Spyware, typically a type of malware transmitted over the internet, may now be a greater threat to computer users than viruses, Trojans, and worms. Spyware comes in a variety of types, some of which spawns pop-up ads, some of which hijacks your browser, others which can dial out on your phone line to high cost overseas pornography websites, and possibly the most dangerous are those spyware types that log your keystrokes and capture your personal information for the purposes of identity theft.
There are several fine anti-spyware products available for free or for a price. In recent columns I have written about my personal favorites, Spybot Search and Destroy (www.safer-networking.org), Ad-Aware (www.lavasoftusa.com), and others. Both Spybot and Ad-Aware have free versions available for personal use that have been well regarded by the computer press. In tests I ran and wrote about almost two years ago, a commercial product, PestPatrol (www.pestpatrol.com) outperformed both Spybot and Ad-Aware by detecting and removing more threats. PestPatrol was recently taken over by Canada’s huge Computer Associates (CA), for inclusion in its new suites of internet security software. The inclusion of anti-spyware utilities into security suites is now becoming the norm, with one of the top rated security suites, PC-cillin Internet Security Suite 2005 (www.trendmicro.com) now including an excellent spyware detector and killer, in addition to its firewall, antivirus, anti-spam, and other utilities.
Recently Microsoft, a company that has been publicly chastised for the insecurities of much of its software, purchased a small anti-spyware company, Giant Company Software, and has released a public Beta version (pre-release) of its Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware software. Available for free download at www.microsoft.com/security (click on “Get rid of unwanted software – Spyware” at the top of the page), the file is about 6.4 megabytes in size, which will download in about a minute on a broadband connection, or about 15 minutes at dialup speeds.
I recently had the opportunity to try Microsoft’s AntiSpyware in a real-world environment, with a rough comparison of capability with my prior favorites, Spybot and Ad-Aware. One of my daughters had a computer that was badly infested with viruses, Trojans, and spyware. Some of that malware initially prevented me from running the excellent new version of Housecall (housecall.antivirus.com), which would typically be my first step in recovering an infected computer. I first downloaded, installed, and updated Spybot, which detected and removed 43 pieces of spyware. This was followed by a download of Ad-Aware, which after being installed and updated, detected another 51 suspicious items (this behavior is typical, as no product is totally effective). I was then able to run the new Beta of Housecall, which detected and deleted over 20 viruses, worms, and Trojans, as well as 14 more spyware items. At this point I was fairly confident that my daughter’s machine was clean, as it was now running smoothly without apparent software problems. As a lark, I downloaded, installed, and ran Microsoft’s AntiSpyware, and was surprised when it detected over 30 more pieces of spyware. Just to be fair, some of the spyware it detected was isolated files left behind after Spybot, Ad-Aware, and Housecall removed the major components, but I was quite impressed at the thoroughness of Microsoft’s search and detection capabilities.
The current Beta of Microsoft’s AntiSpyware expires in July, but Microsoft should have the full version available before then. Microsoft has already announced the personal version of AntiSpyware will be free, but there will be a fee for a commercial version.
Once installed, Microsoft’s AntiSpyware checks for updates, and runs very quickly. It shows all of the files detected, as well as a description of the spyware found, along with an indication of the threat level of the spyware. A memory resident portion of the code is loaded every time the computer boots, which continuously protects the computer from new infestations. I also noticed that Microsoft is releasing updated spyware data for its software on a very frequent basis, as there were two distinct updates in the three days I had access to my daughter’s computer.
In the good old days of computing, with the now antique 300 speed modems, viruses existed, but were scarce. As computing power, access, and availability increased, the threats from viruses increased to where antivirus software continuously updated became a necessity. The threat of hackers trying to break into our computers was low, but is now endemic, requiring that all users, including those with dialup internet access, now must have a firewall to protect themselves from cyber-intrusions. Spyware has switched from a nuisance generating popup ads and planting tracking cookies on our computers, to a significant personal threat today. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s recent report on Identity Theft, 12% of the victims were acquired through the internet. In recent weeks spyware has become even more common and sophisticated, which will likely result in a much higher internet rate in the next FTC report.
It is absolutely vital to now for all internet users to have antivirus software, a firewall, and anti-spyware software installed and updated, in order to maximize our protection from those intent on doing us harm via our computers. The Microsoft AntiSpyware would be an excellent choice for the spyware portion of that triad.
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