Law Of The Line
More recently, the FTC has asked a U.S. District Court to shut down an insidious spyware operation. According to the FTC, the defendants used a variety of techniques to direct a consumer to their Web sites. At these Web sites, the consumer had spyware downloaded onto their computers. The spyware then hijacks the computer, secretly changes its settings, barrages the consumer with pop-up ads, and installs adware and other software programs that spy on the consumer's computer use. Having created these and other problems - including causing the CD-ROM drive to mysteriously open and close - the defendants then offer to sell the consumer a solution for approximately $30. The FTC charged that surreptitiously downloading spyware onto the computers of consumers, and forcing them either to purchase the defendants' solution or to spend substantial time and money to fix their computers, constitutes unfair acts and practices that violate the FTC Act. The FTC has asked the court to issue an order preventing the defendants from further dissemination of spyware and requiring them to give up their ill-gotten gains. You can learn more about how to protect yourself from fraud and abuse at the FTC web site, or if it is too late for that, you can file a complaint online. Go to www.FTC.gov. Bob Godbey is a partner in the Honolulu law firm of Godbey Griffiths Reiss. A graduate of the Harvard Law School, he has degrees in electrical engineering and math. He welcomes comments through www.LawHI.com.
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