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Harvard and Oxford Target Badware
Techtree News Staff, Jan 26, 2006 1521 hrs ISTHarvard and Oxford have launched a "Neighborhood Watch" initiative against spyware and malicious software programs.
Harvard University's Berkman Center and the Oxford Internet Institute have launched a "Neighborhood Watch" initiative against spyware and other malicious software programs.
The Berkman Center and the Oxford Internet Institute hope this initiative will serve as a deterrent by publishing names and reports of companies spreading badware, as also an educational tool for software developers by providing principles they can follow to provide a positive user experience. A new website, www.StopBadware.org, has been launched, where Internet users will be able to check to see if programs they want to download are badware, and alert others to the malicious programs they have encountered.
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 multi-year initiative will empower consumers to fight back against badware. It is being supported by 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.
John Palfrey, co-director, StopBadware.org, and executive director, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, said, "Intruders are now in your house without your permission. 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."
Jonathan Zittrain, co-director, StopBadware.org, and professor - internet governance and regulation, Oxford University, said, "The power and promise of the Internet is that anyone can write and distribute code for tens of millions of others to adopt and run. The downside of this is that bad code can too readily get onto the public's PCs. Now is the time for a long-term effort to help people know what they're getting when they encounter code - so that they won't retreat to locked-down sandboxes, where they'll miss out on potentially transformative good code."
Beau Brendler, director - consumer reports, WebWatch, said, "Badware and its nastiest effects - violation of privacy, identity theft, and computer hijacking - hit consumers without warning. WebWatch research shows these and other threats are turning almost a third of US Internet users away from the Web. We believe StopBadware.org is a great way to fight back."
Vint Cerf, one of the Internet's founding fathers and chief internet evangelist, Google, said, "For the last decade, we have been amazed and delighted by what we can do online. And yet people feel increasingly powerless to stop unscrupulous individuals and companies from infecting their computers with programs that they didn't request. The providers of Internet services and software simply must get this problem under control, so the users can realize the full potential of their access to the Internet."
Craig Merrigan, vice president - strategy, Lenovo, said, "Whether its songs, movie clips, games or other content, we increasingly live in a 'download' world. But consumers need not feel powerless against spyware and other malicious badware while they are online. Through initiatives such as StopBadware.org, we can empower consumers to seize back control of their computers."
Whether spyware, incessant pop-ups or other obtrusive programs, badware today plagues millions of people by turning their computers into machines to spy on them and steal their data. Unlike viruses and worms, badware becomes embedded in a computer by downloading games or software, or just by visiting certain websites.
StopBadware.org will publish short user-friendly reports on downloads they have identified as badware, as well as more detailed academic studies on the problem of badware. It will publicize the names of companies that make up the most insidious purveyors of badware, and shed light on how they make money through unethical marketing practices.
The site will seek horror stories from Internet users who have been adversely affected by badware, and it will publish these stories to raise awareness of badware's harmful effects.
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