• by Seana Mulcahy , May 2, 2005

Did anyone ever tell you the best things in life are free? In an offline world, that might be true. Well dear readers, it happened to me. One day recently I was sitting in my office looking out my window admiring many of life's freebies - the green grass, a bird chirping, a little kid riding his bike. All of a sudden I looked at my laptop and it was creepily slow. I thought maybe I had too many open windows. Nope. Maybe I got an e-mail that was too large to download? Nope. It was spyware.

I ran around frenetically to check my other machines. By that point, it had spread through my entire network. I scrambled to shut everything down. Tech support isn't my forte, but knowing the perils of spyware is. All I could think of was that I was duped. How could it happen to me? After all, I'm not the average consumer. I thought my machines were like little fortresses with all the protection programs I have running non-stop. I guess not.

It turns out the problem was too big and too complex for even me to remove. Fortunately I have access to someone who could help. It took him about three days to successfully remove everything from all the machines. Now I'm left paranoid and frustrated that it could happen again.

According to Webopedia spyware is:

n.) Any software that covertly gathers user information through the user's Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet; however, it should be noted that the majority of shareware and freeware applications do not come with spyware. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers.

Spyware is similar to a Trojan horse in that users unwittingly install the product when they install something else. A common way to become a victim of spyware is to download certain peer-to-peer file swapping products that are available today.

Webopedia points out that spyware steals from a user's computer (that's why mine were running so slow). This practice challenges privacy rights as well as ethics. Users are unaware they are installing it. My tech guy said to me, "Seana if it's free, it's dangerous today." This bummed me out most of all. I am constantly working on clients campaigns.

We always try and strategize what information we could give to prospects as free in order to acquire their e-mail addresses and basic personal information. If many other people share my tech guy's mantra, we will be severely turned upside down in our practice.

This past Thursday it was announced that N.Y. Attorney General Elliot Spitzer sued Internet marketer Intermix over spyware. He claims that Intermix installed both spyware and adware. Spitzer said this was false advertising and a deceptive business practice.

Over a six-month investigation, more than 3.7 million computers in New York alone had been affected with such applications from Intermix. Many were unable to be removed or uninstalled from popular programs such as Adaware and Spybot.

"Spyware and adware are more than an annoyance," Spitzer said in a Reuters article. "These fraudulent programs foul machines, undermine productivity, and in many cases frustrate consumers' efforts to remove them from their computers. These issues can serve to be a hindrance to the growth of e-commerce."

"When dealing with these types of online practices, effectively you're talking about a nationwide resolution because it's very difficult if not impossible to isolate your practices based on a state," said Assistant Attorney General Justin Brookman.

This is a step in the right direction, but there is a long road ahead of us. If you've read my work before you know I am always spouting off about becoming a trusted marketer. We must develop a strong sense of trust with our target audience and prospects in order for them to become engaged with us, provide their personal information, transact, etc.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on the issue. What's your opinion about spyware and adware? Have you run into this problem as a consumer? As an advertiser/marketer, are you concerned about this as it relates to ad blocking software and the like? Post your comments to the SPINboard and I'll see you there.