-=PCTechTalk=- Anti-spyware coalition publish guidelines on risks

This is from the WTNH news site.
(New York-AP, Oct. 27, 2005 10:30 AM) _ A coalition of anti-spyware vendors and 
consumer groups published guidelines Thursday to help consumers assess products 
designed to combat unwanted programs that sneak onto computers. 

The Anti-Spyware Coalition released the guidelines for public comment and also 
updated a separate document that attempted to craft uniform definitions for 
"spyware" and "adware" in hopes of giving computer users more control over 
their machines. 

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Internet users have 
become more cautious online because of worries about spyware and adware, which 
can bombard users with pop-up ads and drain processing power to the point of 
rendering computers unusable. 

Nearly half of adult online Americans have stopped visiting specific Web sites 
that they fear might infect them with such unwanted programs, and a quarter 
have ceased to use file-sharing software, which often comes bundled with 
adware. 

In addition, 43 percent of Internet users say they've been hit with spyware, 
adware or both, with broadband users generally at greater risk. 

The new guidelines from the coalition assign risk levels to various practices 
common with spyware and adware. 

High-risk practices include installation without a user's permission or 
knowledge, interference with competing programs, interception of e-mail and 
instant-messaging conversations and the display of ads without identifying the 
program that generated them. 

Changing a browser's home page or search engine setting is deemed a medium 
risk, while using data files called cookies to collect information is 
considered a low risk. 

"Although all behaviors can be problematic if unauthorized, certain ones tend 
to have a greater impact and are treated with more severity than others," the 
guidelines say. 

The idea is to agree on what practices consumers should worry most about. 
Within the general rankings, individual vendors still have leeway to assign 
their own weight to each behavior in deciding whether to quarantine or remove a 
program when detected. 

The coalition also offers similar rankings on consent. 

High marks go to programs that are distributed as separate downloads in clearly 
labeled packages, while those that try to bury what they do in legalese are 
given low ratings. 

The commenting period on the guidelines ends Nov. 27. 

The guidelines could encourage industry "best practices" that developers of 
adware and other programs could follow to avoid getting flagged by anti-spyware 
vendors. 

However, the coalition has yet to set a timetable for defining such practices, 
said Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology, which led the 
coalition. 

Nonetheless, Schwartz said, Thursday's announcements represent a start toward 
long-term improvements in anti-spyware tools and consumer education. 

"There won't be as much gray area, and we'll have more transparency out there," 
he said. 

A separate coalition document defining spyware and related terms changed little 
from the draft issued in July. 

The updated definitions document, reflecting nearly 400 comments received from 
the public, still flags as potential threats -- an umbrella definition that 
includes spyware, adware and other categories such as "hijackers" and "cookies" 
-- programs that: 

--impair users' control over their systems, including privacy and security; 

--impair the use of system resources, including what programs are installed on 
their computers; and/or 

--collect, use and distribute personal or otherwise sensitive information. 

But by classifying "adware" as falling under the umbrella term, "Spyware and 
Other Potentially Unwanted Technologies," the coalition avoided a key dispute 
that has led to lawsuits by adware developers against anti-spyware vendors: Is 
adware a form of spyware or are the two separate? 

--
<Please delete this line and everything below.>

To unsub or change your email settings:
http://www.freelists.org/webpage/pctechtalk

To access our Archives:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk/messages/
http://www.freelists.org/archives/pctechtalk/

Other related posts: