Call it Spam: The Next Generation, but that's what a slowly rising number of analysts believe spyware has become. And the software that slips onto your computer or local area network and monitors yours or your colleagues' computing habits could be doing a lot more damage than just privacy invasion.
"At a minimum, Peeping Toms are all over our computers," InterMute chief executive Edward English told TechNewsWorld.com. "Spyware software, once resident on a PC, can do almost anything. E-mail addresses and personal information like credit cards can be monitored, captured, and transmitted. The sky is the limit as to what damage can be done."
Two bills said to be pending on Capitol Hill are described as approaching spyware the way CAN-SPAM sought to approach spam. One, known as the SpyBlock Act, would ban installation of software on a third party's computer without notice and consent and require "reasonable uninstall" procedures for all downloadable software. This bill was introduced in March by cosponsoring Sens. Conrad Burns (R-Montana), Barbara Boxer (D-California), Hillary Clinton (D-New York), and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon).
The second, similar bill, was brought to the House by Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Washington) after his own computers were smothered in spyware. His bill would also require your notice and consent before executing certain software functions on your computer – including personal information collection, settings modification, and ad display.
"Most computer users," he said in a statement, "will tell you that spyware pops up and multiplies like cicadas. But spyware is not a natural event. It is purposefully inflicted."
Other analysts believe spyware is the source of at least half all personal computer crashes and that as many as 90 percent of all personal computers have been infected with at least 30 or more pieces of spyware. Microsoft told the Federal Trade Commission in May that spyware causes over half of all known Windows failures reported to the software giant, but users don't even understand spyware as the probable cause.
British business news Website Vnunet.uk said June 28 that the spyware problem is also costing computer makers millions in support costs, with Dell saying spyware issues now make up 12 percent of the calls reaching its technical support lines, while SupportPlan, a British information technology call center, said their spyware problem calls went up six percent in the past three months.
And the advertising spyware may be considered the more benign of the spyware threats, according to Pete Simpson, threat lab manager for security company Clearswift. "The real worry," he told Vnunet.uk, "is the more sinister malware and the extended threats such as keystroke loggers stealing identities and personal information."
A critical problem for lawmakers, however, is crafting legislation that doesn't fail constitutional muster. Utah was the first state in the United States to enact an anti-spyware law, but a state judge imposed a temporary injunction against the law last week, after adware maker WhenU.com sued to stop the law on grounds that it was so broadly written as to obstruct legitimate online advertising.
