Beware spyware, web users told
Computer users were urged yesterday to guard against spyware, which accounted for almost a third of complaints received by the computer security watchdog this year.
Spyware is software that performs, generally without a user's consent, tasks such as collecting personal or credit card information, changing the computer's configuration or launching advertisements even when the user is off line.
The Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Co-ordination Centre (HKCert) said yesterday that 89 out of 310 incident reports in January and February involved spyware. But most only caused computers or networks to stall and none caused financial losses.
Spyware programmes are often attached to free software that users download for purposes such as music-sharing, or they install themselves when a user browses certain websites.
'The problem is that spyware is legal, as it is part of the package that the users agreed to download and install,' said HKCert head Roy Ko Wai-tak.
There had been cases overseas where spyware companies sued anti-spyware software providers for removing their programmes.
Mr Ko added that even though some companies made clear what information they would be collecting - often for such purposes as business analysis - the fact the spyware had the ability to collect information warranted concern.
'For example, in some cases they state they are collecting only the first digits of your credit card number to know which bank you're with,' said Mr Ko. 'But that also shows they have the ability to get all the numbers, and it could be open to abuse.'
Computer users were urged to install software to guard against the 1,500-plus spyware programmes circulating on the internet.
Meanwhile, police said that of all the bogus banking website cases recorded since 2003, only one resulted in financial losses locally.
But fake websites still posed a challenge as scams continue to be launched worldwide, the Technology Crime Division said.
