Jimbo
June 25th, 2005, 00:02
The modern day computer is a wonderful thing to behold. With it, you can keep track of your stock investments, write an E-mail to a person on the other side of the world, only to have it get a reply a few minutes later. You can take a picture of your family's newest member, born only moments before on the East Coast of the United States, and be sharing it with family and friends in California within minutes. It makes my head spin thinking about all the stuff going on inside my computer.
On the other hand, there might be other things going on inside my computer, that I would rather not have happen. Some website could have installed a small tracking program on my computer, gathering information about me, with the intentions of sending that information back to it's creator. Other programs, though less malicious than others, can be planted in my computer to keep track of where I visit on the Internet. This information might not be as important as my banking information, but it's still a private matter, and should not be shared without my knowledge.
Besides the threat these programs pose to your security. they can effect you in other ways, like slowing down your computer. You try to get the best computer you can for the money you spend, only to have it slowed down by some jerk who wants to know which of his competitors you visit. This is a pain in the neck, and should be as illegal, if not more illegal, than Spamming. I should know everything that is going on inside my computer, with no exceptions. These "Spyware" programs should be made as illegal as an unauthorized wire-tap.
Why is it, that these companies who write programs, and know about spyware, can't seem to get a handle on getting rid of all this garbage? The answer lies as close as your back pocket. You probably have a small amount of money in a wallet or purse there. The big companies want that money to come to them, plain and simple. What better way to get some of that money, than to sell a program that gets rid of the spyware for you. Sure, they could block the spyware as part of the operating system itself, but what fun would that be? If they don't, they can get more money from you with the spyware hunting software.
Then of course, just like the therapist who keeps telling you that you need more therapy, these spyware programs need to be constantly updated. After a year or so, those updates cost you even more money, because your "subscription" has run out.
The only people who are starting to bother me more than the scum that write the spyware programs, are the jerks that could kill all the spyware, but choose not to. Make no mistake about it.....if the big guys like Microsoft and Linux wanted spyware gone, it would be gone almost instantly. The only reason it is not gone is because of the money that can be made treating the symptom, instead of curing the disease. The next time you run your spyware hunter / killer program, think of the money you spent to be able to run that program.
I have no idea how to change this, but getting people to understand what is actually going on is a step in that direction. So hunt down and kill the spyware, but keep in mind who is responsible for it being there.
On the other hand, there might be other things going on inside my computer, that I would rather not have happen. Some website could have installed a small tracking program on my computer, gathering information about me, with the intentions of sending that information back to it's creator. Other programs, though less malicious than others, can be planted in my computer to keep track of where I visit on the Internet. This information might not be as important as my banking information, but it's still a private matter, and should not be shared without my knowledge.
Besides the threat these programs pose to your security. they can effect you in other ways, like slowing down your computer. You try to get the best computer you can for the money you spend, only to have it slowed down by some jerk who wants to know which of his competitors you visit. This is a pain in the neck, and should be as illegal, if not more illegal, than Spamming. I should know everything that is going on inside my computer, with no exceptions. These "Spyware" programs should be made as illegal as an unauthorized wire-tap.
Why is it, that these companies who write programs, and know about spyware, can't seem to get a handle on getting rid of all this garbage? The answer lies as close as your back pocket. You probably have a small amount of money in a wallet or purse there. The big companies want that money to come to them, plain and simple. What better way to get some of that money, than to sell a program that gets rid of the spyware for you. Sure, they could block the spyware as part of the operating system itself, but what fun would that be? If they don't, they can get more money from you with the spyware hunting software.
Then of course, just like the therapist who keeps telling you that you need more therapy, these spyware programs need to be constantly updated. After a year or so, those updates cost you even more money, because your "subscription" has run out.
The only people who are starting to bother me more than the scum that write the spyware programs, are the jerks that could kill all the spyware, but choose not to. Make no mistake about it.....if the big guys like Microsoft and Linux wanted spyware gone, it would be gone almost instantly. The only reason it is not gone is because of the money that can be made treating the symptom, instead of curing the disease. The next time you run your spyware hunter / killer program, think of the money you spent to be able to run that program.
I have no idea how to change this, but getting people to understand what is actually going on is a step in that direction. So hunt down and kill the spyware, but keep in mind who is responsible for it being there.