- In this report
- Overview
- Phishing
- Viruses
- Spam
- Spyware
- Social networking
- A safer net
- How criminals deceive
- Where criminals plot
- State of the Net
- Properly erasing hard drives
- Ways to stay safe online
- Canadian online security
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September 2007
Spyware: Still a threat
While spyware infections dropped among our respondents, the chances of getting one are still 1 in 3, and of suffering serious
damage, 1 in 11.
Spyware and adware, which sites download to your computer to track your activity, continue to proliferate. That's because big advertisers still use distributors who install software that displays pop-ups on users' computers, says Ben Edelman, an assistant professor at the Harvard Business School. A class-action suit alleges that Yahoo used spyware to show ads. Part of the case continues in mediation.
In January, the New York State attorney general's office reached a settlement with Priceline.com, Travelocity.com, and Cingular Wireless in which they agreed to stop using ad distributors that install adware without adequate notice or consent. The three had used DirectRevenue, a service that the state attorney general's office sued last year for such practices (the suit is pending.)
Spyware is also turning up at some sponsored links in search-engine results. McAfee, using its Site Advisor service, which identifies dangerous sites, recently studied such links from the top five search engines and found that they led to more than twice as many risky sites than nonpaid results did. Risks included spyware and scam sites with deceptive claims or bait-and-switch billing.
At the same time, makers of antispyware products risk being sued by companies whose products they label spyware. Zango, an online ad distributor, recently sued PC Tools for that reason, though a court denied Zango's motion for a temporary restraining order.
Solutions. To detect and remove spyware on your computer, run a good antispyware program (see our antispyware software Ratings, available to ), or even two antispyware programs.
The FTC has brought 11 spyware actions in the past two years. Big state-based actions also continued in the past year.The I-Spy Act, passed last spring by the U.S. House of Representatives, enhances criminal penalties for spyware activities, such as downloading damaging programs not approved by the user. The Senate hasn't yet voted on the bill.
The Spy Act, approved by the House in June, requires opt-in practices and notice to the user; it focuses on civil penalties. "Neither bill is going anywhere," says Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attorney for the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, adding that it could be for the best. "They could do harm by validating practices not good for consumers."
Spyware and adware, which sites download to your computer to track your activity, continue to proliferate. That's because big advertisers still use distributors who install software that displays pop-ups on users' computers, says Ben Edelman, an assistant professor at the Harvard Business School. A class-action suit alleges that Yahoo used spyware to show ads. Part of the case continues in mediation.
In January, the New York State attorney general's office reached a settlement with Priceline.com, Travelocity.com, and Cingular Wireless in which they agreed to stop using ad distributors that install adware without adequate notice or consent. The three had used DirectRevenue, a service that the state attorney general's office sued last year for such practices (the suit is pending.)
Spyware is also turning up at some sponsored links in search-engine results. McAfee, using its Site Advisor service, which identifies dangerous sites, recently studied such links from the top five search engines and found that they led to more than twice as many risky sites than nonpaid results did. Risks included spyware and scam sites with deceptive claims or bait-and-switch billing.
At the same time, makers of antispyware products risk being sued by companies whose products they label spyware. Zango, an online ad distributor, recently sued PC Tools for that reason, though a court denied Zango's motion for a temporary restraining order.
Solutions. To detect and remove spyware on your computer, run a good antispyware program (see our antispyware software Ratings, available to ), or even two antispyware programs.
The FTC has brought 11 spyware actions in the past two years. Big state-based actions also continued in the past year.The I-Spy Act, passed last spring by the U.S. House of Representatives, enhances criminal penalties for spyware activities, such as downloading damaging programs not approved by the user. The Senate hasn't yet voted on the bill.
The Spy Act, approved by the House in June, requires opt-in practices and notice to the user; it focuses on civil penalties. "Neither bill is going anywhere," says Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attorney for the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, adding that it could be for the best. "They could do harm by validating practices not good for consumers."
