Computer surveillance is the act of surveilling people's computer activity without their knowledge, by accessing the computer itself. This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The NASA Columbia Supercomputer. ...

Computers make excellent surveillance tools because they can do things without their owners' knowledge or consent. Most computers have connections to networks, which can be exploited (through security cracking) to gain access to any confidential data that may be stored on the computer. Additionally, if someone is able to install certain types of software on a system, they can turn it into a surveillance device. For the scientific and engineering discipline studying computer networks, see Computer networking. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into black hat. ...

Surveillance techniques

Packet sniffing is the monitoring of data traffic into and out of a computer or network. In some networks, data transmissions are sent only to the machine they are intended for, while in others, transmissions are broadcast to all machines connected, but processed only by the target computer. In the latter cases, it is possible to packet-sniff a computer by simply using another computer on the same network, without needing to place any software or equipment on the surveiled machine. A packet sniffer (also known as a network analyzer or protocol analyzer or, for particular types of networks, an Ethernet sniffer or wireless sniffer) is computer software or computer hardware that can intercept and log traffic passing over a digital network or part of a network. ...

A surveillance program installed on a computer can search the contents of the hard drive for suspicious data, can monitor computer use, collect passwords, and even report back to its operator through the Internet connection. The most common, surely, are commercial spyware designed to collect marketing data. But, such programs are not limited merely to data collection; they can also use more malicious tactics, such as removing or modifying the data. These last are often called viruses, logic bombs, and, generally, malware. Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ... A password is a form of secret authentication data that is used to control access to a resource. ... A large number of toolbars, some added by spyware, overwhelm an Internet Explorer session. ... This article is about biological infectious particles. ... A logic bomb is a piece of code intentionally inserted into a software system that will set off a malicious function when specified conditions are met. ... It has been suggested that Grayware be merged into this article or section. ...

Physical (hardware) surveillance devices ("bugs") are also possible. A relatively simple bug is a keystroke logger implanted in the keyboard, perhaps broadcasting the key stroke sequence for pickup elsewhere. More sophisticated (and more easily detected) devices with access to more information can also, in theory, be inserted into, or onto, the computer itself. The disadvantage of hardware devices is that placement and retrieval requires physical entry into the place where the computer is stored, and thus almost entirely restricted (legally) to law enforcement agencies equipped with search warrants, except in situations in which such warrants are not required or may be kept secret as, for instance, some official breakins under the US Patriot Act (sometimes termed sneak and peek), or in the case of electronic communications, warrantless surveillance by such organizations as the NSA (as has been authorized continuously by President Bush since 9/11 in the US). In the US, statute and precedent have also given employers very wide latitude to gather data about employee use of employer's computers. Computer hardware is the physical part of a computer, including the digital circuitry, as distinguished from the computer software that executes within the hardware. ... Keystroke logging (often called keylogging) is a diagnostic tool used in software development that captures the users keystrokes. ... For the band, see The Police. ... A search warrant is a written warrant issued by judge or magistrate which authorizes the police to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a criminal offense, and seize the evidence. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander, 16th and current director of the NSA (2005–). The National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) is the United States governments cryptologic organization that was officially established on November 4, 1952. ... The date that commonly refers to the attacks on United States citizens on September 11, 2001 (see the September 11, 2001 Attacks). ... The Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then be ratified by the highest executive in the government, and finally published. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ...

It has been shown that it is possible to surveil computer use from a distance, with only commercially available equipment, by receiving the radiation emitted by the CRT monitor. And it has also been shown, by Adi Shamir et al, that even the high frequency noise emitted by a CPU includes information about the instructions being executed. More directly, IBM researchers have also found that, for most computer keyboards, each key emits a slightly different noise when pressed. The differences are individually identifiable under some conditions, and so it's possible to log key strokes without actually requiring logging software to run on the associated computer. Another method of surveiling computer use (key strokes, display images, etc) is video cameras, which are becoming small enough to be easily hidden from casual inspection in which case the surveillance can be surreptitious. Radiation as used in physics, is energy in the form of waves or moving subatomic particles. ... Cathode ray tube employing electromagnetic focus and deflection Cutaway rendering of a color CRT: 1. ... A computer display monitor, usually called simply a monitor, is a piece of electrical equipment which displays viewable images generated by a computer without producing a permanent record. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the Irish mythological figure, see Naoise. ... Die of an Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor (actual size: 12×6. ...

Installing the surveillance software

The simplest way to place surveillance software on a computer is to gain entry to the place where the computer is stored and install it from a compact disc or floppy disk. This method shares a disadvantage with hardware devices in that it requires physical access to the computer. A compact disc or CD is an optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ...

A more difficult method is to package the software as a computer virus or trojan horse. This tactic has the advantage of potentially subjecting multiple computers to surveillance. However, if the virus is allowed to proliferate, it will become a target of antivirus programs, which will allow the software's removal from affected computers. A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... Anti-virus software consists of computer programs that attempt to identify, thwart and eliminate computer viruses and other malicious software (malware). ...

Another method is to use security cracking to gain access to the computer over a network. An attacker can then install surveillance software remotely. Servers and computers with permanent broadband connections are most vulnerable to this type of attack. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into black hat. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Broadband in telecommunications is a term which refers to a signaling method which includes or handles a relatively wide range of frequencies which may be divided into channels or frequency bins. ...

Protection against surveillance

A firewall controls network access to a computer, offering some protection against crackers if properly configured. Unless it controls outbound communication as well, this offers only very limited protection against surveillance even when otherwise properly configured and operating. Firewall separating zones of trust A firewall is a hardware or software device which is configured to permit, deny, or proxy data through a computer network which has different levels of trust. ...

