spyware

Spyware: The New Annoying Threat

So what is this spyware? Spyware is software that collects personal information from your computer without your knowledge of the occurring event. Information gathered from spyware ranges from the collection of all web-browsing activities to collecting sensitive information like usernames, passwords, address and even your social security number. Spyware has the ability, when installed, to modify system settings, which perform undesirable tasks on your computer system. Furthermore, spyware has been known to redirect user’s web browsers, cause computers to dial services for which they are billed and install DLLs and other executables files to send your personal data to another computer. This is done by using the computer's memory resources and also by utilizing bandwidth, as it sends information back to the spyware's home server via the user's Internet connection. Because the spyware program is using memory and system resources, the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes or general system instability.