TACKLING SPYWARE IS becoming an increasingly important issue for the IT industry, and has even attracted the attention of software giant Microsoft.
A study in November by technology market research firm International Data Corp estimated that 67 per cent of consumer PCs were infected with some form of spyware - a category of malicious software usually driven by commercial interests that includes programs that surreptitiously gather user information, install phone dialers, re-route webpages or display pop-up advertising windows even when the user's browser is closed.
Two weeks ago, anti-virus software vendor Trend Micro announced a series of products and services aimed at helping large enterprises put an end to the spyware pest. These are aimed at taking a multilayered approach to stopping spyware, with solutions targeting a company's internet gateway, servers and desktop computers.
Tobias Lee, Trend Micro's global marketing director, said the company adopted this multilayered approach because the mobile nature of today's corporate users meant it was necessary to have protection at every level, including the client end, even though the company believed the best place to stop spyware was at the gateway, before it found its way on to corporate networks.
The software release comes as demand for anti-spyware tools is growing, driven by increased concern about the problem from corporate customers.
A recent poll conducted by TechRepublic.com, a website for IT professionals, found that nearly 80 per cent of respondents ranked spyware among their top three IT priorities this year. Their main concern was the impact spyware had on the performance of their computers.
Spyware works by monitoring a user's computer usage and steals confidential information, which it sends to third parties without the knowledge of the user.