Spyware: A Morphing Campaign

Spyware and other Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) are a relatively new, albeit quick-to-flourish concept in the history of the Internet. Adware and spyware have been a natural, and very quickly developing, extension of Internet advertising, as well as an exploitation of various holes in browser and overall system security. In the early 1990s, a number of legitimate companies began to advertise online. Pop-up ads displaying pitches for companies such as Sprint, Volvo, MCI, and other top companies were commonplace. Shortly thereafter, the concept of advertising on the web was widely accepted, with the nuisance of spam following quickly on its heels.