Spyware Coming Under Scrutiny

trick-knee writes "Nytimes.com has an article considering the ethics of snoopware. In it, TrueActive is given positive press for removing a 'feature called "silent deploy", which allows the buyer to place the program on someone else's computer secretly via e-mail, without having physical access to the machine', although little criticism is made for making the stuff in the first place. Supposedly, Symantec and Network Associates have added features to their antivirus programs that detect snoopware, which may be a good thing. One surprising point you may be shocked to hear is that 'at least one program... may not pose a real threat of spying, at least. Mr. Gordon said that his company's security researchers, working with the Justice Department, were unable to find any actual working software that could be downloaded from the LoverSpy site after paying the fee. He seemed less than stunned by the notion that a product advertised via spam might not be all that it was claimed to be.'"

Comments

Re:Spyware versus Virus

[krymsin01]

Doesn't change the fact that it's still illegal to write it in the first place.