Spyware:

Prevention vs. Elimination, a

comparison in efficiency.
 Introduction
Need for User Education.
Current Solutions are not 100%. 
 Spyware is a serious security threat.
Spyware can cause lost work time.
Spyware can affect your operating
budget.  
 User Education
Users need to be the first line of defense
in preventing spyware from being loaded. 
The vast majority of spyware is loaded by
the computer user, unknowingly in most
cases, but with their compliance.  Users
must be discouraged from downloading
and installing unapproved 3rd party
software without consulting their IT
personnel. 
 Spyware is mutable
Spyware companies are heavily funded
and continually rewriting their programs to
escape detection.  You must have a
preventative solution and maintain it to
prevent infection.
 Spyware is a security threat
Spyware must be considered a severe
security threat for campus users.  Many
spyware programs monitor web traffic,
store copies of your passwords, and
harvest email addresses and personal
information for marketing purposes.  The
shadowy nature of spyware companies
means that this information could easily
end up in the hands of criminal hackers or
identity theft scam artists. 
 Spyware is deceptive
Spyware companies use free, useful seeming
programs as a backdoor to enter the users
machine.  Webshots, Weatherbug, Date
Manager, most music sharing programs and
many others include permission to install
additional software as part of their terms of
service agreement.  Free search engines and
tool bar additions for Internet Explorer are
another prime source of spyware infection. 
 Spyware impacts
The presence of spyware impedes normal
machine operation, can cause data corruption or
loss, blue screen crashes, and program
crashes. 

Several classes of spyware programs can affect

network traffic from the client machine.  This can
cause sporadic network outages, slow browsing
or downloading, or the loss of network
connection. 
 Reloading is expensive
Spyware is capable of changing registry
entries, system files, and security settings,
and can cause damage to a computer that
requires a system reload to correct. 
Preventative actions are much more cost
and time effective than corrective actions. 
 Spyware Solutions
Adaware

Spybot

Spysweeper
 C&C Spyware Help

Computing and Communications Spyware

Information Page
 Most Prevalent Spyware

GAIN/Gator
VX/2
AdGoblin
Cool Web Search
Direct Dialer
Alexa
WebRebates