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April 11, 2006

New York AG Spitzer To Sue Spyware Company

Sometimes good politics just happens to be good policy, too.

Don't give me any of that libertarian hooey. This stuff is secretly installed on your computer and made damnedably hard to remove, even if you're aware of it. Mechanics who were secretly placing GPS trackers on your car when they changed your oil would be guilty of a crime of some sort; there's no difference in principle here.

There may be some notification that when you download certain programs that "other software" may be installed as well; but the warnings should be prominent: DOWNLOADING THIS PROGRAM OR FILE WILL INFECT YOUR COMPUTER, VIRTUALLY PERMANENTLY, WITH PROGRAMS THAT WILL CONSTANTLY RUN ADS ON YOUR MACHINE AND TRACK YOUR EVERY MOVE IN ETHERSPACE. AND THEY'LL SLOW DOWN YOUR COMPUTER BY 200% OR MORE TO BOOT.

Suddenly getting a Kazaa program to download an old episode of Wings wouldn't seem like such a cool idea.

posted by Ace at 02:19 PM

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There may be some notification that when you download certain programs that "other software" may be installed as well; but the warnings should be prominent: DOWNLOADING THIS PROGRAM OR FILE WILL INFECT YOUR COMPUTER, VIRTUALLY PERMANENTLY, WITH PROGRAMS THAT WILL CONSTANTLY RUN ADS ON YOUR MACHINE AND TRACK YOUR EVERY MOVE IN ETHERSPACE. AND THEY'LL SLOW DOWN YOUR COMPUTER BY 200% OR MORE TO BOOT. Suddenly getting a Kazaa program to download an old episode of Wings wouldn't seem like such a cool idea. posted by Ace at 02:19 PM \| Access Comments <script language="javascript" src="http://adserver.adtechus.com/addyn/3.0/5235/1131537/0/170/ADTECH;loc=700;cookie=info;target=_blank;key=key1+key2+key3+key4;grp=[group]"></script><noscript><a href="http://adserver.adtechus.com/adlink/3.0/5235/1131537/0/170/ADTECH;loc=300;key=key1+key2+key3+key4;grp=[group]" target="_blank"><img src="http://adserver.adtechus.com/adserv/3.0/5235/1131537/0/170/ADTECH;loc=300;key=key1+key2+key3+key4;grp=[group]" border="0" width="300" height="250"></a></noscript>	Recent Comments [/i][/b]andycanuck (hovnC)[/s][/u]: "Maral Salmassi @MaralSalmassi Despite claims made ..." jimmymcnulty: "Are Australian pizzas served upside down. Asking ..." Viggo Tarasov: "Hey, that tweezer thing can really pluck someone u ..." Eromero: "322 German police valiantly confiscating a Swiss A ..." 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