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1.  

   Some Help ...

   

   AMetamorphosis, Nov 18th, 2003 @ 1:10pm

   
   

   I found a nifty little program that can assist you in clearing your machine of spy ware ...
   Ad Aware , available @ www.download.com has been downloaded over 22 million times. It is free for personal use. I use it on both office as well as home workstations and have had excellent results in the removal of Xupiter, Gator, Alexis & a host of other intrusive software.
   

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2.  

   No Subject Given

   

   Anonymous Coward, Nov 18th, 2003 @ 1:35pm

   
   

   and spybot s&d cleans up the messes that adaware leaves behind.

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3.  

   Re: No Subject Given

   

   Anonymous Coward, Nov 18th, 2003 @ 1:49pm

   
   

   What messes ?
   How about a source for spybot ?

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4.  

   Re: No Subject Given

   

   Mike (profile), Nov 18th, 2003 @ 2:17pm

   
   

   Yeah, I actually use both AdAware and Spybot on my home computer. I've found that in combination, they do a pretty good job. Each one misses a few things, but the other tends to catch them.

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5.  

   It's the license

   

   Chris Reuter, Nov 18th, 2003 @ 6:58pm

   
   

   The problem with the legality of spyware is that the warning flags are buried in a huge, obfuscated license agreement that nobody ever reads anyway. (This isn't just a problem with spyware, either.) So my idea is this: legally require that all new shrinkwrap or click-through licenses begin with a simple plain-English point-form abstract of 200 words or less which outlines all of the terms of the license. If they omit or obfuscate something from the abstract, that part of the license can be ruled invalid.

   That way, all the dirty licensing tricks will come to light. Spyware makers will either need to say right out front that their programs do stuff behind the user's back or open themselves up to prosecution under existing laws.

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6.  

   Spybot links

   

   suzi, Nov 18th, 2003 @ 10:44pm

   
   

   http://security.kolla.de
   
   http://spybot.eon.net.au/
   
   Those ridiculous EULA's which purposely try to hide the disclosure of the spyware ought to be part of what's outlawed. The disclosure should be clear and up front.

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7.  

   spybot DoD

   

   eeyore, Nov 19th, 2003 @ 5:08am

   
   

   Without actually mandating it DoD is actively encouraging sysadmins to install spybot on all their systems. A recent audit discovered a staggering number of PCs infected with Gator "we're not spyware just really good marketing" software.

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8.  

   Re: It's the license

   

   aNonMooseCowherd, Nov 19th, 2003 @ 4:39pm

   
   

   The problem with the legality of spyware is that the warning flags are buried in a huge, obfuscated license agreement that nobody ever reads anyway. (This isn't just a problem with spyware, either.) So my idea is this: legally require that all new shrinkwrap or click-through licenses begin with a simple plain-English point-form abstract of 200 words or less which outlines all of the terms of the license. If they omit or obfuscate something from the abstract, that part of the license can be ruled invalid.

   I agree with your analysis of the problem but not with your solution. The solution is that if the license agreement is too long or complicated to understand, people should refuse to load the software.

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