Spyware Opponents Win Another Battle
The Federal Trade Commission won an important victory last week in its fight to protect consumers from spyware, the software that tracks unsuspecting Web surfers, bombards them with advertisements and sometimes even steals log-in information and passwords.
Source: ZD NetOn Thursday, the U.S. District Court in Concord, N.H., granted a temporary restraining order against former self-proclaimed spam king Sanford Wallace and his two companies, Seismic Entertainment Productions and Smartbot.net. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph DiClerico Jr. ruled that Wallace and his businesses must refrain from exploiting Internet security vulnerabilities. Specifically, Wallace was given 24 hours to remove--from any Web site, bulletin board or Internet server controlled by him or his companies software--script that exploits vulnerabilities in Web browsers in order to install, download or deposit software onto a computer without a user's knowledge. Wallace's attorney could not be reached for comment. But a message posted on a Web site controlled by one of Wallace's companies and signed "from Sanford Wallace" says he plans to cooperate with the authorities and "show that our operations are legal."
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