Spying on the spyware makers - By Declan McCullagh, CNET News.com (May 4, 2005)
Interview with Ben Edelman, spyware expert. Edelman is a law student at Harvard University who has done battle with Gator on behalf of the Washington Post.
There are some very startling statements. Edelman says, "There's just a huge amount of money changing hands here. The biggest, richest American companies are buying advertising through spyware. The biggest, richest venture capital firms are investing in those who make this kind of unwanted software. That's names like American Express, Sprint PCS, Disney, Expedia, Guy Kawasaki's firm."
Expedia belongs to IAC, and IAC also owns Ask Jeeves which is also in hot water and which Edelman comments on in this interview. "The core problem is Ask Jeeves' installation practices. Sometimes their software gets installed without any notice or consent at all through security hole exploits."
There's more.
To protect your computer from spyware, see the articles about antispyware software in PC Magazine. Antispyware (Feb 2, 2005) Editor's Choice was Spy Sweeper 3.5 - has a 30 day trial, very easy to use.
Posted by Gwen at May 4, 2005 02:11 PM