Anti-Spyware Bill up for Vote in Congress

paul_friedman writes "According to Reuters - The U.S. House of Representatives will vote as soon as next week on a measure to crack down on deceptive "spyware" that hides in users' computers and secretly monitors their activities."

Comments

Won't this legalize Spyware?

[erick99]

The bill approved by Barton's committee would require software makers to notify people before loading new programs on their machines that can collect information about them. Violators could face millions of dollars in fines.

A lot of these programs do tell you that they are going to load Gator or some other piece of sh*tware. However, it is buried in the middle of the EULA which most people "pagedown" through rather than read 10 or 15 screens of fine type legalese. I do read them or at least scan them for the part about giving me even more

"free productivity"

software. This legislation like the spam legislation (CanSpam), will simply embolden those who have been hesitant. Now that they can legally load your system up with spyware as long as tell you somewhere, no matter how hard it would be to actually find it, they will do so. I just wonder what these politicians are smoking when they come up with these "solutions."

-erick

Re:Won't this legalize Spyware?

[Carnildo]

The anti-spyware bill is to spyware as the CAN-SPAM act is to spam.

In short, it's a bunch of feel-good legislation that legalizes a few shady practices, and add further laws against others. Nobody will bother to enforce it, and in a few years, it will have been forgotten.

Re:Won't this legalize Spyware?

[gr8_phk]

"It appears that the house bill is very simple and just disallows installing without notice."

Installing software on someones computer without notice is already a crime - especially if the installed software sends data back to the party who installed it. People go to prison for that type of thing, but apparently it's different if a corporation hacks an individual instead of the other way around.

diebold..

[DraKKon]

I would be prudent to put spyware in diebold's voting machines though.,.

Oh whatever

[screwedcork]

As if the people who write spyware care about the law and doing what's right

Yeah,Sure

[rainman_bc]

It's probably going to be as effective as the CANSPAM act.

How are they going to nail people in Russia and China?

politicians and technology do not mix

[loose electron]

More useless laws that can not be enforced.

Just like attempts to make P2P filesharing illegal, it will be virtually impossible to regulate or control.

Isn't this already illegal?

[halivar]

Isn't this already illegal? Lately I'm afraid of legislation banning things that are already illegal. Take the DMCA, for instance; copyright violations were already punishable, but all of a sudden a whole slough of other things are, too.

I say, let's strengthen our ability to enforce laws we already have on fraud and invasion of privacy. It seems new laws, making more things illegal will simply become another "gotcha" for folks using legitimate software.

Nothing can be done

[economan]

There is really nothing that can be done. It is called social engineering. The end user does let them into the computer, not by choice, just by staight ignorance. This is just another set of laws that will mean nothing.

Re:Finally!

[savagedome]

Might not solve it, but at least people will know it exists.

And there probably lies the difference between 'average person' and 'average /.er'. What is spyware for you and I might not even be spyware for them. There are people who willing install Bonzi Buddy on their systems because its cute but I would not touch it with a ten feet pole.

And if these legislators were even half serious, their act should have included not the installation but the 'uninstallation' part. A lot of programs/utilities/helpers capture sensitive information (Google Toolbar anyone?) but the difference lies in getting the crap out of somebody's machine. Anybody who ever had to use HijackThis to figure out the fscking process eating up your machine knows what I am talking about.

Till then, just another stupid law and the life continues as always.

What the Gov't NEEDS to do

[TheUnFounded]

What really needs to be done: have the gov't put in place a formal pricipal that states THIS. Maybe then they'd actually accomplish something.

Re:NO!

[Pig Hogger]

80% of what I do at work is cleaning spyware. I would be out of a job if it stopped existing.

Then, you are a part of the problem. Vested interests that benefit from the status quo.

Sorry but

[needacoolnickname]

I think governments really have more important things to think about than spyware and spam - oh, I don't know... wars, the economy, health care, education, ways to spend the money they make off the tobacco industry for everything possible except for the health issues they are saying they nede the money to pay for...

If someone installs spyware it is their fault. Nothing is free on a Windows machine. Take some personal responsibility for jebus sake.

Here's a question. Why are all the spyware programs written for Windows rather than Mac or Linux. There are perfectly good freeware programs for the other OSs and they aren't laden with the crap?

Re:Poor guys

[Obliterous]

Not a damned thing...

they do tell you that their stuff is being installed. it's in the EULA for whatever program you actually wanted to install, that it hitchiked in with...

Word to the wise: if there is more than one EULA, then there's probably spyware. if there's only one, read the bloody thing...

Re:Not that good of a law...

[pilgrim23]

When law is not the answer, yet law is passed to address it. the law, and all laws, looses respect.