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Spyware

"Spyware" is a program installed on your computer, usually without your explicit knowledge, that transmits personal information to companies. The companies use this information in a number of ways including selling it to others, using it for marketing data, or tracking browsing habits. Most people would not choose to have spyware installed on their computers, however companies "piggyback" the programs with other popular software such as file sharing applications. Some programs allow you to choose if you want to install the spyware programs, but many simply install them and hide the fact that they do in the extraordinarily long End-User License Agreement (EULA) that the vast majority of people simply click "Accept" on and never read.

Often, when installing a "Free" or "Advertising Supported" program, it either installs, or ask you if you would like to install, several other programs which "support" the program. Sometimes you will have to choose a "Custom" or "Advanced" installation to find the option to not install the spyware programs. Lately some people have been reporting that even viewing a web site will pop up a box with an advertisement that asks if you would like to install a program (such as Gator) and many people simply click 'Yes' without reading to get rid of the window, leaving themselves with more spyware.

Here are some programs which are known to install spyware programs. The programs themselves are not bad, but the fact that they install additional software that violates your privacy is.

Kazaa
BearShare
AudioGalaxy

Some very common spyware programs to watch out for are:

Alexa
ATTune
CyDoor
DLDER
Lop.com
OnFlow

The following programs are spyware in that they transmit your personal information back to the company, but they appear to provide a desirable service in the hopes that people value the program more than their privacy:

Bonzai Buddy
Brilliant Digital
Comet Cursor
CommonName
Gator
OfferCompanion
Trickler
WebHancer

How do you get rid of them? Often, simply running an un-install program or removing them from Add/Remove programs in Control Panel isn't enough, they leave components on your system. One very useful program for removing spyware on home PC's is called Ad-Aware, which is available from www.lavasoftusa.com (or from www.download.com.) If you run this program on your home computer, it will list all of the currently installed known spyware components and cookies from advertising sites. You have the option of removing the spyware components selectively, and making a backup. Another source for spyware information is at http://grc.com/optout.htm.

If you'd like more information on spyware, www.spywareinfo.com has lots of links to articles and resources on the subject.

Lastly, WeatherBug and WebShots are two very common "free" programs that have been suspected of being spyware. However, they do not appear to be. WeatherBug does ask a lot of questions and is paid for by advertising (unless you subscribe) but other than the information explicitly asked for during the installation, it does not transmit personal information. It has been reported that WeatherBug may also install MySearch Bar which could cause problems, especially with eLearning. WeatherBug has in the past asked to install Gator or OfferCompanion but tests we ran showed it no longer asked and the programs were not installed afterward (Though the web site says they were offered to "some" users.) WebShots installs the NewDotNet program, which is suspected as being spyware but not proven. Nonetheless it has caused problems for some people with their network connection, and there is no easy way to remove it because when installed with WebShots it does not put an entry into Add/Remove Programs under Control Panel.

So what should you do? If you are given the choice to install an "extra" program, choose not to. If you notice some suspicious activity such as an error message that refers to one of the above-mentioned spyware programs, or a system tray icon that you don't recognize, run Ad-Aware to see if any spyware has been installed.