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Spyware is any application that makes potentially unwanted changes to your computer while collecting information about your computer activities. This information may then be sent to a third party for malicious purposes, without your knowledge or consent. Spyware arrives bundled with freeware or shareware, through e-mail or instant messenger, as an ActiveX installation, or by someone with access to your computer. Unlike traditional personalization or session cookies, spyware is difficult to detect, and spyware removal is difficult (if not impossible) for the average user.
Anyone who uses a computer is susceptible to spyware infection. Your online actions, whether you're surfing the Internet or checking e-mail, can attract spyware. These programs find their way onto your system and install themselves in several possible places on your PC, including your registry, start up menu, files and folders. Many spyware programs ensure their survival by sprinkling traces of the program throughout your PC to make full removal more difficult (and sometimes nearly impossible). Once installed, spyware operates silently in the background.
File-sharing programs and swapping music, photos or other files are also well-known avenues for spyware infection. Sometimes spyware is bundled with a desired program, and is disclosed in buried text as part of the end-user-license agreement (EULA). These days, spyware may hop onto your system when you visit certain Web sites.
Spyware comes in many forms including adware, keyloggers, Trojans, system monitors, browser hijackers, and dialers. It ranges from benign - adware tracking cookies, which let online companies track your activities on a Web site and tailor pop-up ads based on your choices - to more nefarious spyware programs like Trojans, keyloggers and system monitors, which are capable of capturing keystrokes, online screenshots, and personally identifiable information like your social security number, bank account numbers, logins and passwords, or credit card numbers.
Ultimately, your identity and private information can be compromised by these malicious programs. On a corporate level, spyware can compromise network and data security, corporate assets and trade secrets.
Aside from potential identity theft, many spyware programs steal from you by cluttering your computer's memory resources and eating bandwidth as it "talks" to the spyware's home base using your Internet connection. This could lead to your computer suffering system crashes and/or slower performance.
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