Three companies shut down on spyware charges
11/11/2005 4:50:09 PM, by Jeremy Reimer
The US Federal Trade Commission reported yesterday that a court had shut down three Internet companies on charges of distributing spyware without users' consent.
Enternet Media, Inc. and Conspy & Co. Inc, based in California, and Iwebtunes, based in Ohio, had their assets frozen after being found to have distributed spyware that "piggybacked" on top of free offerings, such as ring tones, music software and utility programs, as well as a fake "security patch" for Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The spyware tracked users' Internet activities, changed their home pages, and deluged them with endless streams of pop-up advertisements.
Currently, complaints about spyware in the US are handled only by the FTC. However, the US Senate proposed federal legislation against spyware in 2004 and again this May. The legislation has not yet gone through the Senate and seems to be perpetually bogged down in discussion. Meanwhile, some states, including California, have introduced their own anti-spyware legislation.
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