Spy SoftwareSummary Spy software, or spyware, is software that records information and/or activity on a computer and then sends the information to the person or company who installed it. While these programs have been around since the dawn of Windows, there has been a surge of new applications recently. Newer programs far surpass their predecessors in what they do, who installs them, and how they are used. What exactly do these programs do, who installs them, and should they be a cause for concern? The list of spyware programs is long and grows every day. Investigator, Spector, and Cyber ​​Snoop are some of the best known, but there are countless others. Some common features include recording emails, passwords, chat dialogues, web browsing, and even images from the infected computer's webcam. Companies often install these programs on their office systems to monitor employee usage. This helps ensure that employees aren't surfing the web or writing personal emails when they should be working. Recently these programs have been marketed to parents to monitor their children's computer use and to monitor spouses. Companies have the right to use these programs in the office; there is no real ethical controversy about their use in the previously mentioned areas. If the use of spyware remained limited to these areas there would be nothing to worry about. Unfortunately this is not the case. Some file transfer programs include various "friend" programs that load advertisements or try to be useful to the computer user in some way. And others, like AudioGalaxy, have built-in spyware that actively records information much like Investigator and sends the information… in the middle of paper… in a hurry. Spyware in a galaxy near you. January 24, 2002. Wired News. 7 March 2002 Home page of counter-exploitation. March 6, 2002. Organization against exploitation. March 6, 2002 POE News Page. January 20, 2002. Portal of Evil. March 7, 2002 Spector spy software. March 7, 2002. Spectorsoft Corporation. March 7, 2002 Visualware press release. March 6, 2002. Visualware Incorporated. March 7, 2002 VX2 Homepage. March 6, 2002. VX2 Incorporated. March 6, 2002 What is spyware?. March 6, 2002. SpywareInfo. March 6, 2002 WinWhatWhere Investigator. WinWhatWhere Corporation. March 7 2002>