By Qing Hu, Tamara Dinev
Communications of the ACM,
August 2005,
Vol. 48 No. 8, Pages 61-66
10.1145/1076211.1076241
Comments
Recent media attention to spyware [2, 5, 7, 8] has brought to light the blunt intrusion into individual privacy and the uncertain hidden cost of free access to Internet sites, along with freeware and shareware. Most spyware programs belong to the more benign category of adware that delivers targeted pop-up ads based on a user's Web surfing habits. The more malicious type of spyware tracks each keystroke of the user and sends that information to its proprietors. Such information could be used for legitimate data mining purposes or it could be abused by others for identity theft and financial crimes.
The full text of this article is premium content
No entries found
Log in to Read the Full Article
Need Access?
Please select one of the options below for access to premium content and features.
Create a Web Account
If you are already an ACM member, Communications subscriber, or Digital Library subscriber, please set up a web account to access premium content on this site.
Join the ACM
Become a member to take full advantage of ACM's outstanding computing information resources, networking opportunities, and other benefits.
Subscribe to Communications of the ACM Magazine
Get full access to 50+ years of CACM content and receive the print version of the magazine monthly.
Purchase the Article
Non-members can purchase this article or a copy of the magazine in which it appears.