Adware Versus Spyware

Introduction

Viruses aren't the only things that computer users have to deal with.  Everyone wants to feel safe while surfing the net.  However, surfing the net exposes us to the risk of being exploited by  people using malicious software. Are adware and spyware malicious software?  Is there a difference?

Adware

Adware refers to Advertising-supported software.  These programs display advertisements on the user's computer.   Advertising is important.  Customers benefit from advertising because they are made aware of goods and services that they may want. Sellers benefit because they can increase their sales through advertising.   Perhaps most free programs on the internet contain adware.   The user is able to utilize the program for free and the developers also benefit by generating money through the advertisements displayed in the program.  A win win situation. 

Spyware

But developers of software may not just want to display advertisement on the user's computer while he or she is running the software.   They may also desire to collect information about the user's browsing habits so as to provide a more targeted kind of advertising based on the user's browsing history.   This is at the point where Adware turns into Spyware.  Companies may state in the user's agreement that the program will collect such information and the user must agree to these terms and conditions before he or she is able to install the program.  But how many of us read these terms which may be couched in legal jargon difficult to understand.  

However, the reality of spyware goes far beyond tracking browsing history.   Spyware operates on stealth and deception.  The user may unknowingly install the spyware or he may be tricked into believing that he is installing a particular program when he is installing something else or installing the desired program but unknowingly installing malicious spyware programs that came bundled with it. Spyware is very dangerous. Spyware can gather information from one's hard drive allowing the attacker to obtain unauthorized information like trade secrets.  It can even gather passwords and credit card information!  Frightening indeed.

Protecting Yourself

Good anti-virus programs can also detect spyware.  Some anti-virus developers produce anti-spyware specifically designed to target spyware.  If you are an online shopper or involved in e-banking, anti-spyware in addition to anti-virus is a must.   There are numerous anti-spyware available.  I personally like Ad-Adware by Lavasoft and Windows Defender (free by Microsoft).  Note that Windows Defender is a standard program placed in Vista and Windows 7 but can be used on Windows Xp Sp2 and later.  Adware that is true adware may be desirable but spyware is disastrous.