How is it that a program (spyware) can automatically install itself on a computer without the user being asked if they want to dowload it? Someone is trying to tell me that their software is not meant to invade my computer and it must be something in my browser settings. I do not believe that. I am specifically referring to comet cursor which automatically installed itself on my computer without asking if I wanted to install it. The company says they do not intend for it to do that. I complained to the company, comet systems, and the founder sent me an email saying their software is not set up to do that. I am having a hard time buying what she said. Can anyone explain to me how that works and where I can find more info on it? Thanks much.

I expect it was attached to something else you installed. There is no way that it could have installed itself through your browser, without giving a security warning. Unless of course, there is a problem with your browser's security settings, which is unlikely, since the default settings are usually fine.

no, I was not installing anything else when it happened. I had just surfed to a website and it was almost immediate. Wouldn't there have to be some code in the program to make it install? Tom, thanks for answering. My browser, IE6, is set to medium security.

It actually happened 3 times at the same website. (After I removed it with AdAware each time). I went back to see if it would happen again, and it did. Thank goodness for AdAware!

new info: I just found out that the person's whose website I went to had comet cursor on her computer. Is there a way it could be programmed to download from her website? She has a personal website on freewebz.com. Thanks.

I have to confirm what Tom said, but perhaps comet are not as scrupulous as they portray themselves to be. Browser settings are like a lock on a door: they keep the honest people out, but they will not stop the determined. I once developed Customer Service solutions, and you would not believe how much of our time was spent plugging security holes, that both hackers and sometimes companies breeched. Furthermore, security was a significant hindrance to some things we needed to do. You'd be surprised how many developers wanted to simply work-around the security restraints, rather than deal with the headache of doing things "right", and hence getting reprimanded for taking too long. Firewalls, proxies, you name it, it's not easy to negotiate. We never stepped over the line, but I can see how it could happen. Without getting into corporate espionage, although very real, I do not recommend a complete state of paranoia (leave that to the IT staff and James Bond). Let us just say that information gathering is big business, very high profit, costs almost nothing, and hence is nearly irresistable to many. The internet is ripe for the plucking. Most often I would say it is not malicious, but rather just easy money. A personal firewall is a good idea for anyone who wants extra security, though it saddens me to say so. Do not forget that on the Security tab of your Internet Options, you can select Restricted Sites, and add URLs to the list. That's much more secure than generic security settings. Peace of mind to you...

Hmm... it may be possible with ActiveX scripting or something, I've never used it. But with medium security settings, I don't think there should be a way this can be done. Try going to Tools -> Internet Options -> Security -> Custom Level, and change all the ActiveX scripting things to prompt. Then go back to the site, and if you get a prompt, you know it's done with ActiveX. If you view the page source, you should find it in there somewhere.