Cyber parasites

Spyware is a pestilence out in cyberspace that is troubling Netizens and mobile users.

If you have ever been bombarded with pop-up advertisements or discover that your homepage has been replaced (usually with a link to a pornography or shopping bargains' website) when you click on your internet browser, you have been hit by spyware.

For starters, spyware is not a virus but can be as abrasive as the nastiest of viruses. Essentially spyware presides over functions of your computer and track individual's movements over the internet.

This information is fed back to the makers of the spyware who generally target the individual with advertisements for products going by the information thus gathered.

Statistics suggest that almost 60 per cent of spyware generated is used to gather commercial-value information about the end user's browsing habits.

This includes keywords used in search engines, browsing habits and ratings of frequently visited websites and shopping reports. More than 25 per cent of help-desk time today is spent dealing with spyware, reveals a Gartner study. IDC states that spyware is considered the second greatest security threat among enterprise organisations.

The problem is serious, acknowledges Jari Heinonen, director (Asia-Pacific), F-Secure Corporation. "Viruses, trojans and spyware steal user related information from the computer," he says. Worse still, spyware problems have started to spread to mobiles too.

Niraj Kaushik, country manager, Trend Micro (India) & SAARC acknowledges the growing menace, "Spyware threatens network security and causes major system slowdowns, lost productivity, and higher support costs."

Kaushik also warns about 'drive-by downloads' which automatically downloads and installs the software, usually malicious, on a user's machine without the consent or knowledge of the user.

"Unlike a pop-up download, which asks a user for consent, a drive-by download is carried out invisibly to the user: it can be initiated by simply visiting a Web site or viewing an HTML email message.

"What concerns corporate security departments is that the more sophisticated types of spyware can be used to log keystrokes, scan files, install additional spyware, reconfigure web browsers, and snoop email and other applications," Kaushik notes. In some cases, spyware can even capture screenshots, account names, passwords, and sensitive personal information as well as turn on webcams.

Help is easy and effective, if paid heed to. Experts advise replacing Internet Explorer with a more secure web browser like Firefox which is geared towards security and comes with a range of useful features missing from Internet Explorer. For example, Firefox will not allow websites to install software (such as spyware) behind your back.

"The best way to reduce risks from programmes classified as security risks is to use a complete solution that categorises programmes according to their functionality and allows user to choose an acceptable risk level," advises Srikiran Raghavan, regional sales head, RSA Security.

Also, there are a free spyware killers available - like Spybot Search & Destroy. These offer immunisation options that need to be activated. Spyware can be tackled, provided one does not wait until attacked, as they say 'prevention is better than cure'!