Feds stay strong on spyware case

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They left out their definitions in that statement ...

When the security experts say something like "As many as 80 percent of consumers' PCs are infected with the annoying software, security experts have said.", I automatically cringe at how they're defining "annoying software".

I'll admit, I've done spyware scans on many people's home machines; and I would guess that at least 80% turn up a "threat". But, of those, almost all are merely tracking cookies. Yes, cookies can be used to track surfing habits, and they do need to be managed better by most home users; but including those in the counts of "annoying software" is nothing but an attempt to sell their security products through FUD. Cookies can be managed without purchasing the security products; even in IE it's possible (although I recommend trying alternatives to IE to addres the cookie problem).

If I had to count the number of systems I've scanned that turned up actual locally installed and/or running software that was a security threat, I would estimate less than 5% of the machines I've seen have had any on them.

Posted by: ac2_z   Posted on: 02/09/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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