House Moves Second Spyware Bill Along
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The Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed its own version of an anti-spyware bill, setting the stage for a showdown between it and a similar bill that went through another committee.
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Leading security software vendor PC Tools is pleased to see House  passage of the Internet Spyware (I-Spy) Prevention Act of 2007,  providing the justice system with greater power and resources to  prosecute cyber criminals. "We need to give these criminals more than a  slap on the wrist.
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roundup Plus: Spyware bill moves to Senate...Supercomputer center gets new No. 2...MIT, Caltech offer low-tech voting advice.
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(InfoWorld) - Even though security technology is improving, spyware legislation is still needed from the U.S. Congress because many consumers don't use all the tech tools available to them, antispyware groups said Thursday. Antispyware groups including the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and StopBadware.org called on Congress to pass antispyware legislation during the last days of the 2006 session. Although some studies show a small decrease in the amount of spyware on PCs, the use of spyware that logs keystrokes seems to be going up, said Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the CDT. "The issue is everyone's still making money doing this," Schwartz said during an antispyware discussion in Washington, D.C. Spyware distributors identified by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the CDT can pull in tens of millions of dollars in revenue annually, he added. Antispyware technology can work, but 81 percent of home PC users don't use all three common security tools -- antispyware software, antivirus software and firewalls -- according to a survey published in December by AOL LLC and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). "We still think consumers are not protected," said Ron Teixeira, the NCSA's executive director. "If they don't take these three core measures, it doesn't matter what we do." The House of Representatives passed two antispyware bills in May 2005, but the full Senate has yet to act on similar legislation introduced there. Paul Cancienne, a legislative assistant for Representative Mary Bono, said his boss is optimistic that the Senate can still pass legislation and the two chambers can iron out their differences before Congress adjourns in October. Bono, a California Republican, pushed forward legislation that would require many software programs collecting personal information to get permission before doing so. Bono's Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act also would outlaw the act of taking over a computer in order to send unauthorized information or code, and diverting a Web browser without the permission of the computer owner. The bill, which passed the House by a 389-vote margin, would allow fines of up to US$3 million for spyware-like activity. Security software updates are exempted from the Bono bill. In addition to legislation, antispyware groups need to continue to educate consumers about online dangers and ways to combat them, said NCSA's Teixeira. Many people don't know how to properly use security software or are confused about products out there, he said. Many of the discussion's participants said legislation that would define illegal practices and give the FTC more power to work with overseas law enforcement agencies would help fight spyware. But not everyone there saw more legislation as an improvement. A new law could bring unintended consequences for the tech industry, said John Palafoutas, senior vice president for domestic policy and congressional affairs at tech trade group AeA. Palafoutas pointed to studies that say a significant percentage of time consumers spend online is looking at pornography sites, identified by StopBadware.org as major sources of spyware. "I'm wary of a legislative fix," Palafoutas said. "Part of the problem is there's a lot of recklessness out there."
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The US government has moved for the first time to block unsolicited circulation on the Internet of spyware, a type of software that can inundate Web users with pop-up ads, secretly take control of their computers and spy on their online activities.
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On a unanimous vote the US House of Representatives Thursday approved a bill making many &quot;spyware&quot; activities illegal. Spyware can be surreptitiously loaded into a computer via the Internet and extract information
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A flurry of new technology-related bills was introduced this week in the U.S. Congress.
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed separate legislation designed to combat spyware and the illegal online swapping of copyright material.
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The cure could be worse than the sickness The US House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed legislation designed to protect PC users from spyware despite the strong objections of internet-based businesses that warned the measure could interfere with many legitimate online activities.â¦
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With concerns about spyware rapidly mounting, Blue Coat Systems is introducing a proxy appliance to combat the problem.
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American lawmakers are close to outlawing the making of spyware that smuggles its way on to your PC.
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In a move that takes aim at file-swapping networks, the US House of Representatives voted to boost penalties for online piracy and increase federal police powers against Net copyright infringement.
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Two bills designed to curb the proliferation of Internet &quot;spyware&quot; took another step toward law this week with overwhelming approval from the House of Representatives, but supporters said
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Mobile providers and the heads of the FTC and FCC have been summoned to a second day of House subcommittee hearings this week as Congress continues its investigation of the HP boardroom spying scandal.
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WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives will vote as soon as next week on a measure to crack down on deceptive âspywareâ that hides in usersâ computers and secretly monitors their activities, key lawmakers said on Wednesday.
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THE US Government has moved for the first time to block unsolicited circulation on the Internet of spyware, a type of software that can inundate web users with pop-up ads, secretly take control of their computers and spy on their online activities.
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Anti-Spyware Bill Passed by House  Legislation prohibiting spyware practices was passed Tuesday by the United States House of Representatives in a 399-1 vote. Termed the Spy Act, this bill not only prevents all things associated with spyware, but it also requires that opt-ins, notices and consents accompany any legal software that ...