WebProNews

In the findings of one software company, 88% of all consumer PCs it surveyed have spyware residing somewhere on their drives.

Anti-spyware maker Webroot released its State of Spyware report, and even though there was a small decrease in infected machines, the presence of spyware persists in the vast majority of machines.

An average of 25 instances of items like adware, system monitors, Trojan programs, and tracking cookies were found on each machine.

The financial rewards offered by the creation of adware, as noted in a suit filed by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer against Intermix Media of Los Angeles, will keep people and companies creating it at a brisk pace.

A potential market of $2 billion USD results from pop-up ads, redirected web searches, browser hijacks, and straightforward attacking against hosts files and DNS servers. And that number will likely increase.

While states and the federal government consider long-overdue legislation to combat spyware makers, users can take measures to protect themselves. In addition to Webroot's anti-spyware software, tools from companies like Microsoft and LavaSoft can help.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.