Chapter 9: DEFINITION & TERMINOLOGY

Here are few definitions and terms that are generally related to spyware. They are arranged in an alphabetical order.

Adware
Adware is a software program that is, more often than not, packaged along with free software. Entrenched under the veil of this free software like search programming, games, desktop utilities like screensavers or timepiece, these appliances are used to track your internet habits and log the user’s password details. More often than not removing adware may lead to a consequence where the host application also ceases to operate.

Anti-spyware software
Anti-spyware software is an application that is used to remove a Spyware program from the user’s computer without affecting or altering the system’s settings. Anti-spyware is the only legitimate and logical process to protect one’s Personal Computers from spyware bugs.

Browser Helper Object
A typical Browser Helper Object would be installed into your system without conveying you or giving you any intimation by another software application. These are installed to monitor the user’s surfing habit and spy on private information.

Browser Hijackers
These are also known as Home Page Hijackers; here the application possesses the required capability to readjust the user’s default home page. It may also alter other subsidiary computer default settings and background too. While in application these menaces may insert unwanted bookmarks, pornographic sites, and advertising. They may also create commercials in pop-up formats. Browser hijackers, in addition to all these, would, most likely, readdress the user’s explorations to some sites which charge quite an amount for their searches performed.

Cookie
Cookies are small details of information which are created by the internet explorer server. This is a default function mainly to help you find a site already accessed in the past to connect in a faster mode in the future. The information is stored in the folder named “cookies” within the Windows folder. It must be mentioned that some cookies can actually spy on you providing specific customers like marketing firms your personal information including areas of interest, surfing habits, passwords and usernames to name a few. Of course these are installed without letting you have the single most notions.

Dialer
These are applications that are basically meant not to spy on you, but to disconnect your system from your chosen net source and in turn they reconnect your computer with a site that may be expensive or paid to be specific. They may even connect you to some pornographic site. At the end the find yourself paying an amount for an international call phone charge which you never intended.  They camouflage themselves neatly in your system background playing their planks all the time.

Drive-by download
When ever you click a pop-up, whether to close it or access it, there always lays a chance that some unwanted application is being downloaded without the user’s information or consent. This type of function is termed as Drive-by download.

Encryption
Encryption is data arranged in such a way that it becomes very difficult to decipher. This is done to protect information like password.

Firewall
A firewall is a barrier that bars a network from conversing openly with peripheral systems. This is done mainly to protect the host computer from threats of virus, worm, spyware and other related vices. But Firewalls are unable to secure the computer system from major infectivity induced by high profiled sophisticated applications like Trojans.

Information Privacy
These are data that the user, quite obviously, is unwilling to part. Personal information when leaked may cost heavily to a business house or an individual.

Keylogger
A keylogger falls under the category of a system monitoring appliance that stores the total trace of keystrokes of a computer system. Thus it can monitor and register everything that is ever typed like documents, passwords, social security or bank numbers, e-mails, instant messages and all other types of written for which the keyboard is needed.

Layered Service Provider
This software is compactly fabricated within the networking services of your system. As the Layered Service Provider is almost an embedded part of the computer, removing it without an appropriate application would result a permanent disconnection of your system from the internet.

Layered Socket Provider (LSP)
A Layered Socket Provider, or LSP, is a driver of the system that is responsible for the linking activity with the internet for Microsoft Windows computers. It monitors and registers all data that enters or leaves the network interfaces.

Operating System
Operating system is the main underlying software from where all the operations are functionable. DOS, MS-DOS, OS, MacOS, Windows and Linux are some of the better-known operating systems.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
Information which consists of private details like social security number, address, credit card information, phone number, bank account number, even name are termed as Personally Identifiable Information  or PII.

Privacy
Privacy is the space that an individual enjoys without the intervention of any other individual or entity.

Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy is the farm duties of the association or institute that collects and logs individual and private details to restore and secure. It is their responsibility to look after the matter if this information falls into hand that the individual is not intending to part with.

"Remove me"
These are options found in e-mails or advertisement pop-ups. Once you click the button the sender will act as it will be a known fact that you are on-line at that moment. The FTC confirmed this with a study in 2002 that “in 63% of the cases where a spam offered a "remove me" option, responding either did nothing or resulted in more email.”

Retrospy software
This is a software application that is meant to aggressively assault any anti-spyware application so that it would not be identified. Generally, they use a filename common to the system so that it can stay under a veil.

"Scumware"
"Scumware" is a slang word for a software application that transmits information back to a third party without notifying the user.

Shareware
Shareware is software that is distributed virtually for free. This software generally comes with some related package; the users are to evaluate the software. But using it beyond the stipulated time frame is regarded as piracy.

Spam
Spam are e-mails that are basically unwanted. They are by default stored in the bulk folder of the user’s e-mail account. These are actually advertisement mails.

Spyware
Spyware is a group of computer programs that affix themselves to your operating system in reprehensible ways. The damage it does is more a by-product of its main assignment. Piggybacked software installation, Drive-by download, Browser add-ons and spyware under the cloak as an anti-spyware are the few ways it creeps into your system. Once installed, most runs as an application in the background as soon as you start your computer up. It can engender continual pop-up ads that make your Web browser so sluggish it becomes ineffective.

Surveillance Software
Surveillance Software or Activity Monitoring Software is technically more menacing than viruses and spyware for the simple reason that it can monitor the user’s each keystroke on the keyboard resulting in a complete log of the passwords, history and all other classified and secretive information and then it makes this information available to its creator.

System Monitor
This application gathers the total activity of a computer system where it is installed. Their ability to log and register cover everything: from individual keystrokes to Web sites visited, chat room conversations, time spent, e-mails, instant messages, programs run, and even passwords and usernames. Logging all this they can revert back all the information gathered to the person who had instigated it to spy.

Thiefware 
Thiefware readdresses a user to a web page or any other search engine that the user did not intend to visit.

Trojan Horse
Trojan Horse is also known as Trojan or Backdoor Trojan. This is an application that allows web hackers to make ample changes in your system. But this is not a virus by any means as it cannot reproduce itself anyhow. The main function of a Trojan application is to control files on the user’s system, it can also rename, delete, create, transfer files or view files as necessary.

Virus
The main feature of a virus is that it can replicate itself by own. This application is embedded within its design. Once installed, they can not only replicate but also infect and damage other software systems and programs like partition sector, boot sector or related documents and files.

Worm
Worm or abbreviation for “writes once, read many" is an application that, after it is installed, consumes disk space and shuts down the system after replicating itself. The Netsky worm or the Sasser worm could be enumerated as fine examples. It replicates itself and has the tendency to spread all over the system.