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The Soft Invasion
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Mon, 06 Sep 2004 14:36:30 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com> Date: September 4, 2004 1:22:35 PM EDT To: undisclosed-recipient:; Subject: The Soft Invasion August 2004 The Soft Invasion By WALTER S. MOSSBERG WHAT IF A private company could legally break into your house and rig your television so that it would always start up on a special station the company had created that showed deceptive ads every minute, all day? And what if, when you tried to change the station, you could choose only among obscure and dubious channels selected by the invading company? Oh, and suppose that same sleazy company could erect billboards for phony medical cures and get-rich-quick schemes on your lawn anytime, without your permission? And suppose it could also make a record of everything you said or did in your house and sell it to other companies? You'd be more than angry. You'd be lobbying for jail time for these guys. But something similar happens every day on the personal computers of tens of millions of people. It's offensive but legal, and it's driving its victims crazy. This phenomenon is called spyware, or adware, and it is rapidly replacing viruses and spam as the No. 1 hassle associated with using an Internet-connected computer. Spyware is a type of software placed surreptitiously on a Windows PC, often by means of a file, downloaded from a Web site, that is either invisible or is disguised as a legitimate file. Once on your PC, spyware can do many nefarious things. Unlike a virus, it rarely tries to destroy files or propagate itself through e-mail. Instead, it tries to seize control of key aspects of your machine and turn them into conduits for selling you junk, or for gathering information that can help others do so. There are many forms of spyware, but the big four, which correspond to the household examples above, are: ... http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/report-200408.html ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- The Soft Invasion David Farber (Sep 06)