Spyware is camouflaged software installed without user knowledge or consent. It compromises the user's experience with pop-up ads; tracking their web activities and keystrokes, and it can transmit sensitive information like credit card and social security numbers back to the manufacturer. Spyware steals network resources, and the end result is the network being slowed down to a crawl or virtually stopped all together. The program sneaks in by attaching itself to "free" downloads like calendar applications and the like (porn sites, games, etc). Additionally, it often manifests in hard-to-access system folders, and resists extraction. It is autonomous but not a virus. Viruses are fleeting. Spyware has stamina.

Transmission:

Spyware can be transmitted via e-mail, although it is not spam. It can change your browser homepage and transmit from the Web onto your system with no provocation whatsoever. Hence, the term "drive-by download." Spyware is elusive. It can affect some systems and not others, dependent on individual configuration. Some systems are more permeable, and get infested by visiting certain websites. File sharing applications like Kazaa, a peer-to-peer networking system with virtually no security can transmit spyware.

Adware:

Spyware has an abbreviated, less intrusive version called adware. This version generates targeted pop-up ads, but is permission-based. By agreeing to end user licensing agreements without actually reading them, users subject themselves to adware. This practice is comparable to online telemarketing, but subject to no formal restrictions.

Detection Software:

The proliferation of spy/adware has propagated a lucrative new industry of a different kind of solution provider, or "spy-buster." Spy-busters like Ad-aware, Spychecker, Spyware, and Webroot are dramatically increasing their customer base since the advent of spy/adware. They depend on customers identifying new variants of offending files and new types of malware so that they can update their solution products. Egregious advertisers churn out invasive tools as fast as solution providers can update their products. They mislead users implying they can wipe out offending files, then merely replace it with their own product.

As if that weren't bad enough, now a "watcher" file transmits along with the offending code; generating a monotonous loop until no other option exists but to agree to a download. Some spyware even re-installs itself with every re-boot.

Summary:

Users can arm themselves against this cyber-predator by taking precautionary measures. Users are under the misconception they are protected by anti-virus utilities. Anti-viral products only remove spyware if they are expressly configured to do so. Some solutions sweep away virtual footprints; some actually extricate offending programs. Users must take the time to comprehend their browser's security settings. Settings must be high enough to protect systems from automatic installations, which constitute a fundamental invasion of privacy. However, what is the expectation of privacy in cyberspace? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is asking this and many similar questions in court, and has just passed anti-spyware legislation. Meanwhile, users should only install software from a trusted source, or download for free at their own risk.