Star Wars and spyware mixed up in users' minds

Some 11 per cent of the British population are convinced that spyware is "a gadget from Star Wars", according to research published on Thursday.

The survey, carried out by NOP and commissioned by security company Blue Coat, appears to highlight a lack of concern in the UK market about spyware, with more than half of those surveyed unaware that spyware is software on a user's computer that tracks their behaviour and reports it back to a third party.

While 33 per cent of adults are concerned about viruses, according to the survey, only eight per cent show any concern for spyware. A third (30 per cent) of adults said they used a spyware checker every day but that percentage drops to only 16 per cent of adults when using their computer for personal use.

The survey highlights an issue that is now of grave concern to companies, including Microsoft which last month enhanced its anti-spyware software. Spyware, which was once considered merely irritating, is now seen as a threat because the innocuous pop-ups that are typical of both adware and spyware can shield viruses and worse.

Nigel Hawthorn, vice president of marketing for Blue Coat, said: "Clearly this is a huge problem for the enterprise."

"Spyware and the nature in which it attacks should be viewed as the smiling assassin. Enterprises should face up to the problem, educate their users and take the spyware threat very seriously indeed."

Colin Barker writes for ZDNet UK