Computer spyware is any software or malware that is used to spy or otherwise track your computer usage. Some Spyware is not malicious, however much of it is. Malicious spyware is commonly combined with free downloads of software or multimedia files. Once your computer is infected, it can be used to track your Internet usage, steal banking and credit card information, and steal your login and passwords for secure websites. A growing trend has been to used fake anti-spyware programs to infect computers with additional spyware and computer malware. As the amount of computer spyware continues to exponentially increase, it has never been more important to educate yourself on the threat of computer spyware and learn how to protect yourself from it.
There are five primary types of computer spyware: Adware, Browser Hijackers, Backdoors, Keyboard Loggers, and Modem Hijackers. Spyware is known to be bundled with other types of computer malware to include Trojan Viruses in a hybrid malware package. Ultimately all variants of Spyware share the common theme of not-being able to self-replicate and violating your privacy.
Although the term Adware has come to connotate the malicious variant of computer adware, there are some legitimate Adware applications in the Internet. The growing population of Adware, however, collects and sends information from your computer to remote servers without your permission. The information coudl include anything from Internet history, to what advertisements you click on from the adware. Malicious versions of Adware area also known to have been deployed with other computer malware.
Browser Hijacker
Many of the types of Spyware will attempt to hijack your web browser. They will do this by significantly modifying the Hosts file on your computer. Then, when you attempt to go to Google, Yahoo, MSN, Bing, etc you will be re-directed to malicious websites that will attempt to download additional computer malware to your computer. Browser hijackers will also attempt to trick you into going to other maliciously encoded sites during your normal Internet surfing.
Keyboard Logger
Keyboard loggers refer to both the traditional recording of all keystrokes made on your computer as well as the newer variants that take screen shots of your computer when it is in use. These are one of the nastiest types of computer spyware because of their potential to steal enough information from your computer in order to take your identity if not removed. Once the keylogger records the information, it will attempt to send the data off of your computer via any means. Running a firewall can help defend against a Keyboard logger infection.
Modem Hijackers
Although these are not as common today with the number of broadband connections world-wide, Modem Hijackers still pose a threat to dial-up Internet users. They will hijack your modem connection and dial a premium phone number that will charge a large amount of money against your phone bill.
Backdoors
Many backdoors are Trojan Viruses, but a lot are bundled with Spyware and Adware. A backdoor will give a Hacker a means of accessing your computer and taking partial to full control of its operations. This can be anything from being a single computer in a larger Denial of Service attack against other computers to using your resources for other malicious means.
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