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Spyware Removal is Big Business

Posted by michael on from the $15-per-hour dept.

prostoalex writes "Just when you thought all the software niches were taken, IDC comes out with the report saying $12 million was spent on spyware removal tools in 2003, and $305 million will be spent in 2008. IDC also estimates two-thirds of PC users out there are infected. Large PC vendors are waking up to the spyware threat, having their call centers overwhelmed with spyware-related calls."

3 of 454 comments (clear)

  1. Re:And it's too bad... by stecoop · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...in primarily Internet Explorer.

    Yeah you can look at the rate of change in browser usage. The fastest growing market in terms of percentage growth is the Mozilla family - I dont know of any spyware getting through Mozilla yet.

  2. Spyware removal is huge business for me! by 31415926535897 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I can tell you that spyware removal is about 90% of my consulting (side) business these days. I can usually rake in an extra $300-500 / month thanks to all the spyware problems. I feel bad when I have repeat customers, but I do spend a good amount of time educating the users and immunizing their PCs, but they always find new ways of getting spyware on their computers (it always seems to be the kids and their p2p "needs"...).

    Now, as an industry, I don't understand why so much money was spent. There are outstanding tools and tutorials on removing every type of spyware, and every it seems like all the best ones are free.

    If you want any pointers or tips on spyware removal, and you don't live in my area :-), I'll be glad to help you anything I can.

  3. Re:And it's too bad... by ssj_195 · · Score: 3, Informative

    In the latest versions of Firefox, all .xpi installs are blocked, except from sites included in a very small whitelist. The user is informed that a site has tried to install software, and that you must explicitly add the site to your whitelist if you want it to install. It's not a perfect solution, but it does at least add to the number of steps required for someone to install a .xpi on their system.

    In the end, though, the only way to combat user stupidity is through education (an uphill struggle) or by denying them the ability to install any software on their own system (which I balk at). It's a sad state of affairs :(