PCs infested with 30 pieces of spyware

PCs could be carrying nearly 30 pieces of 'spyware' software secretly forwarding information about a user's online activities to others without their knowledge.

And industry experts suggest that these types of programs may infect up to 90 per cent of all internet-connected computers.

One million scans conducted by internet service provider EarthLink and privacy software company Webroot Software found more than 29.5 million instances of spyware on subscribers' PCs.

"This figure equates to an average of nearly 28 spyware items per computer and demonstrates the broad proliferation of spyware," said Matt Cobb, EarthLink's vice president of core applications, in a statement.

"While most spyware is adware-related and relatively benign, it's disturbing that over 300,000 of the more serious system monitors and Trojans were uncovered.

"This figure represents how real a threat identity theft or system corruption is for users."

Typically, spyware arrives bundled with freeware or shareware, or through email or instant messaging programs, and begins reporting the next time the user goes online.

Adware is software in which advertising banners are displayed while the program is running and which then sends data back to a third party without permission. Adware cookies allow a website or software to record a user's surfing habits without their knowledge or consent.

System monitors are designed to keep track of a consumer's computer activity and can record virtually everything a user does online.

See also:

Spyware

An increasing number of web users are inadvertently downloading software which can trap ID and password information for online bank accounts.  22 Sep 2004

Akamai investigates denial of service attack

Affected customers included Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo  17 Jun 2004

One in three PCs hosts spyware or Trojans

Survey of 650,000 consumer PCs found 18 million instances of spyware  16 Jun 2004

Gartner warns banks on spyware fraud

Stronger access controls urged for online accounts as spyware blamed for rise in theft  16 Jun 2004

Webroot Spy Sweeper 2.6

Makes light work of detecting and removing unwelcome applications  07 Apr 2004

Net's dark side turns users off broadband

Rising tide of spam and viruses ruining internet experience for middle Britain  29 Oct 2003

Spyware threat creeps up on PCs

Online espionage becoming as prevalent a threat as virus-carrying spam email  01 Oct 2003

Whose PC is it anyway?

Just who owns the software you run on your PC? Spyware and other programs infringe your privacy or restrict what you do, so should we make a stand?  18 Sep 2003

Like this story? Spread the news by clicking below:

 del.icio.us     Digg this     reddit!