Spyware problems loom larger

Spyware could be causing half of all PC crashes, Microsoft has claimed.

Microsoft said that, with more than two dozen pieces of spyware lurking on the average PC, surreptitious monitoring software is likely responsible for as many as half of all PC crashes.

Dell said that 12 percent of its tech-service calls are related to spyware.

An estimated 300,000 spyware and monitoring programs are reportedly already at large.
Spyware also causes problems for privacy and security. Hidden ad-ware and data-mining software relays user habits to advertisers and marketers and can be used to funnel credit-card numbers and passwords to those with felonious intent.

In the US, spyware is starting to attract attention from that nation's government. In late May, for instance, the US state of Utah will enact a Spyware Control Act, complete with a US$10,000 fine imposed on those placing unauthorised monitoring software on a computer.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also held a one-day spyware hearing aimed at getting a handle on the situation before adware--which still makes up the bulk of spyware--is superseded by more malicious code.

Spyware-focused companies such as PepiMK Software, PestPatrol, and Webroot Software, and the traditional anti-virus industry are ratcheting up their products.

Recent 'protection-ware' releases from Symantec, McAfee, and Zone Labs show these companies as being among the vanguard of those actively promoting anti-spyware capabilities alongside virus-detection and -removal products.

Microsoft is reportedly considering adding anti-spyware capabilities to future versions of Windows and XP Service Packs.