What is Spyware?

Spyware is quite a general term that usually refers to a piece of software that watches what you do on your computer (not necessarily everything, but some things) and then reports that information back to someone.

The most common use for Spyware is in the advertisements you often see in free software programs, such as the Original KaZaA. For this reason, Spyware is sometimes called Adware. These advertisement systems keep track of what advertisements you click on and send back statistics to their marketers. This allows them to send you more advertisements that (supposedly) interest you.

Some Spyware has the ability to gather information that is more specific on you. Not necessarily personally identifiable info (like your name and address) but demographic information such as age range, you gender and perhaps what country you live in. This kind of information, when coupled with data on what advertisement you are interested in (and even, potentially, what you search for using the Original KaZaA) is very useful to companies as it provides them with information about peoples' habits and interests, coupled with general information about what kind of person they are.

Are women aged 18-25 interested in football merchandise? Maybe, maybe not, maybe you don't care, but Spyware can tell the people that do care. The people behind Spyware sell the information they gather to marketing companies and pass on some of the profit to the software that contains the Spyware. This is how programs like the Original KaZaA can remain free to download and use.

The main concern about Spyware is that no one can really know exactly what information it is gathering about you. You have to take the maker's word for it, and most people don't want to do that. Any software running on your computer can potentially know about anything you do. What web sites you visit. What software you use. What you search for on Google or KaZaA. It could even gather personal information about you specifically, provided you give it permission. But think about it: when was the last time you read the licence agreement you're about to agree to?

KaZaA Lite contains none of this, but be aware that it will not uninstall Spyware that is already on your system. See the question on removing Spyware below.

How does KaZaA Lite get around Spyware?

It gets around it, quite simply, by not installing it!

Both the Original KaZaA and KaZaA Lite (because KaZaA Lite has to work exactly the same as the Original KaZaA) actually check for CyDoor on your machine and will not run without it. However, KaZaA Lite gets around this by installing a dummy version of CyDoor, which appears correct to KaZaA, but does not serve the adverts, meaning they don't appear in KL. It also stops random pop-ups from appearing while you're using KL. This dummy version of CyDoor is from a group called Counterexploitation (CEXX).

Will KaZaA Lite remove any Spyware on my machine?

No. It is important to remember than KaZaA Lite gets around Spyware by not installing it. If it is already there, it will stay there unless you remove it. KaZaA Lite will not use any Spyware components that are present on your system.

What is the best way to remove Spyware?

To get rid of any Spyware you may have on your PC (including some you probably didn't know about!) the best tool to use is Ad-Aware, from Lavasoft. Ad-Aware will search your memory, registry and hard drive for any Spyware or Adware it knows about and offer to delete it. It is updated regularly with any newfound software. Not only will it remove Spyware components, but it will clean their settings out of your registry and also delete any cookies set by advert banners on web sites.
An alternative spyware removal utility is Spybot Search&Destroy.

Ad-Aware says I have a cydoor dll in Kazaa Lite, is that spyware?

No. That file is a dummy to trick KaZaA. We would NEVER put spyware in Kazaa Lite.

You should update your copy of Ad-aware. Newer version recognize more types of spyware and it knows the difference between the real and the dummy CyDoor dll.

Ad-Aware doesn't say I have the cydoor dll, is that a problem?

It's okay. Recent Ad-Aware versions can tell the difference between the real cydoor dll file and the dummy file that comes with Kazaa Lite.