Vol. 28, No. 4 #7 (August 2005). Spyware: When you look at your computer, is it looking back at you?.

• Author: By Sharon D. Nelson, Esq. and John W. Simek

Wyoming Bar Journal

2005.

Vol. 28, No. 4 #7 (August 2005).

Spyware: When you look at your computer, is it looking back at you?

WYOMING LAWYERAugust 2005/Vol. XXVIII, No. 4Spyware: When you look at your computer, is it looking back at you?By Sharon D. Nelson, Esq. and John W. Simek

Most computer users have no idea how rampant spyware has become, or how invasive it can be. Would you be surprised, even terrified, to hear that we find spyware on the majority of law firm computers we examine? The percentage skyrockets when we examine home computers, which are generally less protected. So do you ever work from home? It is truly frightening to think how vulnerable client data is to spyware. How much does spyware cost? Not much - $30-$ 100 is a common range, a cheap price for a heinous invasion of privacy. If you've never thought much about spyware, consider this. In a recent survey, 67% of network administrators rated spyware as this year's most significant problem, with viruses running at 23% and phishing running far behind at 10%.

What constitutes spyware?

No one quite agrees, but generally speaking, it is software installed on a computer without the target user's knowledge and meant to monitor the user's conduct. Some spyware will record everything the user does, the sites visited, instant messaging, e-mail, and document preparation. Some spyware is used to gather personally identifiable information like passwords, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers - all useful for those interested in fraud and identify theft. Other spyware programs will hijack your web browser, reset your home page, add toolbars, alter search results or send popup ads that cannot be closed, all intended to hawk some vendor's products.

Spyware has become insidiously clever recently - many programs come with a reinstaller - as soon as you attempt to remove it, it reloads itself. Many forms of spyware hide in Windows files and even mimic the file names so the average user would have no idea that the files are in fact shielding spyware. The latest wrinkle with spyware is that it can turn the infected machine into a spam zombie. This means that your computer is being used as a relay point to send spam messages without your knowledge. This is probably not a law firm's first choice of how to use its computer network.

What is adware? Is it spyware?

Those who...