Programing

[Dimension]

right. the concept they are talking about there is a simple communication protocol based on http (mini webservers as they describe). it is technique used in many client server apps and actually "web services" is based around that whole thinking. A more real example of technology based on similar thinking is BlueTooth. But the big difference there is typically there is an agreement between the client and server as far as what information is exchanged. That said, there are some applications that can be written to utilize this technology for malicious purposes, especially if it's an installed protocol on your device that anyone can make requests to (i.e. the recent BlueTooth viruses were something similar, though not based on http).

Sot there are basically a few ways folks can get information from you computer.
-you install a software that has code in it that sends information to some server. ( a trojan would fall into this category..basically with a trojan, you somehow were tricked into installing some software that can do harm).
-you're systems allow web pages to send information back to servers (i.e. cookies is an example).
-your system exposes certain holes that other computers on the internet can probe to find..and if they find, they can possibly hack into your system.

you can check this page to determine if you have any holes in your system. This is a useful site to see how exposed your computer is: https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

interms of software to better protect your system..these guys here discuss this often: http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=6255048