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[Photo Galleries ][Polls Discussion ] [ Go to Castlebar ] [ The BB Index ] [ Disclaimer ] [Nostalgia Board ] [Roots ] [NB Refresh for current version and all follow-ups] Posted by Mike on May 07, 2004 at 01:02:14: In Reply to: Definitions of Spyware on the Web: posted by what is spyware on May 06, 2004 at 20:38:45: Spyware, Viruses, trojans, worms the distinctions can be a bit blurred sometimes but here goes Trojans: Are programs that initialy appear like they do something useful or "cool" but are deliberatly designed to have undesirable side effects may come on discs, email, on download sites or through filesharing software Virus: Any program designed to make copies of itself without the user knowing. Usually they also have other undesirable side effects too (often contained within Trojans) Spyware: programs that run on your system and secretly scan it for personal information (such as email addresses) and sends them back via the internet to hackers*, criminals or spammers (again often spread via trojans) (* Suppose Id better point out before someone else does that not all hackers engage in such practices) Adware: any software that causes advertising spam (such as pop up's) to appear on your machine. Often this advertising is for pornograpgy and/or illegal goods/services) Adware and Spyware are often one and the same. Adware programs also tend to add unwanted bookmarks to your "favorites" folder or change your internet startup page. In some cases you can get so much spam coming through your internet connection that it becomes impossible to use your computer for anything else worm: a virus that travels through the internet (or other network) Usually (but not always by) email. This can be done by several methods but a common one involves the worm scanning your email address book and fowarding copies of itself to people you know without your knowledge. Worms can slow down the internet (If they multiply very quickly and travel on large numbers at the same time) Dialer: A piece of software that attempts to change the telephone number your computer dials up to get on the internet (usually to a premium rate or international number)
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