Tracking Desktop Spies

Defense against LoveSpy and other spying programs means ever-vigilant OS patching, e-mail scanning, and outbound data-content analysis. The first two should be well understood in today's IT shop, which must contend with malicious content in e-mail. The last is not commonly done, and there isn't a standard way to do it. There's no sure way to track spying data that leaves your network. Perhaps the next big security tool will be outward-bound--extrusion-detection systems.

Spy monitoring is just one more line item that can ruin your day. For now, watch your firewall logs for outbound traffic trends. Personal firewalls provide an even better warning, because the user will be alerted if an outbound message is sent without his or her having taken any action.

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