Spyware spreads despite security

Spyware.

A simple term, often misunderstood, but dripping with misery for anyone whose computer is infected with it.

And that misery apparently is spreading, despite the efforts of computer users, technology security companies and politicos to curb it.

Spyware purveyors have gotten smarter, and their troublesome stuff is more able to avoid detection and removal from infected computers, according to Michael Scott, community education specialist for the Utah Attorney General's Office.

"These guys are good. There's been a lot of talk in the news about spyware lately, so they know people are on the lookout for it, so they're getting better," Scott said Wednesday at the 12th annual White Collar Crime Conference, sponsored by the attorney general's office. "They're getting better and making sure that once the program's on there, it's a hell of a lot harder for you guys to get it off there than it used to be a year ago."

Spyware is software, often installed without the user's consent through e-mail attachments or downloads, that monitors or controls computer use, often causing pop-up ads, recording keystrokes and redirecting users to different Web sites. It can lead to sluggish computer performance and other nuisances and to the more-serious consequence of identity theft.

Scott cited survey results indicating that the number of spyware-producing Web sites has quadrupled since the beginning of the year, with the tally at more than 300,000. More than 80 percent of checked computers contained spyware, he said.

"Spyware writers understand that their model is under siege, and to survive they're employing every tactic that they can," Scott said. "They know there's legislation out there. They know the federal government is looking at this. They know there's programs and companies (fighting it). But just as quickly as every one of those things can come up, they come up with something new, so this is an incredibly hard thing to keep on top of."

Adware is the most common type of spyware, but keystroke loggers, system monitors and Trojan horses "are hugely dangerous, and they can put your office and your organization at incredible risk," Scott said.

System monitors can know every keystroke, e-mail, instant message, chat room conversation, Web site, user name or password of the user, he said.

"These can compromise the entire security of your system. If you have one of these on your computer, it is possible that whoever installed it on there, and whoever's on the computer that it's sending information back to, will know everything about your computer," he said.