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Spyware ? A USA Creation

Spyware is being created and sent out as malware to corporate PC`s at an alarming rate. IT executives are reeling from the rate at which spyware is appearing, and they aren`t able to apply solutions fast enough. Most of these malevolent codes are coming from the US, according to a recent study. Webroot Software, a Colorado-based anti-spyware software developer explained that spyware creators have been able to successfully push new strategies at a speed that is overwhelming most businesses. Perhaps most alarming, the report said, is the increasing sophistication of how the spyware makes its way on to corporate PCs, while eluding detection and removal efforts. `Our research shows that like any business, spyware developers are committed to increasing their profit margins by expanding their distribution channels, utilizing new products and entering new markets,` C. David Moll, CEO of Webroot Software, said in a statement. `Unlike virus writers who are motivated by personal pride or a desire for notoriety, spyware purveyors are motivated by profit - whether it`s a penny per pop-up or a keylogger that captures valuable account information.` Although the sophistication of defense is on the rise, and a slew of anti-spyware legislation is winding its way through Congress, the report said spyware creators are fighting hard to maintain a grip on their lucrative business. This often includes employing encryption techniques to elude detection and removal efforts. The report shows a 19 percent increase over last quarter in the number of reported incidents on corporate machines. Most of the attacks are coming from within the U.S., while Poland and the Netherlands are a close second and third, according to the study. Webroot also said the number of Websites distributing spyware quadrupled since the beginning of 2005 to 300,000 unique URLs. And it has seen the number of spyware traces in its spyware definition database double in the same period to over 100,000. More than 80 percent of consumer and corporate PCs are infected with spyware, according to the report.