Spyware, a widespread problem

Madrid, June 30 2004 - Day after day, spyware(*) causes major problems in users´ computers worldwide, according to data supplied by analysts in the software industry and published by vnunet.com.

According to information provided by Microsoft at last month´s US Federal Trade Commission workshop, spyware is responsible for more than half of the Windows operating system failures reported to the company. However, users seldom realize that the problem is related to spyware.

It is estimated that 90 percent of computers contain 30 or more spyware programs. This problem also affects computer vendors, who spend millions of euros offering support to users affected by this type of malware.

Dell has acknowledged that in the United States, 12 percent of the phone calls to their technical support services are spyware-related. SupportPlan, a UK IT call center, has stated that spyware incidents have increased by 6 percent over the last few months.

(*) Spyware: a program that is automatically installed with another, (usually without the user´s permission and even without the user realizing), which collects personal data (data on Internet access, actions carried out while browsing, pages visited, programs installed on the computer, etc.).

Oxygen3 24h-365d
by Panda Software

2004-07-01 12:45

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