Webroot conducted its survey using a bot program called Phileas, named after the character in Jules Vernes' “Around the World in 80 Days.” The system is deemed the anti-spyware industry's first automated spyware research system and was designed specifically to root out and identify spyware anywhere on the Internet.
Webroot principals said that the report didn’t reveal anything they didn’t already suspect, but commented that finally having solid numbers is helpful. The report revealed that up to 90 percent of personal computers were infected with spyware by the end of 2004, slightly higher than infection rates of enterprise computers.
Incidents of system-monitor spyware infections dropped, cookie and adware programs held fast, and Trojan horse-like viruses were on the increase. The results were compiled by Phileas through an opt-in survey.
CoolWebSearch was identified as the biggest of the spyware programs, four times bigger than its nearest competitor, Gator. Phileas revealed that an estimated 144,000 URLs contained adware as recently as March.
As spyware developers pivot and evade the latest developments designed to thwart them, the report maintains that the weakest link in the anti-spyware chain has always been the end-user, who can be tempted into downloading what he thinks are games, weather applets, p2p network programs and free iPod offers.
Webroot’s State of Spyware report, published on May 3, is intended to be an annual release.
