The U.S. government is growing concerned about a family of computer programs that can infiltrate and compromise system integrity. These programs attach to a host computer during Internet browsing and send data to a third party about how that machine is operated. Although most of this code is used for legitimate business or marketing purposes, many types can circumvent firewall protections, leading to security breaches. Some data on the Internet comes with invisible strings attached. Although many users are aware of "cookie" programs that attach information to a computer, other types of programs can cause machines to surrender sensitive data. Known collectively as "spyware," this is a broad family of software products that reside on a host computer and monitor its activities. Some are benign and necessary — anti-virus software falls under this definition. But others can track a user's Web page preferences or monitor keystrokes and passwords then transmit that data to hackers.
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