Spyware Companies Beware: New Consumer Protection Initiative to Combat Spyware and Other “Badware”

Spyware Companies Beware: New Consumer Protection Initiative to Combat Spyware and Other “Badware”

Harvard University’s Berkman Center and the Oxford Internet Institute today launched a “Neighborhood Watch” initiative against spyware and other malicious software programs. StopBadware.org will spotlight the companies that make millions of dollars by tricking Internet users to download malicious spyware, adware and malware programs they don’t want. The multiyear initiative will empower consumers to fight back against badware. It is being supported by prominent high-tech companies, including Google, Lenovo and Sun Microsystems. Consumer Reports WebWatch, a grant-funded project of Consumers Union, has agreed to a pro-bono role as special consumer adviser.

The Berkman Center and Oxford Internet Institute hope this initiative serves as a deterrent by publishing names and reports of companies spreading badware and as an educational tool for software developers by providing principles they can follow to provide a positive user experience. A new website has been launched, www.StopBadware.org, where Internet users will be able to check to see if programs they want to download are badware and alert others to malicious programs they have encountered.

“Intruders are now in your house without your permission,” said John Palfrey, co-director of StopBadware.org and Executive Director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. “They entered through your computer to bombard you with sneaky pop-ups and install tracking software to spy on your every move and steal your most personal information, such as credit card or Social Security numbers, in order to sell that data to a stranger. StopBadware.org will shine a much needed light on the unethical activities of these companies.”

Read the complete Press Release