are detected.
Of course, most users do not know much about spyware. Stiennon recommended that users get a desktop firewall program that blocks unwanted outgoing connections. Then, even if spyware is running, it will be unable to connect to a server to transmit information.
One personal firewall, ZoneAlarm, can make sure spyware cannot communicate with the outside world. According to Fred Felman, vice president of marketing at Zone Labs, ZoneAlarm "shuts down Internet connectivity instead of losing control of the system" when an unauthorized application tries to send information from a user's PC. Felman told NewsFactor that ZoneAlarm allows users to specify which programs are allowed to send and receive data over the network. Users even can restrict programs to certain ports or domains.
And in addition to antivirus vendors and personal firewalls, a number of companies like Aluria make spyware detection and removal software.
Arms Race
Even when a person recognizes spyware on his or her computer, removing it may be tricky business. According to Garrison, some spyware manages to "embed" itself into the software Windows uses to provide TCP/IP (Internet networking) services. She said that removing such spyware "actually removes your Internet connection. It's fixable, but it's a real pain."
This makes sense, considering that malware authors are always trying to stay one step ahead of users and spyware stoppers. The latest rash of annoyware consists of programs that send pop-ups to instant messaging programs like MSN Messenger. Even more irritating, many of those pop-ups simply inform users that they are vulnerable to unwanted messages.
And it gets worse: Stiennon said that programs being sold to block this plague of IM pop-ups are scams, too. "Just go into the admin functions in the control panel [and do it yourself]," he said, noting that the program vendors are taking advantage of people who do not know they can turn off the function by themselves.
The Perils of Free
In fact, according to Garrison, most spyware is installed by users voluntarily, even if they do not know it. She blames free products like Grokster and Kazaa for piggybacking spyware onto users' computers, though she noted that it is all disclosed in the fine print. "Here's the really dirty part of it. Let's say you go out and download a free program. It's almost certainly going to have spyware.... Very rarely does spyware get on your computer without your consent."
So, what is the solution? "Stop using free products... Don't download it if it's free."
Lloyd agreed. "The latest trend for software companies is to give their software away for free. By doing this they bundle ad software within it. They usually tell the customer in the EULA (end user license agreement) ... that some additional ad-tracking software will be installed, but they bury it so deep that the average person has no idea."
It's the User
In addition, Garrison said, most users have themselves to blame for spam. "They say yes to it in their user agreement."
Felman noted that users also need to be conscious of human engineering. "It's interesting; we talk about the automated way that people do this, [but] there might be a bigger risk in the human factor." Felman mentioned scams that depend on users not paying close attention and providing information to third parties about usernames and passwords. "I got an e-mail from an organization purporting to be Drugstore.com, and it looked a lot like other e-mails I've gotten from Drugstore.com, using images from their server but the text asking for my username and password."
Ultimately, the solution to stopping spyware -- and other scame -- lies with the user. Spyware removal and detection software can be useful, but the best way to fight it is by making sure it is not installed on your computer in the first place. In the end, as Garrison said, the best spyware-stopper is an informed computer user. 
