Recently released research alarmingly shows that home PC’s are increasingly likely to host software which can watch each and every keystroke user inputs. According to research compiled from an audit conducted jointly by software firm, WebRoot and services provider, EarthLink, average home PC hosts 28 so-called spyware programs.

Whilst worst examples of spyware are written by virus writers to steal passwords and hijack computers to launch “denial of service” attacks against web-servers, vast majority are used to collate marketing information and then target advertising according to end-users web surfing habits.

The WebRoot/EarthLink audit surveyed more than 1.5 million PC’s during last 12 months and discovered an amazing 41 million incidents of spyware; adware, Trojans, tracking cookies and other undesirable programs.

Most of these programs are loaded into computer memory when PC is started up. From here, program will work silently, often giving no clues as to its existence. However, unexplained browser window pop-up’s, often advertising adult services and mysterious alterations to browsers homepage setting are more often than not an indication that spyware is present and active on a computer. One particular piece of spyware, which is proving to be very expensive for many home users, is that of Trojan Diallers. Diallers, often without any warning to end-user, hangs up current net connection and then automatically reconnects using a Premium Rate telephone number, thus running up huge telephone bills. The activities of companies using this technology as a revenue stream are currently under investigation in UK by government watchdogs.

A hard-disk and memory overflowing with spyware used to be one of unfortunate consequences of visiting sex and adult orientated sites; a kind of eSTD. Like most Internet marketing technologies, from pop-up to pop-under and first snowball of Spam, spyware began life serving adult industry. Then, just like pop-up, spyware filtered through all aspects of ecommerce. In an interview to BBC, David Moll, CEO of WebRoot, said that spyware has now become so common across whole of Internet, that it can be contracted from nearly anywhere.

Currently under development at Microsoft research labs in Cambridge, England, new webcam, i2i consists of two lenses, which carefully follows an individual's movement. Using an exclusively developed algorithm to cleverly blend what each lens is seeing, resulting in creation of an accurate stereo "cylopean" image.

All very technical, but for 18.5 million people (source Microsoft) who regularly use webcams while they are using instant messengers, i2i means that it will appear as if users are looking into each others eyes.

Antonio Criminisi, lead researcher of Microsoft's Machine Learning and Perception Group, said.

"We were able to come up with an algorithm that was able to take two images and capture a corresponding map in 3D. Using this powerful technology, we can now synthetically create an image as if person is looking straight into your eyes."

According to Dr Criminisi, biggest challenge for backroom boys at Microsoft was in calculating how visual brain works. In particular, how it sees and sorts out colors, shapes and distances.