Spyware, Researchware, Trackware, Greyware…What to Ware?
ClickZ’s Rob McGann reports that comScore’s tracking software has been on a spyware “rollercoaster.” CA called it spyware, then changed its mind, and has changed its mind yet again. comScore wants a new category for the software: “researchware.” Computer Associates…
Ninth Circuit En Banc ruling in Gator.com v. LL Bean
Gator.com v. LL Bean, 2005 WL 351228 (9th Cir. Feb. 15, 2005). In 2001, LL Bean sent a C&D to Gator (now Claria). Gator responded by suing for a declaratory judgment. The district court dismissed Gator’s lawsuit for lack of…
House Subcommittee Approves SPY Act
The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has approved the SPY Act with a modification to clarify that cookies are not covered.
Claria Goes Mainstream
Claria is planning to deliver ads by buying excess inventory and reselling the inventory at a higher price by using behavioral targeting. This seems to turn Claria into a pretty run-of-the-mill ad network. Is this a good thing or a…
Microsoft Anti-Spyware Tool
Microsoft will be giving away its anti-spyware tools. I’m not sure this will be a good thing. Given the inherent subjectivity of the definition of “spyware,” the last thing I want is Microsoft making that decision for me. Do you…
State Anti-Spyware Laws
Ben Edelman has put together this very helpful page on state anti-spyware laws.
Goodlatte Reintroduces Anti-Spyware Law
Goodlatte has reintroduced his anti-spyware bill. As of today, I didn’t see a bill number yet. Compared to the other anti-spyware bills, Goodlatte’s bill was relatively inoffensive. The basic structure was to criminalize unauthorized placement of a software program on…
“Rich Internet Applications” and Spyware
Bob Tedeschi runs a good article on “rich Internet applications.” This technology is a small applet that is downloaded to the user’s computer to facilitate getting the user to the right place. For example, the software will monitor a user…
Avoiding Attention Distractions
Katie Hafner writes a good article on the difficulties we have avoiding distractions when we use our computer. It’s so true! There are so many temptations and messages competing for our attention. I know I struggle with this—there’s always something…
Ben Edelman’s Response to My Post on Utah’s Spyware Law
I got an email from Ben Edelman in response to my earlier posting on Utah’s anti-spyware law. If you don’t know Ben, you should. Ben has done some first-rate empirical research on the Internet, and I cited several of his…