Originally published February 26 2006
Coalition targets companies spreading adware and spyware
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A group of tech companies, consumer groups and other organizations -- including Google and Consumer Reports' WebWatch project -- have formed the Stop Badware Coalition, which will publish names of companies that frequently spread adware and spyware to customers.
The newly formed Stop Badware Coalition will publish the names of companies that it deems are the worst offenders and show how they make money through unethical marketing practices and fraud.
Joining the coalition are search giant Google, PC maker Lenovo, Sun Microsystems, Consumer Reports' WebWatch project, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School and the Oxford Internet Institute in England.
Malicious software can get onto an unwitting victim's computer when the user visits malicious Web sites or by downloading games or other software programs.
Users often do not know that their computers have been infected with malicious software until they start being plagued by pop-up ads, popular vehicles for online pornography, or are notified by authorities that their computers have been hijacked to launch attacks on other computers.
It takes even longer to discover that passwords or other sensitive information, like bank account data, have been stolen and an innocent Web surfer's identity has been stolen after spyware is planted onto the computer.
More Americans anticipate falling victim to a cyberattack than a physical crime, according to a survey of almost 700 US adults by IBM, released Wednesday.
Internet surfers can visit the Web site, which is expected to go live on Wednesday at Stopbadware.org, to check whether programs they want to download are infected with spyware, adware or other malicious software, and alert others to malicious programs they have found.
Spyware, adware and other malicious programs -- dubbed badware by the coalition -- cost victims billions of dollars a year, said John Palfrey, co-director of the StopBadware Coalition and executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
Nearly 60 million American adults today have badware on their computers, according to a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml