By now, you’re probably like, worm, viruses and now bugs, oh my! While we’re aware of the problems that worms and viruses can cause for us humans, this week, we’ve glimpsed at some of the problems that they can cause for our computers.

In continuing with our study of (hu)man’s sometimes destructive nature, right now we’ll take a closer look at bugs, but again, not of Mother Nature’s doing, but those created by humans, the ones lurking in the shadows of our computers waiting to do something evil, nasty and downright dirty. Ok, maybe I exaggerate a little…or maybe not. Remember, I report, you decide.

I’ll admit, I fear bugs (however, I do find their role in helping forensics investigators solve a crime fascinating, but that’s another story). While I do have an healthy respect for Mother Nature’s gifts to the world, I’d prefer that her little critters stay far away from me. This also applies to (hu)Man’s creation of those critters that can cause many technical problems.

Just as Mother Nature’s bugs tend to share our space (or is it vice-versa?), bugs on the web tend to violate our privacy. These bugs are very popular with spammers as they can determine whether their spam has been read when they send out random email addresses. Interestingly enough, in case you didn’t know, these little buggers can also determine when the message is read as well as the recipient of the message should it get forwarded.

Unfortunately there are some nasty critters out there in cyberspace. but luckily for us there are ways to combat them. As we move forward, we’ll analyze more of these problems in detail and discuss ways to defend ourselves against these buggers.