Comments on: If spyware is outlawed, only outlaws will have spyware

By: Q

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:55:35 +0000

I’m sure the last 500 pages of that bill which won’t actually be read by anyone, will have some new bullshit about how the new gestapo can now force recruit kids who get too much detention in school. no child left alive–I mean, behind.

By: nick

nick — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 03:43:54 +0000

unfortunately, the only defense against spam/spyware/etc. is a bit of moral fiber and common sense. would you really have a pressing need to verify your paypal information due to a random email, even though you haven’t used paypal in so many months? why would somebody bother making a flash animation or a screen saver or a word document to send it to you for free, when they could probably communicate the intended information via simple text of the email? do you really think your friend/complete stranger who obtained a video of britney spears naked would want to give it to you for free? i’d keep it in my private stash, or try to sell it to a few folks. it’s like that chick who bought a designer wedding dress on ebay for $2000 via western union. mind you, that’s very cheap for a designer wedding dress. then the person she bought it from sent an email saying “sorry, there’s no dress, you’ve been conned. thank you for your money and have a nice day.”

and how are we to learn common sense if we are not exposed to the con artists, occasionally fooled, and allowed to make the very mistakes we may learn from?

By: Aidan

Aidan — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 19:13:48 +0000

So, preventing spyware is like preventing HIV, you have to use protection.

Unlike STDs in general, and HIV in particular, abstinence is an option for computing infections – you could abstain from using the most dangerous software (MS mail programs coupled with MS browsers) and instead use almost anything else (the ‘monoculture’ argument) ; you could abstain from using the most poorly-defended systems (probably Win9x, followed by WinME, with a toss-up between the XPs and Win2Ks for the next level). Or you could abstain from using computing altogether. Nothing like STDs at all, where abstineince really is a matter more important than life and death.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 05:11:17 +0000

I agree that this will do nothing to stop all of the drug ads that you get. It probably won’t stop the pornography either. But I’m not sure it will be completely useless. It will require large coporations *cough* Microsoft *cough* to be more forthcoming about the shit that they put on your computer. It might also make companies like Google tell you upfront that they keep track of all of your search requests. So while I’m sure that 99% of spyware is from off-shore companies, there have been spyware and adware scandals involving big U.S. companies and this law will help prosecute those we catch, even if the companies decide that it’s still worth the risk.

By: Ray

Ray — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 13:36:51 +0000

Maybe we should make it a crime to run a computer on the internet without “protection”. Come to think of it maybe this is like HIV. After all it might be a good idea to make it a crime to know you have HIV and have unprotected sex.

By: Johan

Johan — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 07:07:35 +0000

So, preventing spyware is like preventing HIV, you have to use protection. Outlawing spyware would do pretty much the same as outlawing HIV… exactly nothing.