Figuring out how spyware invades your privacy

Spyware is a term that applies to a wide variety of features, functions, and bits of software designed for one purpose: to monitor a user’s computing habits and send that data back to a central monitoring site. Spyware uses various methods to track the virtual movements of individuals as they explore the Internet:

Cookies: Some banner-ad companies (the source of those “banner ads” that appear on many Web sites) use these tiny globs of code to identify your individual system and record what Web sites you visit. The idea is to determine which people are seeing which banner ads. This all happens without your clicking a single ad.

ActiveX controls: Some Web sites or banner ads may attempt to download ActiveX controls into your computer.

These are actual programs that can track your movements, and possibly even capture information such as your e-mail address and demographics gender, age group, geographic region, race, anything that can be used to characterize a targeted group of potential buyers.

Internet Explorer modifications: Some Web sites — or even HTML-encoded e-mail messages — can attempt to modify certain configuration settings in your Internet Explorer Web browser — for example:

1. Changing the browser’s home page (the page displayed when you start the browser or when you click the Home button in the browser toolbar).
2. Changing the Web site that your browser visits if you misspell a URL when you type it in.
3. Adding Web sites to your list of bookmarks.

Surveillance programs: Whether in the name of national (in) security or crass commercial advantage, nearly anything that can be done without your knowledge will be done, or at least attempted. For instance  

Key loggers: Some Web sites try to install these programs on your computer to capture your every keystroke and mouse movement — and report them to who-knows-where. For that matter, many viruses also attempt to install key loggers on your computer. Something about capturing your bank account numbers and passwords I guess. . . .

1. Screen-capture tools: These programs “take a picture” of what’s on your screen and send a copy along to the (ahem) interested parties.
2. Voice? Before long, it may be possible to record sounds — after all, many newer computers have built-in microphones — but such instant bugging is still in the realm of science fiction. So far these unwelcome visitors generally fall outside the scope of what antivirus programs look for. That means (cue the sinister music) one or more of them may be on your computer now.