A highly attractive surveillance target may face highly skilled attempts at physical entry to install software or hardware. Thus, to be truly protected, such targets should be protected by measures such as reinforcing doors, windows and other potential entry points. Password protection can also be effective, particularly if provided by the BIOS during booting. Look up Door in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... It has been suggested that window frames be merged into this article or section. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In computing, booting (booting up) is a bootstrapping process that starts operating systems when the user turns on a computer system. ...

Protection against remote surveillance of radiation emissions is more difficult. The United States government's TEMPEST program is a standard of protection against eavesdropping of this nature. Non-CRT displays (such as LCD's or plasma displays) may be impossible to surveil in the manner. Some software (Soft TEMPEST) has been designed to alter fonts to minimize radiation. The only certain measure at other than exorbitant cost is the purchase of a specially shielded monitor. In the extreme, Faraday cage techniques to prevent escape of electromagnetic radiation from equipment out of a physical volume (eg a room) is possible, though expensive. í For other uses, see Tempest. ... Reflective twisted nematic liquid crystal display. ... Planar Systems plasma display Composition of plasma display panel A plasma display panel (PDP) is a type of flat panel display now commonly used for large TV displays (typically above 37-inch or 940 mm). ... For the origin and evolution of fonts, see History of western typography. ... Entrance to a Faraday room A Faraday cage or Faraday shield is an enclosure formed by conducting material, or by a mesh of such material. ...

Cables can be a serious security problem. They carry signals (eg, printing and display devices, modems, etc) from a computer to other devices, and from other devices (eg, keyboards, mice, scanners, modems, etc) to a computer. They also carry signals between computers (eg, network traffic, file transfers, security and control information, etc). Some cables can be remotely tapped without physical contact, some can be tapped with physical access to the cable, and so on. That cables are often installed in such a manner as to be invisible throughout much of their run (eg, in plenum spaces, within walls, between floors, etc), they are more vulnerable to physical tapping than is commonly appreciated.

Wireless connections between computers, between computer components (eg, keyboards, mice, printers, modems, ...) are an even larger security problem. Many wireless installations are improperly configured at installation and remain unchanged for long periods. This has inspired such things a war driving and Internet lists of insecure wireless access locations. Still worse in some sense, some wireless security protocols are fundamentally flawed, and so are insecure, even when 'properly' configured (eg, WEP, Bluetooth). As new wireless standards are developed with greater range and higher speeds, the requirement for more secure protocols and proper configuration of them will increase. Wardriving is an activity consisting of driving around with a laptop or a PDA in ones vehicle, detecting Wi-Fi wireless networks. ... Wired Equivalent Privacy or Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) is a scheme to secure IEEE 802. ... Bluetooth logo This article is about the electronic protocol named after Harald Bluetooth Gormson. ...

Other side channel attacks are possible and must be dealt with individually. For instance, power monitoring can provide information about computer use and power monitoring of the CPU itself can provide a good bit more. Filtering and conditioning of power lines can help (as with a continuous duty UPS), as can physical isolation of hardware preventing installation of power monitoring devices for the CPU, disk drives, etc. In cryptography, a side channel attack is any attack based on information gained from the physical implementation of a cryptosystem, rather than theoretical weaknesses in the algorithms (compare cryptanalysis). ... An uninterruptible power supply (UPS), uninterruptible power source or sometimes called a battery backup is a device which maintains a continuous supply of electric power to connected equipment by supplying power from a separate source when utility power is not available. ...

Tracking software

Tracking software is software that has the ability to record and track actions a person makes on a computer. One example is a cookie. HTTP cookies, sometimes known as web cookies or just cookies, are parcels of text sent by a server to a web browser and then sent back unchanged by the browser each time it accesses that server. ...

For example, if a user wants to check his email, tracking software will record it. The same concept can apply to chat, instant messages, web sites visited, keystrokes typed and so on.

Who uses tracking software?

There are two principal groups who use tracking software: parents and employers. Parents want to be certain their children are not involved with inappropriate web activity, and employers that need to track the activities that occur on workstations within their organization. A male Caucasian toddler child A child (plural: children) is a young human. ... Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... A computer workstation, often colloquially referred to as workstation, is a high-end general-purpose microcomputer designed to be used by one person at a time and which offers higher performance than normally found in a personal computer, especially with respect to graphics, processing power and the ability to carry...

Controversy

Tracking software has been a source of controversy. While companies claim that the programs are used to protect children and enforce computer policies at workplaces, there has been strong criticism that this invades users' privacy. Other critics say that these software programs, especially with their keylogging capabilities, can be used for malicious purposes, such as identity theft and unauthorized access to other systems. Identity taker is a term first appearing in U.S. literature in the 1990s, leading to the drafting of the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. ...

Often, one side of a company's operations will sell tracking software, while another side would consider tracking software to be spyware and offer programs designed to remove the programs. There are hundreds of responsible vendors of computer monitoring software such as ActMon and SpectorSoft, who explicitly forbid the use of monitoring software as spyware. Many companies also support detection by anti-spyware programs. A large number of toolbars, some added by spyware, overwhelm an Internet Explorer session. ... SpectorSoft is a software manufacturer that develops and sells stealth computer surveillance tools and spyware[1]. // The company was founded in 1998 by current President Doug Fowler[2]. Spector Pro[3] —A monitoring application capable of recording virtually all activity on the computer it is installed on. ...

Example

• An example of spying software An add-on to yahoo messenger for spying

External links