Internet
Before Internet access became widespread, viruses spread on personal computers by infecting programs or the executable boot sectors of floppy disks. The first worms, network-borne infectious programs, originated not on personal computers, but on multitasking Unix systems. Unlike a virus, this worm did not insert itself into other programs. Instead, it exploited security holes in network server programs and started itself running as a separate process.
Programs
Many early infectious programs, including the first Internet Worm and a number of MS-DOS viruses, were written as experiments or pranks generally intended to be harmless or merely annoying rather than to cause serious damage. Some spyware has disabled or even removed competing spyware programs, on the grounds that more spyware-related annoyances make it even more likely that users will take action to remove the programs. This is because these programs are not granted unrestricted access to the operating system, though some allege it's mainly due to the far smaller number of machines installed with these operating systems making spyware development potentially less profitable for these platforms. Some programs simply display pop-up ads on a regular basis; for instance, one every several minutes, or one when the user opens a new browser window. It is also one of the purposes for which spyware programs gather information on user behavior.
A further issue in the case of some spyware programs has to do with the replacement of banner ads on viewed web sites. Anti-spyware programs often report Web advertisers' HTTP cookies, the small text files that track browsing activity, as spyware. These common spyware programs illustrate the diversity of behaviors found in these attacks. For instance, a number of the spyware programs are known as "Gator". Likewise, programs which are frequently installed together may be described as parts of the same spyware package, even if they function separately. These programs add toolbars to track aggregate browsing behavior, redirect affiliate references, and display advertisements. As a result, other anti-spyware and anti-virus companies have also used other terms such as "potentially unwanted programs" or greyware. Such programs inspect the contents of the Windows registry, the operating system files, and installed programs, and remove files and entries which match a list of known spyware components. A slightly more hostile intent can be found in programs designed to vandalize or cause data loss.
Malware
Another strictly for-profit category of Malware has emerged in spyware, programs designed to monitor users' web browsing, display unsolicited advertisements, or redirect affiliate marketing revenues to the spyware creator. Some anti virus programs that fail to stop Malware and Trojans on the computer have a virus chest file. Some malware programs install a key logger, which copies down the user's keystrokes when entering a password, credit card number, or other information that may be useful to the creator. For instance, some spyware programs redirect search engine results to paid advertisements. More recently, the greater share of malware programs have been written with a financial or profit motive in mind. If you really want to take the work out of looking for that right Spyware Protection from a Spybot go to the Internet and get a Free Spybot Download or a Spybot Search and Destroy Download to prevent your vital information from being ripped from your computer. There are also programs available that can remove the parasites automatically; they can also detect many more types of threat. Spyware and other potentially unwanted programs are the number one threat to business systems and networks. Neutralize spyware before it takes root and spreads. Protect your systems from spyware programs before they get a foothold.
