House votes to outlaw computer spyware

[Judi Lynn]

House votes to outlaw computer spyware
Tue May 24, 2005 1:14 AM ET


By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday voted to establish new penalties for purveyors of Internet "spyware" that disables users' computers and secretly monitors their activities.

By overwhelming majorities, the House passed two bills that stiffen jail sentences and establish multimillion-dollar fines for those who use secret surveillance programs to steal credit-card numbers, sell software or commit other crimes.

Spyware has emerged as a major headache for computer users over the last several years.

It can sap computing power, crash machines and bury users under a blizzard of unwanted ads. Scam artists use spyware to capture passwords, account numbers and other sensitive data.
(snip/...)

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2005-05-24T051429Z_01_N23244501_RTRIDST_0_POLITICS-TECH-SPYWARE-DC.XML

[thecai]

1. Does This Include FBI and Big Brother Spyware?

Since it's done more harm than good.

[shadowknows69]

15. how much you want to bet this gets vetoed somehow.

there's alot of big money behind these spyware companies.

[Robert Oak]

2. lets hope it includes employers spying on employees

too!

[SoCalDem]

3. If the computer belongs to the employer, it won't

Now if the boss is spying on the employee's home computer, that's a different story..

I am surprised that ANY employers allow web surfing and emailing at work...and I am surprised that employees do it, even if it's allowed..Prying eyes :eyes:

[Hekate]

6. No kidding. By now it's been established repeatedly...

...that any product of an employer's computer belongs to the employer. There's no right to privacy in e-mail at work. But so many people seem to not know this that I think it would be good personnel policy to spell it out in every employee handbook just so folks could be on their guard.


Some places are different. My sister corresponds freely with me from her work-station -- but she's evaluated by projects initiated and completed, not by number and speed of keystrokes (e.g. data entry operators).

My brother, on the other hand, keeps his work and personal lives completely separate, even though he's in management. The only personal e-mails he's comfortable with relate to alerts about our mother's health (she's old, 'nuff said). His other job is Renaissance Faire merchant, but all he tells the folks he works with during the week is he camps a lot on weekends because, as he puts it, "Bubba doesn't get it." One of his previous bosses not only used spyware, he made a point of commenting on the content of personal e-mail. My brother came to suspect that his personal computer at home was also infested with spyware from this creep -- and THAT really should be illegal.

Hekate

[customerserviceguy]

14. I'd gladly pay

for a small sample of what you're smoking!

Congress will pass a law preventing bad people (often overseas) from doing bad things silently and stealthly to our computers. Glad that's happening, now I can relax.

[laheina]

4. What about for marketing purposes...

...like those new sadistic cookies?

[pinniped]

8. Yes, for starters, please ban doubleclick.net.

.

[Xithras]

11. On what grounds?

Just curious.

[laheina]

5. And who was the one Representative that voted against? nt

[Merlin]

7. This is toothless window dressing.

If they want to do something useful, they would rule out ALL SPYWARE, not just the kind that is virtually untraceable and undiscernable.

As far as stolen credit card info, if that were a serious problem, you would be risking disaster every time you handed your card to some minimum wage clerk in a restaurant or K-Mart. But the law already provides plenty of escape clauses for fraudulent use.

[Kelvin Mace]

9. The vote was 395-1

Who was the clown defending fraud?

[NYC Liberal]

10. Here they are:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll201.xml

---- NAYS 4 ---
Jackson-Lee (TX) Paul
Lofgren, Zoe Wu

[jazzjunkysue]

12. Let's see some of the scum prosecuted, and I'll start celebrating.

[Zerex71]

13. When are they going to vote to outlaw corrupt voting software?