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Spyware,
which is also known as adware, is a program or script that
secretly gathers information about you, your computer and
online habits and using your internet connection relay it
to advertisers and other interested parties. Some forms
of spyware gather basic information such as operating system
type, browser type, screen size, general geographic location
web sites you have visited as well as when and how often.
This information is used as a form of online demographic
study. Knowing operating system type, browser type and screen
size assists some web programmers to develop software and
web sites that are most compatible with the most online
users. Tracking visits via cookies (a small program set
on your computer from a specific web site) allows the web
master or host to see how many visitors a web site has,
whether the visitors are first timers or are repeat visitors,
how long you spent on the site and what pages were viewed
during your visit. This information is then tabulated to
sell advertising space on the site the same way a newspaper
sells ads based on how many readers they have. The more
readers, or in this case viewers a web site has the more
money they will charge. In most cases this type of cookie
spyware still does not know who *you* are, just your online
demographic. Some cookies allow a site to recall your log
in information and some site require cookies types in order
to place online orders. What we have just covered briefly
in the more benign uses of spyware but not all spyware is
benign. Some forms of spyware report more detailed information
that allows the people who are harvesting the information
to target you with specific advertising, pop ups and spam.
There is another form of spyware that truly lives up
to it's name. These variants can track every key stroke
you make including passwords and account information, monitor
every email and instant message and much much more. This
type is often used by employers, parents keeping tabs on
their children, to catch cheating spouses and for other
very invasion purposes.
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