Attorney says spyware is trespassing

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=7b1276c5898a21b7

An Illinois attorney is using his background in environmental law to try to block spyware from infesting personal computers.

Shawn Collins of Naperville considers spyware companies as industrial polluters, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The newspaper said Collins is applying to the Internet the same kinds of laws he used against groundwater polluters. In a case settled in February, he successfully argued that spyware companies were trespassing on personal property.
more...
Ya polluters thats the word!!!

They ARE polluting our computers...using up hard drive space and system resources, often without our knowledge, consent...or fair compensation...yet, they reap the rewards of knowing our habits on the internet...information they then sell to marketers.

They should have to obtain consent before their programs are allowed on computers...and I mean EXPLICIT CONSENT...not mice-type consent...and the person whose computer hosts the spyware should be, in some way, compensated for this use of his hard drive space and system resources.

A lot of people are not computer-savvy enough to know how to detect and disable these kinds of programs as I am able to.

Unless you are fairly advanced in computer knowledge and literacy, the chances are good that you won't be able to detect and remove a lot of this stuff, especially serious resource hogs that slow down your computer.

We all know about Virus checkers, and Spyware/Adware checkers/blockers...but how many of us know how to use MSConfig to get rid of troublesome software, and prevent it from running?

I don't recommend anyone trying this, either, unless you are fairly good with computers, as I am.

Me, I can, and do...about every month, run a full Scandisk, Defrag, Virus Scan, Adware/Spyware scan...and then a full system check with MSConfig, to manually disable all other unneccesary resource hog ad and spyware that the other checkers/blockers missed.

Manual deletion/disabling of such programs is not recommended for average users, you need a better working knowledge, because you can accidentally do a lot of nasty things to your computer, accidentally, messing around with MSConfig, if you don't know what you're doing!

...if you're not so computer savvy, it's also a good idea to not follow any instructions that mention a program called "regedit". Simply don't run it- get a friend who knows more about computers to come over and explain it to you and help with it. Really.

Regedit (and you'll only learn this via some usually intellectually painful and mentally debilitating process that leaves the user feeling like a dried, shriveled husk) is the Windows registry editor, and there are whole books written on just this program. Regedit is an arcane and mysterious land even for many advanced users of Windows and should be approached with the proper knowledge, respect, and sacrificial gifts (joking!) befitting such a deific (to the system) application.

You can make your system unbootable and/or unstable by messing with msconfig, but you can completely hose your hard drive with regedit, and it's not protected from ignorance, folly, or accident in any way.

(THANK you for mentioning msconfig, by the way. You've no idea how many people tell me "my computer's running too slow and I have all this stuff that comes on when I turn on my computer...")

And you're right about RegEdit...even I won't mess with RegEdit, and I am more than comfortable with MSConfig.

Incidentally, there's help with MSConfig, if you go to a site called Castle Cops you can find out what a lot of the programs showing up in MSConfig are...and if they are needed programs or if they are known adware/spyware/resource hogs.

Still, even MSConfig needs to be approached with much caution. And only more advanced-knowledge people should try it themselves. If ya don't know what you're doing, get a friend who does...or take it to a computer shop.

And, YES...I DO have an idea how many people tell you "my computer's running slow and..." because I get that all the time, too. I used to get that from my mom all the time when I lived out of state, but now that I live at home, I regularly update her computer at the same time I do my own. Prior to that, I used to talk her thru it on the telephone.

Most people would be AMAZED to discover just how much junk and crap is quietly running in the background, without their knowledge or consent. Your first clue is to just check your "Performance" to find out the level of available system resources. If you are under 90% I am betting you got a bunch of junk running that you don't know about, probably did not authorize...do not want, and CERTAINLY do not need.

right click on "My Computer" and then click the performance tab to see how much of your system resources are available to you. No less than 80% should ever be available to you when you are online.

If it's less, you got junk. And you oughta get someone to help you clean it up.

The time to do the check, by the way, is right after you boot up! Because, as you are using your computer, you are using system resources.

HijackThis is a very handy util that goes even beyond MSconfig in some ways. Some computer-savviness is assumed, so tread with caution.

As for Regedit, it's one of the first places I look when troubleshooting a suspected infection, a lot of nasties stuff entries into HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run and into HKEY Current User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run . If I see files that don't look right, I google the filenames and navigate to the directories where the files reside. I can then delete the files and erase the entries in the Registry.

Sure, you can hose a system hacking in the wrong place in the Registry, but you can't hurt much if you accidentally delete a key from one of those two sections. Also, if the registry edit a Web site proposes is from a trusted source (ie- Microsoft) go ahead and make the edit, but be sure to follow the directions EXACTLY.

I'd pull my hair out if I couldn't edit the Registry...

Todd in Beerbratistan, IT mook

Edit: I kant tipe ths mornging

info from my wallet by picking my pocket or sneaking into my home and taking it our of my computer.??

F'n spyware maggots must have a hell of a lobby and make a lot of campaign contributions

Usually we're just a bastion of red-voting white people. Go Collins!

How could it be anything but trespassing.
Why do I have to pay to keep some anonymous preson's crap out of my computer?

...fraud and predatory financial exploitation.

That atty is right, it's no diferent than looking through someone's window

You can't have it both ways.

Unless you're SONY. Then you prosecute for downloads (via RIAA) while you infect your customers' computers with a rootkit spy program.

Enough is enough...I hope this attorney succeeds wildly.

Peace.

You know, I never really thought about it like that. But we oughta scream just as loud and just as long as those bastards that made downloading illegal...to make f'n spyware and adware illegal, too. At least, make it illegal without proper compensation, and explicit knowledge and consent.