Spyware: We are not alone

It's *somewhat* comforting to know that even the experts struggle over the definition of spyware. Part of the problem is that there are conflicting interests - like advertisers vs. regulators - involved in coming up with a definition, and adware and spyware are "kissing cousins," as the Baltimore Sun put it. But key parties to the discussion, the AntiSpyware Coalition, have been working hard on a definition. The result is a 13-page report that doesn't exactly make for summer reading, but will help lawmakers draft anti-spyware legislation that actually sticks. The Coalition, which "includes small software specialists such as Tenebril and Webroot, Web giants such as Microsoft, Yahoo and America Online, and Internet activist groups such as the Center for Democracy and Technology," is seeking public comment on the report until August 12. Here's the Washington Post's Brian Krebs, who illustrates some of the confusion (with spyware issues at his in-laws' house), then clears some of it up. As for the numbers, ClickZStats illustrates the spyware problem, and USATODAY quantifies our confusion. And what does all this spell? Buying new computers, apparently, because more and more people are just junking their spyware-ridden PCs and starting fresh, the New York Times reports.