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Best Spyware Removers
Finding the best spyware removers to detect and remove spyware and adware from your computer is much easier if you consider a few things before you make your purchase. Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking for a spyware protection...
Breaking Down the Language Barrier
Pretty soon language will no longer be a barrier that keeps humanity separated. The Internet has become the ultimate medium for communication amongst humans. When it first began, websites were predominantly written in English, but over time all the...
CD/DVD and Music Software
Music Software There is plenty of free and trial version (shareware) audio software available for download these days. You can convert, encode, rip, edit, burn, and even record audio off LPs or in some cases, you can record any sound you...
Detangling the Web--Beware Spyware
Did you know that most major Web sites--some of them popular and respected Web sites--download unwanted spyware on your computer when you visit? At its most benign level, spyware is used by Web sites to track your browsing and purchasing habits....
Yourself! To Win The War Against Spam!
Unfortunately, fighting SPAM has become an ever increasing challenge in every day online life! :( Even with the passage of the CAN-SPAM legislation which took effect in the United States in January of 2004 (see...
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Spyware Statistics -- What's New in May 2005?
The results of Spy Audit survey made by ISP Earthlink and Webroot Software are still fresh in memory of IT security experts. The study lasted for the whole last year; more than 4.6 million system scans were made in 2004. On May 3, 2005 the Webroot's State of Spyware Report was released. What's new in Q1 2005?
Although statistics often is blamed for various deadly sins -- from being biased to being inaccurate -- there is nothing left to those who are anyhow connected with IT but to keep up with fresh data. Since spyware is literally ubiquitous, nobody who owns or uses a PC can say that it is none of his business. So general public also has to keep an eye on the news about spyware.
On May 3 Webroot Software, a privately held anti-spyware company based in Boulder, Colorado, released a comprehensive report on spyware, The State of Spyware Report, -- an in-depth review and analysis of the impact of spyware, adware and other types of unwanted software on consumers and enterprises.
The results of Spy Audit survey made by ISP Earthlink and Webroot Software are still fresh in memory of IT security experts. The study lasted for the whole last year; more than 4.6 million system scans were made in 2004. What's new in 2005?
"Industry experts suggest that these types of programs [i.e. spyware in general] may reside on up to 90 percent of all Internet-connected computers" that's the quote from the last year's Spy Audit survey. The first quarter of 2005, alas, confirmed these suggestions.
During Q1, 2005, 88% of scans made with Webroot's SpyAudit software found some form of unwanted program (Trojan, system monitor, cookie or adware) on consumers' computers. The majority (87%) of corporate PCs also had unwanted programs or cookies.
Excluding cookies, which are not such a serious problem as key logger programs or Trojan horses, more than 55% of corporate
PCs contained unwanted programs. There were an average of 7.2 non-cookie infections per PC.
System monitors (key logger programs) were found in 7% cent of consumer and enterprise PCs scanned by Webroot's software. In Q4 2004 there were 19%. Trojan horse programs were found on 19% of consumer PCs and 7% of enterprise PCs, the same figures as in Q4 2004.
This year's State of Spyware Report data come from Webroot's SpyAudit results and from online research made by Phileas, Webroot's automated spyware research system. Phileas has identified 4,294 sites (with almost 90,000 pages) containing some form of spyware.
This report for the first quarter of 2005 entirely confirmed the concept that had become as clear as day in 2004 -- from being not much more than a nuisance for PC users, spyware turned into one of the major threats to information security.
Since the Internet has become a part of daily life and business, rapid growth of such kinds of cybercrime as identity theft and phishing endanger the whole society. Some types of spyware, namely software capable of stealing passwords, SSNs and other valuable information (keyloggers and keylogger-containing malware), certainly facilitate these crimes.
The complete report for Q1 2005 is available at http://www.webroot.com/stateofspyware (Registration is required) In the future an updated version of Webroot's State of Spyware Report will be released at the end of each quarter. Keep an eye on the news!
About the Author
Alexandra Gamanenko currently works at Raytown Corporation, LLC -- an independent software developing company. The company's R&D department created an innovative technology, which disables the very processes of information capturing -- keylogging, screenshoting, etc. Learn more -- visit the company's website www.anti-keyloggers.com
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