Know that spyware has overtaken viruses as the largest online threat, infecting 90% of internet connected PCs. It’s important to be aware of the risks that spyware poses. Spyware can be classifies into 3 different groups.

Severe Threat – Spywares from this group is the most dangerous of all. They log user keystrokes, which means everything that the person types is gathered. Imagine yourself typing ‘paypal.com’. Surely the next thing that is logged would be the username and password. Imagine the pain for losing all the money in paypal. 15 out of 100 computers infected belong here.

Moderate Threat – Installed programs, internal IP address, OS version, the existence and versions of service packs and security updates and TCP ports the spyware is listening to are some of the data sent across. Though it is less risky that the severe threat group, it’s still bad. It’s like having spycams around the house. 25 out of 100 computers infected are in this group.

Minor Threat – commercial-value information about the end user’s browsing habits are collected. This is like a supermarket installing a spycam in your kitchen, to know what you have and don’t have, so that they can knock on your door and present you with the right stuff that you are missing, with the likelihood of you buying it. 60 out of 100 infected computers lie in this group.

Spywares not only steal personal information, they also :

• consumes resources on your PC which disrupts workflow.
• causes PC crashes
• interferes with the web browser, slowing it down and causing downloads to fail. It can even hijack the browser to redirect you to sites containing unwanted contents.
• annoy you with annoying popup ads that fit your preferences from the information gathered.
• costs you money if your internet service provider charge you by the hour.

Here are 15 commonly used programs distributed with spyware. Seriously, be very careful.

1. Bonzi Buddy
2. Dope Wars
3. ErrorGuard
4. Grokster
5. Kazaa
6. Morpheus
7. RadLight
8. WeatherBug
9. EDonkey2000
10. Sony’s Extended Copy Protection involved the installation of spyware from audio compact discs through autorun. This practice sparked considerable controversy when it was discovered.
11. WildTangent
12. AOL Instant Messenger - it is still bundled with Viewpoint Media Player and WildTangent
13. DivX - prior to version 5.2
14. LimeWire - prior to version 3.9.3
15. FlashGet - before being converted to freeware

Do you know that spyware removal tools won’t remove spywares that are bundled with non-spyware programs? The reason is because there is a clause in the terms and conditions which prevents them from being removed, unless the non-spyware program is removed together with it. I believe 99% of us don’t read the t&c. I don’t. I’ll just keep clicking next until the installation is finished.

Ad-aware and Spybot are the 2 most reliable FREE anti spyware that I have tried so far. They have been doing their job well. I’d recommend those 2, if you haven’t got any.

Computer Security Software Reviews
Are you infected with spyware?

That is according to ScanSafe’s Global Threat Report on February 2007. Unproductive simply means that the sites visited are not in line with the work of the company. Unproductive sites include :

• online chat
• gambling
• music
• porn
• dating & relationships
• webmail

During sporting events like the Super Bowl and World Cup, gambling and sporting sites will top the list. ScanSafe saw a traffic increase of 77% in US based request to gambling and sporting sites during the week before Super Bowl.

The highly unnecessary internet usage risks the company to exposure of :

• legal liability
• disclosure of confidential information
• breaches of compliance requirements
• unnecessary bandwidth consumption

Did you know that MSN is the most threatened IM in the world? and it has been the No.1 since February 2006. A total of 54% of unique threats were blocked for MSN while 21% went to Yahoo.

ScanSafe
Web security as a service

Trace Any IP Address In The World
See a satellite image of the place in the world it comes from