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  AMetamorphosis, 18 Nov 2003 @ 1:10pm

  
  

  Some Help ...

  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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  Anonymous Coward, 18 Nov 2003 @ 1:35pm

  
  

  No Subject Given

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

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    Anonymous Coward, 18 Nov 2003 @ 1:49pm

    
    

    Re: No Subject Given

    What messes ?
    How about a source for spybot ?

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

      
      

      Re: No Subject Given

      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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      suzi, 18 Nov 2003 @ 10:44pm

      
      

      Spybot links

      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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  Chris Reuter, 18 Nov 2003 @ 6:58pm

  
  

  It's the license

  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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    aNonMooseCowherd, 19 Nov 2003 @ 4:39pm

    
    

    Re: It's the license

    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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  eeyore, 19 Nov 2003 @ 5:08am

  
  

  spybot DoD

  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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