Emoticons: Spyware Behind the Smile?
SecurityTip: Don't be duped by a smiley face! Emoticons, weather bugs, and "hotbars" may pose a security risk.
What are emoticons?
Emoticons, also referred to as emoticons, are the little smiley faces that some people add to their e-mail messages or web pages. Weather bugs and other similar icons are similar to emoticons in that they may pose a security risk.
Why shouldn’t we use emoticons?
While cute and colorful, emoticons may download adware and/or spyware (defined below) to a user’s computer.
Strictly defined, spyware consists of computer software that gathers and reports information about a computer user without the user's knowledge or consent. More broadly, the term spyware can refer to a wide range of related malware products which fall outside the strict definition of spyware. These products perform many different functions, including the delivery of unsolicited advertising (pop-up ads in particular), harvesting private information, re-routing page requests to illegally claim commercial site referral fees, and installing stealth phone dialers. [Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware]
This type of software is often able to bypass the computer’s security settings, propagate itself across a network, and/or gather and send information from the computer or network resources.
Beware of Hotbar
Many users get emoticons from Hotbar, which is a known supplier of adware andspyware. Hotbar is NOT an official Microsoft Outlook or Internet Explorer upgrade, and it poses a risk to campus resources. Users who use Hotbar or any other emoticons in their e-mail messages or web pages should remove them immediately. Removal instructions and more detailed information about Hotbar can be found on these Web sites: