Be alert to "legal" espionage

Author: Zhang Lin

_ 6562> recently, an Agency published a survey that found that most anti-spyware tools on the desktop were ineffective. 84% of respondents believe that despite using these tools, the espionage problem has not been mitigated, but has become increasingly serious.

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P; The above situation looks really bad, and the reasons for its formation include a variety of factors, the theme we want to discuss this time is those "legitimate" spyware.

As we know, spyware can be divided into two types: "monitoring spyware", which records keyboard operations and screen capture, and is mainly used by enterprises and some people with ulterior motives. The other is "advertising spyware", which is usually installed together with other software or through ActiveX controls. Its main function is to record the user's name, gender, age, email address, online shopping activities, hardware or software settings, and most of them are used by advertising companies.

The above two types of spyware have "valid" usage problems. For example, when you need to use a software for free, it will be mentioned in the Additional Protocol, the advertising spyware provided by sponsors must be installed. This is a bit like a large number of advertisements are often received when watching TV, because the installation requires the user's consent, therefore, it is theoretically legal. But the problem is that many users simply click "agree" without having to read the agreement carefully. In addition, such advertising spyware collects user information and behaviors, it is beyond the control of the user.

In addition, some companies have installed spyware on their computers to monitor employees' work efficiency. In addition to monitoring employees' emails, they can also record visited webpages, even real-time monitoring of employee screens, despite the privacy issues involved in these software, is still welcomed by many companies. What's more, a company has launched a "Lover Spy" software. You can put it in an e-card and send it to your friends. After opening it, you can learn about any of his activities on the computer without knowing it, view his chat records, photos, and even remotely switch his computer camera! It is said that there are quite a few buyers of the software. You cannot bring your lover to court. Therefore, such a "legal" spy can only make people laugh and cry. It seems that spyware, as a cyber security threat, is beyond the technical control and needs to be prevented and treated in a wider range of fields.