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The Internet Industry Association has today warned broadband users that undetected spyware on their computers could be eating away at their download limits, possibly costing them excess bandwidth charges or slowing their connection speeds.
In launching its GetNetSafe scheme, as part of national eSecurity week, the Association is making available through its members free trial anti-spyware, anti-virus and anti-spam solutions to all Australian internet users.
'There is no doubt that spyware has overtaken spam as the most serious issue facing internet users today', said IIA chief executive, Peter Coroneos. 'We are committed to helping users manage that threat by making available advanced software solutions through our members.'
'An infected machine can turn your computer into a 'zombie', that is, under the control of spammers or fraudsters.'
'For example, a zombied machine can be used by spammers to send huge volumes of unsolicited email to other internet users.'
'Unfortunately, this can add to the bandwidth consumption of unsuspecting users. We know of cases where spyware has caused internet users to inadvertently incur substantial excess usage fees, or triggered the throttling of their internet connections by their ISPs because they have prematurely exceeded their limits.'
'It turns out that it's not just the kids downloading music and videos. It can be due to spyware causing your computer to send large volumes of data and chewing up your data allowance.'
Mr Coroneos explained that in other cases, spyware can be used to track your behaviour on the internet. 'Passwords can be stolen by programs that log your keystrokes, and personal information can be extracted from your hard drive. This is a precursor to identity theft, something we should all be cautious about.'
'Our message is simple. You should NOT be on the internet today without current, updated software tools - that means a reliable firewall, and anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-spyware solutions, which should be updated regularly. The cost is not great and will give you much greater peace of mind.'
Internet users are urged to visit http://www.secureyourcomputer.info which directs users to the Associations's offer.
The government's eEsecurity week initiative can be found at http://www.staysmartonline.gov.au
The IIA's free security portal for internet users is at http://www.security.iia.net.au.
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