Spyware update

September 2007

This month, we wanted to update you on Spyware because, with anti-Virus solutions becoming ever more sophisticated and effective, malicious users of the internet are increasingly turning their attention to Spyware.

So what is Spyware?

Spyware is the term given to software that hides itself on your computer and performs certain unwanted activities.

These activities can include advertising, collecting personal information, or changing the configuration of your computer. Spyware generally makes its way onto your computer without your explicit knowledge and consent.

This article will help you to understand how Spyware works, how you can tell if it's on your computer, and how you can protect your business.

So how does it work?

There are three categories of Spyware and confusingly, they are called Spyware, Adware and Malware.

Spyware is something that is intended to collect information from you. One example is a ‘key-logger’ that transmits every keystroke you make on your keyboard to someone else’s computer. Key-loggers can be used to collect confidential information such as banking details and credit card numbers.

Other types of Spyware log your browser history, collecting information on which websites you visit.

Adware automatically plays, displays or downloads advertising material to a computer. An example that we have seen recently works by planting itself into your web browser. So, every time you open a browser, a pop-up appears trying to sell you something or directing you a website.

Adware is generally just annoying but it can slow down your computer.

Malware by contrast, is software that has been designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. Typical examples include stopping an application from working, or taking over your computer as part of a wider network of remotely controlled computers.

And how can I tell if I've got spyware on my computer?

Often it's very difficult to tell. However, unusually poor performance, frequent system crashes, loss of functionality such as your web browser not working but everything else is, can be indicators.

Spyware can be very difficult to spot as typically there is no pattern of behaviour, it just works away in the background.

OK, so what can I do to protect my business?

There are two things you can do:

Behave responsibly online
We advise extreme caution over which websites you visit and what software you choose to download. Free add-ons, trial versions of products you don’t know well, and applications bundled in with others are all things to watch out for.

Invest in Spyware protection for your business
If you have an IT Maintenance contract with First Line, you already have comprehensive Spyware protection: we use our LanDesk product to automatically detect and remove Spyware, Adware and Malware from all the computers on your network.

If you want to know more about First Line's Maintenance contracts or LanDesk, please get in touch.

Sophos, our recommended anti-Virus solution, will be enhancing its anti-Spyware capability within its Small Business product range in the next two to three months. The anti-Spyware functionality is already available in the latest release of Sophos' Enterprise version.

If you want to find out more, please do contact us.

There are also a number of ‘stand-alone’ applications that you can download from the web and install on each of your computers. None of them are free, but commonly they offer a free ‘scan version’ that will tell you if you have any Spyware or not.

Amongst these we would recommend:

• AVG
• Spyware Doctor
• Xsoftspy

For more information and help on how to protect your business from Spyware and other security threats, contact First Line Support.