EarthLink offers customers spyware protection
ISP boosts security by adding Spyware Blocker to TotalAccess package
Follow @infoworldInternet service provider (ISP) EarthLink, Inc. said Wednesday that it was offering customers free software to protect them from so-called "spyware" programs.
The Atlanta-based company is adding a program called Spyware Blocker to its TotalAccess package of software programs and tools, which EarthLink subscribers can download for free from the company's Web site.
Spyware is a generic term that describes a variety of different software applications that snoop on an Internet user's activities. Some legal programs that monitor Web surfing behavior or display pop-up ads might be considered spyware. However, spyware is often installed and run without the user's knowledge and can do everything from capturing and secretly distributing the information typed on a computer keyboard to giving a remote attacker total access to a Internet-connected computer, Richard Smith, an independent security consultant based in Boston, said in a recent interview.
The programs have become a more common presence on users' computers and are often bundled with peer to peer file sharing software like Kazaa, or installed on the sly in "driveby downloads" when users visit a Web site set up to distribute the programs, Smith said.
Spyware Blocker can detect up to 1,500 different types of spyware programs, according to EarthLink. Users can scan their computer hard drives for spyware programs. Once located, Spyware Blocker will explain what a program does and give users the ability to shut down that application or allow it to continue operating.
An alert function notifies users when a spyware application is running on their system, the company said.
The new product is intended to give EarthLink customers peace of mind and to help fight a security threat that is often overlooked by antivirus and firewall technology, the company said.
The announcement is just the latest from EarthLink which, in recent months, has introduced new software tools and filed lawsuits to combat a host of online ills including unsolicited commercial e-mail ("spam") , identity theft and pop-up advertisements.
