Glossary of Spyware and Technology Terms
Special to Consumer Reports WebWatch
Robertson Barrett
Special to Consumer Reports WebWatch
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Adware: The term for spyware preferred and used by makers of software that include ad-serving mechanisms. Adware gathers some personal information and/or monitors a user's Web behavior to serve targeted ads. The majority of programs that use the ad-serving software disclose its existence during the installation process.
Read more about adware networks.
Bundled: An arrangement in which one or more software programs are included with another program, for technical reasons or because of a business partnership.
Cookie: A mechanism for storing information — such as passwords and a user's activity on a site — on your hard drive after visiting Web sites. Web sites usually use cookies to identify users and offer a more customized experience based on user preferences. But cookies also help advertisers target banner and other online ads to consumers (or ensure that users don't receive the same ads twice in a row), and users are generally not asked for permission in that process. Users may block the use of cookies by changing preferences on their Web browser.
File-sharing programs: Software applications that allow transfer of files over a public or private network. Popular commercial file-sharing programs have included music-sharing site Napster and similar applications that allowed users to browse a network for MP3 music files or software and download it.
Freeware: Software that can be downloaded and shared at no cost. However, most freeware is copyrighted so programmers cannot use it in software they are developing. Adware is an advertising-supported version of freeware.
Opt-in: An online process by which a user chooses to receive information (such as e-mail newsletters) or software, often by checking a check-box on a Web page or software installation screen.
Opt-out: An online process (such as un-checking a pre-checked box) by which a user actively chooses not to receive information, such as e-mail newsletters or software. Actively opting out will prevent a user's information from being a shared with businesses.
Peer-to-peer: A method of file-sharing over a network in which individual computers are linked via the Internet or a private network. Users download files directly from other users' computers, rather than from a central server.
Shareware: Software that is distributed — usually via the Internet and or CD-Rom — for free and on a trial basis. Users are encouraged or required to pay for the software after using it for a limited time. In some cases, the shareware is free but incomplete, and users may purchase a full version.
Spyware: Software that tracks a user's Web behavior or personal information without the user's knowledge and shares this data with third parties, such as advertisers. Many Internet security experts also apply the term to information-gathering software that installs itself as part of another program, even if the bundling of software and information tracking practices are disclosed to the consumer. These security experts, along with most privacy advocates, believe that such disclosures — which often occur in fine print on installation screens — rarely give users a thorough understanding of what information is being collected and of how a company will use it. Information-gathering software makers disagree.
Trojan-horse: Among security experts, a program that installs itself on a computer without the user's knowledge and is actively harmful to PCs by intentionally damaging PC operating systems, other software or hard drives. Many Web users apply the term to any program that surreptitiously installs others when it installs itself if the user has not actively chosen to receive all the programs.
Read more about Trojan horse programs.
Uninstaller: A program specifically written to remove a software program, most often included with the original program. Windows users can usually also uninstall programs through the Add/Remove Programs icon on their Control Panel. Many privacy advocates consider uninstallers that do not remove all elements of a program to be invasive.
Web bugs: A file, usually a small or invisible graphic image, that is placed on a Web page or in e-mail to allow a third party to monitor user behavior. Because users cannot see Web bugs, they are a form of spyware. Unlike cookies, Web bugs cannot be rejected by changing the settings on a Web browser.
Web-crawling services: A Web site, online program or software application that searches the World Wide Web for information, files or software programs, and which retrieves that information or those files for the user. Users generally have control of the search process, but they usually do not have the ability to limit the display of advertisements or promotions that accompany their search results — just as they do not on search engines such as Yahoo.
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Spyware Removal Options
The hangover from record downloads of programs that include adware and other spyware in 2002 has created a matching demand for utilities designed to block unwanted pop-up ads or remove spyware altogether.
Security experts contacted by Consumer Reports WebWatch recommended several popular programs instead of manual software-removal methods. The Add/Remove Programs function in Windows' Control Panel, for example, requires users to know the names of the stealth spyware files or to find special uninstallers, and even then, some spyware programs can leave functional elements behind on the hard drive.
While even leading anti-spyware makers can't guarantee a clean sweep, they include services that update their programs to account for newly discovered offenders. (Note: No recommended programs offer versions for Apple operating systems, as no prevalent spyware targets Macintosh computers.)
(Click on links for details and downloads. Consumer Reports WebWatch does not endorse any of these software programs, but provides this information as a reference.)
All-Purpose Spyware Killers
Two programs have drawn the most praise from experts and users, and one effective free alternative is gaining in popularity:
Ad-aware 5.83
Lavasoft's free utility, by far the most popular with users and experts, scans the PC hard disk and removable drives and displays a list of all programs that match its latest spyware list. Before attempting to remove any suspicious program, Ad-aware allows users to confirm the choice in a list box, make a backup kept in a harmless, separate directory and keep certain components of programs if they wish. For prevention going forward, a $15 upgrade, Ad-aware Plus, includes additional security features, lifetime customer support and Ad-watch, a real-time spyware monitor that alerts users if any spyware program uses system RAM or tries to install itself in the system registry.
BPC Spyware and Adware Remover 2.3
Like Lavasoft's program, the Bullet Proof Soft's free Spyware Remover tool removes and has a real-time feature, SpyWatch, that scans the PC memory and registry for known spyware components. Taking advantage of that ongoing service costs $29 after a five-day free trial. The program is 7 megabytes (seven times the size of Lavasoft's) and includes an additional tool, Pop-Up Watch, which attempts to block pop-up ads even when "adware" is running.
SpyBot Search & Destroy 1.0
German developer Patrick Kolla has received positive reviews from users for offering a free "donationware" alternative (Windows only). While Kolla's tool is a first release and its database of current spyware is smaller than those maintained by the staffs at Lavasoft and other firms, Spybot performs similarly and removes the most well-known spyware programs — an option for users who want a reasonable ongoing spyware detection service but don't want to pay for it.
Ad Blockers
A second line of defense, if "adware" removers might miss some spyware, are utilities aimed at blocking some or all ads during Web surfing. (These aren't a solution for users concerned about tracking as well as ads.).
Well-received leaders among them include InterMute, Inc's AdSubtract Pro 2.5 ($29.95 after a 30-day free trial), Guardwall's Guard-IE ($29.95, Internet Explorer only) and Panicware, Inc.'s free Pop-Up Stopper (which requires users to hold down the "control" key to access some links; paid versions for $19.95 and $39.95 remove this distraction and offer advanced features).
Security and Privacy Aids
If all else fails, average PC users can minimize the security threat from back-door spyware with stronger software suites that monitor and squelch background Internet activity.
The leading packages — ZoneLabs' Zone Alarm Pro 3.0 ($49.95) and Symantec's Norton Internet Security 2002 ($69.95) — both include a personal firewall, up-to-date virus scanners and settings to block many Internet ads. A popular alternative, Anonymizer Privacy Toolbar, hides Web-surfing activity from advertisers and most spyware programs ($29.95 per year after a 30-day trial).
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