Security Administrator Street Smarts: A Real World Guide to CompTIA Security+™ Skills, Third Edition

Task 3.4: Using a Spyware Checker

Spyware is much like adware except that it has the ability to track your activities as you move about the Internet, as well as capture your keystrokes. This information can be returned to hackers or advertisers, who use it to track your visits to specific sites and to monitor your activity. Spyware programs have become increasingly intelligent. Many have the capability to install themselves in more than one location, and like a malignant disease, removing one piece of the malicious code triggers the software to spawn a new variant in a uniquely new location.

Spyware is capable of changing Registry entries and forcing a system to reinstall itself when the computer reboots. What are some of the worst spyware programs ...