How does an award winning program become a danger?  How does a helpful parental tool become a potential risk to your financial and personal information?  When programs like SpyAgent are used appropriately, they are very useful as parents try to keep their children safe from predators or employers try to ensure that their work machines are used solely for work.  When they are misused, they can present a risk to those who use the computer on which they are installed.  What type of risk does SpyAgent pose, and what should you do if you suspect it has been installed in your system?

Introduction to SpyAgent

It is important to know that SpyAgent is not a malicious application when it is used as intended; in fact, it is a very well regarded monitoring tool available from SpyTech.  SpyAgent has won numerous awards including ZDNet's Editor's Pick 5 Star Review, Download.com 5 out of 5 Review, and SnapFiles/Web Attack 5 Star Editor's Choice Award and most downloaded PC monitoring program from 2002 to 2008.  It is a feature-rich program, offering:

• Keylogging with time and date stamp.
• Password flagging.
• Screenshots.
• Events timeline logging.
• IM and chat recording.
• Logging of websites visited.
• Email logging from most major email providers.
• File tracking, including uploads and downloads, accessed files, etc.
• Filtering of applications, chats, websites, and more.
• Stealth mode.

SpyAgent is marketed as a tool to help parents monitor their children's online activity, for employers to keep tabs on workers' usage of work machines, or suspicious spouses to look for evidence of cheating.  It can also allow users to filter content.  These are all legitimate uses, though your spouse may beg to differ.  Installation on your computer is perfectly legal.  It becomes a problem, though, if it is installed without the computer owner's knowledge.

Is SpyAgent Installed on Your Computer? And How Did It Get There?

SpyAgent is so well regarded in the industry because it is incredibly stealthy; it has to be so that whoever is using your computer cannot detect it and remove it.  In stealth mode, SpyAgent does not appear in your registry, startup utilities, or Windows Task Manager.  The installer also has the option of altering security settings so that security programs do not detect or interfere with SpyAgent while it is running.  While these are all major selling points for parents, employers, and others with legitimate intentions, it does make it extremely difficult for you to tell if the keylogger has been installed in your system.

The installer has the option of disabling SpyAgent's stealth mode.  If this is the case, then a warning message will appear that tells you your usage is being monitored.  If someone went to the trouble of installing the program on your computer, it is unlikely that they would have chosen to forgo the stealth mode.

If hidden, you may find that your computer is running more slowly than usual.  SpyAgent runs constantly in the background while it is monitoring, so it may divert system resources for its own use.  Beyond this ambiguous sign, it is almost impossible to detect SpyAgent, which is why it has the potential to pose such serious risks to your information.

SpyAgent is a legitimate keylogger; unlike Trojans and malware, it does not gain access to a system covertly.  A rogue antivirus program, for instance, may catch a ride into your system with the Zlob Trojan, which is disguised as a video codec.  SpyAgent, by contrast, has to be manually installed on your computer.  Someone, whether a friend, spouse, employee, or family member, needs direct access to your computer.  After the initial installation, they can monitor your activity from a remote location.

Risks Posed by SpyAgent

SpyAgent can alter your security settings, which could potentially create vulnerabilities in your system.  The greater threat is that your user names, passwords, and credit card and bank numbers may be compromised.  Millions of people use their computers for ecommerce, banking, and bill paying, and the wealth of information that a monitor can access is incredible.

Removing SpyAgent