Illegal spyware has been recently found by Symantec experts in a free game for the Android platform distributed through the Android Market.

The application is called Tapsnake. It’s the Android version of the old “snake” game that also reads the user’s coordinates and sends them to its server every few minutes. Of course, the developers of the game didn’t mention it in the game description.

Location data are collected on a special server where they can be accessed using a tool called GPS Spy that costs $5. The program puts the coordinates onto a Google map and enables anyone to track the location of the person being monitored.

The Tapsnake spyware client was downloaded from the Android Market over 5000 times, while GPS Spy was purchased by 500 people.

Since the program needs access to the smartphone to detect the user’s coordinates and send them to the server and since the Android OS warns the user about the actions that can be performed by the program, this case is not much of a threat.

However, it is a good demonstration of a simple rule: beware of possible dangers – new technologies and possibilities are not always a 100% positive thing.

The conflict between CyberSpy Software and the US Federal Trade Commission has been settled outside the courtroom. The conflict was caused by the developer’s violation of fair trade rules during the sales of RemoteSpy, its keylogging tool.

RemoteSpy was positioned as a comprehensive and impossible-to-detect spyware tool that was supplied with detailed installation instructions, including those for unauthorized installation.

The program is a typical keylogger with all the features of this type of programs: discreet interception of key presses, creation of screenshots, logging of IM chats and browsing history.

Despite the developers’ efforts, the program is still classified by many anti-virus tools as potentially dangerous spyware. For example, Kaspersky Labs software identifies it as riskware — a program capable of inflicting damage if used for illegal purposes.

The FTC forbade the use of provocative ad statements inciting users to use the program for illegal purposes. Consumers must be informed in advance about the responsibility for misusing this kind of software.

On the other hand, products must identify themselves in the system and have a functional installer with an option that allows the user to cancel the installation process. This will make illegal use highly problematic and won’t be an obstruction to using the program for legal purposes.

Once CyberSpy Software made the necessary changes in the product, the FTC allowed the company to resume the sales of RemoteSpy.

Although many people already have several computers in the home, in the majority of families there is still just one computer. And often it is no longer the remote control, but rather the computer seat that causes those petty, but unpleasant, arguments.

This is not only linked to the computer’s increased role in our lives, but also to the fact that the needs, habits and skill levels are, as a rule, varied amongst different members of the family.

And the person who has to set up and maintain this computer must find a balance between two tasks:

• creating conditions whereby none of the users will be prevented from completing their tasks,
• protecting important files and ensuring long-term effective operation of the system.

The simplest solution that immediately comes to mind is to create different profiles for all users of the computer, with corresponding operating system access rights and tools.

Even this action, which does not take much time and has no cost, can have quite a good effect. But in practice, a number of problems continue to arise, and are best solved using third-party software. More »