October 22, 2004

Spyware Legislation: Too Little, Too Late?

CHICAGO, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Congress recently passed the "Spy Act" to
help subdue the serious spyware threat facing millions of Americans. But as
they work out the legislative kinks, the anti-spyware market is already
turning the tables against spyware.

In this election year, there appears to be only one thing that Republicans
and Democrats can agree on - anti-spyware legislation. Last week's
extraordinary bipartisan support for the "Spy Act," a vote of 399-1, shows
just how serious spyware PC infection can be. While the "Spy Act" would
create a complicated set of rules governing software capable of transmitting
information across the Internet and give the FTC authority to police
violations with fines of up to $3 million, where does this legislation leave
consumers and those already in the anti-spyware industry?

As usual, the market is leagues ahead of the government. "I don't believe
that legislation is going to have much of an effect on the market at all,"
said Richard Stokes, the founder of Adware Report
(https://adwarereport.com), a popular anti-spyware product review site.
"Anti-spyware laws will discourage domestic spyware companies, but it won't
eliminate them because most spyware firms will continue to operate from
outside the country."

As Washington bureaucrats continue to debate how far-reaching spyware
legislation should be, the market continues to push the anti-spyware envelope
with improved software to eliminate spyware. "Anti-spyware companies are
battling the problem head-on and making it much harder for the bad guys to
make money doing what they're doing," said Stokes.

And while the battle against spyware is far from over, corporations will
get immediate benefits from investing in spyware removal products. "By the
time congress catches up," added Stokes, "the anti-spyware companies will have
licked the problem." Most anti-spyware pundits predict that within the next
two years there will be a handful of top anti-spyware products that completely
eliminate spyware.

In fact, a few anti-spyware products are already making a serious impact.
Most recently, Chicago based GIANT Company developed GIANT AntiSpyware with
SpyNET, the industry's first anti-spyware network. By connecting millions of
consumers, SpyNET has amassed a library of nearly 200,000 spyware signatures,
making it the most up-to-date and most effective anti-spyware software
currently on the market.

As snailish Congressional leaders debate the efficacy of spyware
legislation, anti-spyware developers and review sites, like
https://adwarereport.com, already provide consumers with viable solutions
to help eliminate their threats today.

Posted by Rich at 10:59 AM | TrackBack