Hello! In response to Robert's excellent discussion of Spyware, I would just like to add that the most astonishing fact regarding Spyware is that it is technically LEGAL, for some reason! Pop-up ads, spyware, and spybots are some of the most annoying, potentially harmful aspects of being online, and yet, as of now, they are perfectly legal...hence their proliferation. The sooner this type of "advertising" is made illegal, the better. ~~Josh D. > Societal Issues > > The U.S. Constitution guarantees every American the right to privacy. As > many > people have found out the hard way, the interney theatens this right. > Although > the internet is the one most robust information channel for everyone in the > world and many companies and education institutions can no longer function > with > out it, it is a serious threat to our privacy. The problem is that even with > all of the media and attention identity theft is getting (much of it done > through the internet), most users are unaware of how REAL this threat > actually > is. Everyone in this course has most likely heard of Ebay and maybe even > bought > something from it. According to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC), > online auctions are the number one source of complaints about internet fraud > which made up of 46.1% of internet fraud complains in 2002 (you can obtain > this > information at: http://www.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/2002_IFCCReport.pdf). > > Another threat to users' privacy is spyware. Spyware is a surveillance tool > that can gather user information and activity without the user?s knowledge. > Spy > software can record your keystrokes as you type them, passwords, credit card > numbers, sensitive information, where you surf, chat logs, and can even take > random screenshots of your activity. Basically whatever you do on the > computer > is completely viewable by the spy. You do not have to be connected to the > Internet to be spied upon. The most common way people can get spyware loaded > on > their PC is by downloading and installing popular music sharing freeware that > silently installs other software without their knowledge used to monitor > their > PC activities, however there are also many other ways for Spyware to infect > your > PC. Here are a few things to look for that could mean you have spyware on > your > PC: > > 1. You enter a search term in Internet Explorer's address bar and press Enter > to > start the search. Instead of your usual search site, an unfamiliar site > handles > the search. > > 2. A new item appears in your Favorites list without your putting it there. > No > matter how many times you delete it, the item always reappears later. > > 3. Your system runs noticeably slower than it did before. If you're a > Windows > 2000/XP user, launching the Task Manager and clicking the Processes tab > reveals > that an unfamiliar process is using nearly 100 percent of available CPU > cycles. > > 4. A search toolbar or other browser toolbar appears even though you didn't > request or install it. Your attempts to remove it fail, or it comes back > after > removal. > > 5. And the final sign is: Everything appears to be normal. The most devious > spyware doesn't leave traces you'd notice, so scan your system anyway > > This information was obtained from pcmag.com. You can read about it at: > http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1524266,00.asp. There is also some good > information about how to aviod spyware. I hope this societal issue relates > to > you and teaches you something that you didn't know. I'll look forward to > your > replies. > > > > > Robert Morris > Contact Information: > email: rdmorris@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > "A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it." > > > > >