Spyware refers to software that is installed on an user's computer without their consent and is used to collect information about their internet activity. Unlike viruses and worms, spyware does not self-replicate but exploits infected computers to display unsolicited ads, steal personal information, and monitor browsing activity. Users typically notice unwanted ads, reduced performance, and changes to browser settings due to multiple spyware infections. While anti-spyware software and safe computing practices can help detect and remove spyware, rogue anti-spyware programs also pose a threat by falsely claiming to find infections.

3. DEVELOPMENT
.
• The first recorded use of the term spyware
occurred on 16 October 1995 in a Usenet post
that poked fun at Microsoft's business model.[1]
Spyware at first denoted software meant for
espionage purposes. However, in early 2000 the
founder of Zone Labs, Greg or Freund, used the
term in a press release for the Zone Alarm
Personal Firewall. Since then, "spyware" has
taken on its present sense.

4. SPYWARE, VIRUSES &
WORMS
Unlike viruses and worms, spy ware does
not usually self-replicate. Like many recent
viruses, however, spy ware—by design—
exploits infected computers for commercial
gain. Typical tactics include delivery of
unsolicited pop-up advertisements, theft of
personal information (including financial
information such as credit card numbers),
monitoring of Web-browsing activity for
marketing purposes, and routing of HTTP
requests to advertising sites.

5. ROUTES OF INFECTION

6. COMPUTER BEHAVIOUR
A spy ware program is rarely alone on a computer: an
affected machine usually has multiple infections. Users
frequently notice unwanted behavior and degradation of
system performance such as;

8. EFFECTS OF INFECTION
I. Damage to Computer

10. II. Advertisements
Many spyware programs display advertisements.
Some programs simply display pop-up ads on
a regular basis; for instance, one every several
minutes, or one when the user opens a new
browser window. Others display ads in response
to the user visiting specific sites. Spyware
operators present this feature as desirable to
advertisers, who may buy ad placement in pop-
ups displayed when the user visits a particular
site. It is also one of the purposes for which
spyware programs gather information on user
behavior.

11. III.Steal ware
Steal ware diverts the payment of affiliate
marketing revenues from the legitimate affiliate to
the spyware vendor. Spyware which attacks
affiliate networks places the spyware operator's
affiliate tag on the user's activity — replacing any
other tag, if there is one. The spyware operator is
the only party that gains from this. The user has
their choices thwarted, a legitimate affiliate loses
revenue, networks' reputations are injured, and
vendors are harmed by having to pay out affiliate
revenues to an "affiliate" who is not party to a
contract.

12. •Personal Relationships
Spyware has been used to surreptitiously monitor
electronic activities of partners in intimate
relationships, generally to uncover evidence of
infidelity. At least one software package, Lover spy,
was specifically marketed for this purpose.
Depending on local laws regarding
communal/marital property, observing a partner's
online activity without their consent may be illegal;
the author of Loverspy and several users of the
product were indicted in California in 2005 on
charges of wiretapping and various computer
crimes.

13. Preventions And Remedies
• As the spy ware threat has worsened, a
number of techniques have emerged to
counteract it. These include programs
designed to remove or to block spy ware,
as well as various user practices which
reduce the chance of getting spy ware on
a system.

14. Ways to prevent Spy wares

15.  Anti-spy ware programs
• Many programmers and some commercial firms
have released products dedicated to remove or
block spy ware Major anti-virus firms such as
Symantec, PC Tools, McAfee and Sophos have
come later to the table, adding anti-spy ware
features to their existing anti-virus products. Early
on, anti-virus firms expressed reluctance to add
anti-spy ware functions, citing lawsuits brought by
spy ware authors against the authors of web sites
and programs which described their products as
"spy ware".

16. Anti-spyware programs can combat spyware in two ways:
• They can provide real time protection against the installation of
spyware software on the computer. This type of spyware
protection works the same way as that of anti-virus protection in
that the anti-spyware software scans all incoming network data
for spyware software and blocks any threats it comes across.
• Anti-spyware software programs can be used solely for
detection and removal of spyware software that has already
been installed onto the computer. This type of spyware
protection is normally much easier to use and more popular.
With this spy ware protection software the user can schedule
weekly, daily, or monthly scans of the computer to detect and
remove any spyware software that have been installed on the
computer. This type of anti-spyware software scans the
contents of the windows registry, operating system files, and
installed programs on the computer and will provide a list of any
threats found, allowing the user to choose what to delete and
what to keep

17. Security practices
• To detect spyware, computer users have found several practices useful in
addition to installing anti-spyware programs.
• Some users install a large hosts file which prevents the user's computer
from connecting to known spyware-related web addresses. However, by
connecting to the numeric IP address, rather than the domain name,
spyware may bypass this sort of protection
• Many system operators install a web browser other than IE, such as Opera,
Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Though no browser is completely safe,
Internet Explorer is at a greater risk for spyware infection due to its large
user base as well as vulnerabilities such as ActiveX.
• The first step to removing spyware is to put a computer on "lockdown".
This can be done in various ways, such as using anti-virus software or
simply disconnecting the computer from the internet. Disconnecting the
internet prevents controllers of the spyware from being able to remotely
control or access the computer. The second step to removing the spyware
is to locate it and remove it, manually or through use of credible anti-
spyware software. During and after lockdown, potentially threatening
websites should be avoided.

18. Rogue anti-spyware programs
• Malicious programmers have released a large number of
rogue (fake) anti-spyware programs, and widely distributed
Web banner ads now spuriously warn users that their
computers have been infected with spyware, directing them to
purchase programs which do not actually remove spyware—
or else, may add more spyware of their own.
• The recent proliferation of fake or spoofed antivirus products
has occasioned some concern. Such products often bill
themselves as anti spyware, antivirus, or registry cleaners,
and sometimes feature popups prompting users to install
them. This software is called rogue software.
• It is recommended that users do not install any freeware
claiming to be anti-spyware unless it is verified to be
legitimate.

19. Theend