Spyware in Decline

The Register reports that Spyware programs that monitor users' surfing habits remain prevalent, but their frequency is on the decline, according to a recent academic study. Security researchers at the University of Washington used web crawler technology to discover that around one in 20 executable files (5.5 per cent) offered for download on the net during a five month period contained some type of malware, mostly less malign code that generated invasive pop-up ads rather than more dangerous key-logging software.

Although the density of scripted attacks dropped between May and October last year, spyware remains a substantial problem, the Washington researchers conclude.