WP: "Spyware" Eludes Easy Answers (FTC workshop debate)

[DeepModem Mom]

'Spyware' Eludes Easy Answers

By David McGuire
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Monday, April 19, 2004; 7:00 PM


Federal regulators and the business community "still have a little bit of homework to do" before deciding on the best way to protect people from computer software that tracks their Web-surfing habits, a top U.S. consumer protection official said today.

Speaking today at a Federal Trade Commission workshop, Commissioner Mozelle Thompson said it is too early for Congress and the states to pass laws to ban "spyware." Instead, he said, technology businesses should teach consumers how to avoid falling victim to identity theft scams and other dangers that spyware poses....

***

Marc Rotenberg, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, said it is a mistake to say that "the problem is too hard and therefore we're not going to try to solve it."

"It's a little late in the day for those types of excuses, particularly for the Federal Trade Commission, which has an obligation to protect consumers' interests in the electronic market place," he said. "To expect that market-based solutions are going to protect the consumers, I think, is to misunderstand the problem."....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25231-2004Apr19.html

[Zynx]

1. Just ban the stuff. It's an invasion of privacy and it's as simple as that

I never ever download anything, but my computer continually gets all these new little search programs and various other things without me having to do a damn thing. They clog up my computer and have no right to exist.

[DarkSim]

2. I have an anti spyware program.

My comp used to get bogged up tons cuz of the stuff.

I suggest you get a new version of spysweeper or ad-aware, or something similar. They are really worth the money.

If you don't want to pay there are tons of free ones as well.

[Zynx]

3. I'm convinced that those companies are extorting us.

I think much of the spyware is their doing just to buy their products.

Also, that ignores the point that spyware should not exist in the first place.

[gandalf]

5. But google stills logs your IP

your anti-spyware doesn't help here.

[rman]

7. anyone can log anyone's IP number

(provided there's a network connection)
You publish you IP number with every packet your PC sends across the network. If you wouldn't then the other side of the connection would not be able to tell you to resend a packet in case it didn't properly arrive.

[gandalf]

8. Certainly not anybody.

And certainly not in connection with search terms.

[gandalf]

4. What about agencies that track "Web-surfing habits"

and are entitled to do so by the Patriot Act?
That's an even stronger concern, in my opinion.

[JPZenger]

6. Use Spyware Cleaners Repeatedly

I use Spybot and Ad-Aware. There are free versions of each available on the web. They catch different junk. You need to use them regularly because the stuff keeps coming back. The most persistent is a trojan horse named 2nd-thought. You can eliminate it at www.2nd-thought.com/uninstall.html