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- Spyware
The spyware [I1] [I2] [I3] [I4] [I5] [F1] [F2] [S1] [E1] [E2] [E3] [E4] collects information about the user’s on-line life (web sites visited, on-line purchases etc..) without authorization. Then it transmits this information to an organization that will use it to make profits usually by sending precise advertisement (spam).
Unlike viruses and worms, spywares are not able to spread autonomously, so they need the user to install them (they are more similar to Trojan horses).
They are first of all a menace for privacy because they catch information about the user’s behaviour on the Internet: average time of navigation, connection times, web sites visited, and even more confidential data such as e-mail addresses and passwords.
Sometimes spywares are used by criminals whose aim is to use all the information collected for money thefts through home banking data or through credit card numbers.
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