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Software expert Steve Gibson of Gibson Research gives you more clear
view about what is spyware: "Spyware is any software (that) employs
a user's Internet connection in the background (the so-called
'backchannel') without their knowledge or explicit permission. Silent
background use of an Internet 'backchannel' connection must be preceded
by a complete and truthful disclosure of proposed backchannel usage,
followed by the receipt of explicit, informed consent for such use. Any
software communicating across the Internet absent of these elements is
guilty of information theft and is properly and rightfully termed:
Spyware.".
Simply put, spyware is software, usually downloaded for free from the
Internet, that sends information from the user's computer without
their knowledge whenever the computer connects to the Internet.
Usually the information sent is benign in nature, mostly concerned with
general marketing information (ie., spending habits) rather than
specific information like credit card numbers, although some programs
are capable of retrieving specific information as well. Though the
majority of Adware are spyware,
there are also products that do display advertising but do not install
any tracking mechanism on your system.
The problem with Spyware lies in the fact that this information is
transmitted without informed consent. Additionally, Spyware programs are
sometimes poorly written, containing bugs and causing the computer to
malfunction. Spyware does not respect your privacy. It does not know
whether the computer user is a child and will destroy the privacy of
your children.
There are also many PC surveillance tools
that allow a user to monitor all kinds of activity on a computer,
ranging from keystroke capture, snapshots, email logging, chat logging
and just about everything else. These tools are often designed for
parents, businesses and similar environments, but can be easily abused
if they are installed on your computer without your knowledge. These
tools are perfectly legal in most places, but, just like an ordinary
tape recorder, if they are abused, they can seriously violate your
privacy.
