What is Spyware?

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It may depend on who you ask, but the fact remains - spyware - which generates billions of dollars in annual revenue - is here to stay.

But before a user considers how to protect himself against spyware, he should first understand what exactly spyware is and what risks it brings with it.

According to most accepted definitions, spyware is software installed without the full knowledge of the user. Spyware is often covertly transferred to a user's computer during the downloading of file sharing programs, or when surfing certain websites. (Adware, which though objectionable, does not transmit information to a third party and is not included in our definition as spyware.)

What is Spyware?

Is it an invasion of
privacy or merely
a nuisance?

As if that isn't bad enough, spyware poses a security threat by transmitting the user's private information back to a third party. Spyware allows its creators to:

• Gather a user's private/personal information
• Steal copyrighted or confidential information
• Create irreparable system instability
• Damage or interfere with legitimate application operations
• Open a backdoor on infected systems
• Take over an infected system

Spyware damages productivity, drains help-desk resources, and most importantly, creates security holes which enable the uncontrolled flow of data out of an organization.

Click here to find out how you can stop spyware before it gets to you by implementing Aladdin's eSafe content security solution, with 4-layers of spyware blocking.