Desktop Spy

· Overview ·
· Origins ·
· Operation ·
· Risks ·
· Detection and Removal ·
· Research ·

Overview

Vendor Notes:

 from the web site: 'Desktop Spy 4.0 secretly takes pictures of your computer screen, records all applications loaded, web sites visited, chat conversations, E-mail activity, and anything else that is visible on the screen. You can take pictures of the entire screen or just of active Window and save the pictures in high quality or low quality JPEG format. This program could be useful for parents who want to know what their children are doing on the Internet or employers concerned about inappropriate use of company PCs. Screenshots can be taken many times per second, if your computer can go that fast, or as infrequently as once every few minutes or hours. Screenshots can be played back like a slide show, displayed frame by frame at the speed you choose. Desktop Spy 4.0 has many built-in features to save processing memory and disk space. You can also set a password to this program to prevent other people from using it.' http://www.alpinesnow.com/dspy.shtml

Category:

Key Logger: (Keystroke Logger). A program that runs in the background, recording all the keystrokes. Once keystrokes are logged, they are hidden in the machine for later retrieval, or shipped raw to the attacker. The attacker then peruses them carefully in the hopes of either finding passwords, or possibly other useful information that could be used to compromise the system or be used in a social engineering attack. For example, a key logger will reveal the contents of all e-mail composed by the user. Keylog programs are commonly included in rootkits and RATs (remote administration trojans).

Surveillance: Any software designed to use a webcam, microphone, screen capture, or other approaches to monitor and capture information. Some such software will transmit this captured information to a remote source. See also Key Logger.

Variants:
  • Desktop Spy 4.0
    		•

    Similar Pests:

    		 Key Logger · Surveillance

    Origins

    Group:

    		 Alpine Snow

    By This Group:

    		 Desktop Spy 4.0 ·

    Mailing Address:

    		 Alpine Snow 3675 Sequoia Dr. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 USA

    Phone:

    		 1-509-472-0053

    EMail:

    		 support@alpinesnow.com

    Date of Origin:

    		 March, 2004

    Operation

    Storage Required:
  • Desktop Spy 4.0: at least 189 KB
    		•

    ScreenShot:


    Desktop Spy

    Risks

    Detection Issues:

    		 Difficult to detect by design. May hide from process list. May install with variable names in variable locations.

    Detection and Removal

    Automatic Removal:

    PestPatrol detects this.

    PestPatrol removes this.

    Manual Removal:

    		 Follow these steps to remove Desktop Spy from your machine. Begin by backing up your registry and your system, and/or setting a Restore Point, to prevent trouble if you make a mistake.
    Stop Running Processes:

    Kill these running processes with Task Manager:

    Remove Files:

    Remove these files (if present) with Windows Explorer:

    Research

    File Analyses:

    More Info:
  • AllTheWeb, AltaVista, AOL Search, Ask Jeeves, Google, HotBot, Lycos, LookSmart, MSN, Yahoo!
    		•

    Research By:
  • PestPatrol's Pest Research Center
    		•

    Last Revised:

    		 October 30, 2004