Privacy-Invasive Software and Preventive Mechanisms

Computers are increasingly more integrated into peoples¿ daily lives. In this development, user privacy is affected by the occurrence of privacy-invasive software (PIS), sometimes loosely labelled as spyware. The border between legitimate software and PIS is vague and context dependent, at best specified through End-User License Agreements (EULA). This lack of spyware definition result in that current countermeasures are bound to noticeable misclassification rates. In this work we present a classification of PIS from which we come to the conclusion that additional mechanisms that safeguard users¿ consent during software installation is needed, to effectively counteract PIS. We further present techniques that counteract PIS by increasing user awareness about software behaviour, which allow users to base their software installation consent on more informed decisions.