INTERPRETACIÓN DE LOS RESULTADOS

Adware, spyware, and for that matter, any malware, can attack in a variety of ways.

4.2.1 Adware Attacks

As mentioned earlier, adware is usually bundled with a com- mercial software. It can install itself on your computer either with your permission or without your knowledge when you install the software package. Milder forms of adware are also present in the form of pop-up (and the increasingly common, pop-under) banners that pop up when you visit certain sites. These ads, sometimes referred to as “Java traps,” open up in sev- eral mini-windows—each time a window is closed by the user, code that spawns another window is activated.

Programmers sometimes add adware to their software pack- ages in order to recover some of the cost of developing the pack- age. If the package is freeware (see box Some Terms Explained), then the adware is used to make up for the entire cost of devel- opment. Shareware packages also sometimes carry adware that is activated once the trial period is over.

Adware can have several negative effects on your computer. It generally slows it down since it gobbles up some of your sys- tem’s RAM. It also, to a large extent, slows down your Internet connection, as a lot of bandwidth can be used to download ad content.

Adware is generally licensed content, and therefore usually (though not always) requires the user’s permission before being installed on the user’s computer. It collects information about how one is using one’s computer and the content transmitted

therein, and based on this, displays “relevant” ads in your browser (see screenshot). The free versions of certain browsers, like Opera, used to support adware. Come P2P clients, such as KaZaA, have adware (for example, Gator, TopSearch, etc.) that install on your computer.

However, there are very few examples of such “good” adware. Good adware allows you to uninstall it whenever you like. The other type of adware installs itself on your computer without your permission. Usually, sites with explicit content install such packages onto your computer. These could eventually “hijack” your browser, causing your screen to get filled with more and more pop-ups.

4.2.2 Spyware Attacks

Spyware is intended to gather information about a computer user without that user’s permission and knowledge. There are different levels of information that spyware intends to collect from one’s computer. The milder versions collect data about the Relevant’adware in the Opera browser

user’s Internet usage and sends it to, say, an online advertising agency, who will then point your browser towards advertising content (read tons of pop-ups). The harsher versions of spyware can take more personal information from your Internet history such as credit card numbers and passwords.

Spyware is usually developed by individuals who want to infil- trate computers and use it to their profit. Spyware, once installed on your computer, can drastically slow down its performance, since it consumes a large amount of RAM; with every subsequent browser function, it slows down your computer further.

But how doesspyware get installed on your computer? Well, you don’t have to visit a pornography site to be attacked by spy- ware. These days, spyware has pervaded to sites with not only explicit content, but also to sites with other accessible Web con- tent, including downloads from sources that aren’t legitimate. Though it may seem pretty cool to have been able to get some Errorguard is a commonly known application that installs various spyware on your computer

really expensive pirated software off a warez site, you are almost certainly going to be open to spyware as you do it. The same goes for some P2P clients (like Kazaa, BearShare, and Morpheus).

Spyware can get installed on your computer when you install certain software, through the ActiveX controls of malicious Web sites, or even through pop-up advertising. ActiveX is a technolo- gy used by Microsoft IE, and it allows different applications—or parts of them—that you installed on your computer to be accessed by your browser to display content. Some spyware developers are particularly cunning, disguising their spyware

Links like this usually lead to a Gator installation

One of the most common spyware on the Web is Claria Corporation’s (formerly Gator Corporation) Gator. Usually, Gator installs itself with such applications as DivX Pro or KaZaA. However, Gator can also install itself even if you haven’t installed these programs. Most malicious Internet advertising will guide you to some or the other “free” software download. And if you do download such soft- ware, nine times out of ten, Gator will be installed on your computer without your knowledge.

programs as spyware removal programs, thereby fooling users into downloading more spyware.

Spyware programs are getting more malicious by the day. They could install a variety of application DLLs on your computer that allow hackers to snoop on what you’re doing. These DLLs can do a variety of things to your computer—monitor your keystrokes

on or offline, access your word processor, hijack your Web brows- er, display advertisements, and more. And some spyware leaves your computer even more open to attack from other spyware.

Gator basically displays advertising on the computer on which it is installed. It also installs a host of other applications like GotSmiley, Dashbar, and more, which further slow down your computer.

Freeware

As the name suggests, freeware is software that is available for download and use free of charge. The essential difference between freeware and adware is that freeware is free software without advertising content. Freeware also does not usually come with technical support on the developer’s behalf. As opposed to shareware, freeware can be used indefinitely and does not expire after a par- ticular period of use.

Shareware

Put simply, shareware is “try before you buy” software. Shareware allows you to use the software for a trial period, after which you are asked to purchase it. The purchase may be of the entire software package, or a registration code to unlock the original shareware package for unrestricted use. The best part about shareware packages are that they allow you to evaluate them before actually buying, so you know whether the package suits your requirements or not. And as the name implies, users are encouraged to share the shareware package with friends.

Warez

Warez is essentially pirated stuff (games, applications, music albums, et al) that are available for download over the Internet. There are clear violations of copy- right laws in downloading and using warez.