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I've said many times before that the use of adware to display advertisements based on the content of a web site should be banned, if the company responsible for them has no license from that web site. It seems the German courts agree with this sentiment.

The Court of First Instance in Cologne, Germany has prohibited Gator/Claria from displaying pop-up or pop-under advertisements while consumers are visiting the web site of Autovermietung, the German division of the Hertz car rental company.

Autovermietung argued, and the court agreed, that the behavior of Gator/Claria's software constitutes unfair competition. Gator/Claria could face fines of up to $302,325 or six months in jail for each violation of this order.

"Gator's unsolicited pop-up ads constitute an unwarranted intrusion that disrupts Hertz's ability to do business with online customers," Remy Keijzer, Hertz's general manager in Germany, said in a statement. "We are gratified that the court in Cologne has recognized that Hertz and its online customers are harmed every time these ads appear, often without the full knowledge and consent of individuals who may have inadvertently installed Gator's adware, or spyware, on their home computers."

More: http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-5180240.html

This is one more victory against what I consider to be an unethical business practice. I hope it hits Gator/Claria hard in the wallet.

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Program: Mailwasher Pro
Author: Firetrust
Platform: Windows 95, 98, NT 4, ME, 2000 or XP
License: $37.00 [15% off for SpywareInfo readers. Use coupon code SPYWAREINFO1]
Purchase: Click here to purchase

I have been a loyal user of Mailwasher since shortly after it was released. I love this program. Even when it still was distributed for free, I made a donation to the developer so he would keep working on it. It's that good.

Mailwasher connects to your ISP's email server and downloads the headers of your email, then flags what it considers to be spam or viruses. This allows you to delete spam without downloading it; very useful with all of the email worms going around today.

Mailwasher is very easy to use. You just enter the passwords for your email accounts and from then on you push one button to have it check your email. The results after it has downloaded your email is very easy to understand.

Mailwasher has just been updated to version 4.0. There are two new features that are really fantastic:

* Learning Filters: Intelligent filters that learn to identify good email from spam and junk mail, and deliver a robust and efficient approach to solving the barrage of unwanted email.

* FirstAlert!: A global network of users who actively report spam and interact with the database in real-time. Any messages in the users' email that correspond to identical fingerprints in the database automatically are identified and eliminated.

The price, unfortunately, has gone up in the new version. However, Catherine has worked out a 15% discount. Use the coupon code SPYWAREINFO1 and the discount will be applied.

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People concerned about their privacy often say they do not want the activities of their lives going into government or corporate databases. At this, many people roll their eyes and ask "why not?". The following story is a prime example of "why not".

Database tools help lawyers track clients
Electronic public records used as advertising magnet

Just as the work of police, college recruiters and employers is being transformed by ever-more efficient database technology, so is the legal profession.

Lawyers in many states can now track down the names and addresses of prospective clients within hours of their legal entanglements with the help of electronic records and information vendors.

When their son didn't come home one night, Julie and Dennis Danielson fretted that something terrible had happened. The young man suffers from a mental illness that requires daily medication.

Two days later, the Danielsons got a call from a mental health facility 90 miles away in Riverside County, Calif. It turned out that their son had been arrested on the mistaken suspicion that his erratic behavior at a casino was drug-induced.

After retrieving the young man, Julie Danielson checked the mail that had piled up during frantic days of worry. She was shocked to see at least 12 envelopes postmarked only hours after her son's arrest from defense attorneys offering their services.

More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4623826/

What happened to ethics? Aren't there laws against ambulance chasing in that state? Unless things have changed dramatically and I didn't hear about it, an attorney can be disbarred in my state (Georgia) for chasing clients like that.

This is a disgusting abuse of technology. Every ambulance-chasing attorney soliciting clients with this database ought to be disbarred.

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I try to avoid talking about politics when it doesn't involve privacy or spyware but I have to say something about this.

Bring up telemarketers and people groan. Say the word "spyware" and people growl. Mention spam and people spit. But even as deep as the hatred of these forms of advertising runs, the acknowledged winner of the "Most Hated" form of advertising contest is the pop-up ad.

Politicians already send spam mailings. They also use telemarketing. Now the GOP is creating an unholy trinity of political advertising by running pop-up ads.

GOP pop-up Internet ads may win some, lose some

Candidates have already commandeered the airwaves, made their way into your mailbox and finagled your phone number.

Now, they're popping up - literally - on your computer screen.

The Republican National Committee is testing out two Internet pop-up ads - those unsolicited sales pitches that obscure your view of the score you're seeking or the article you're reading online.

More: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/politics/8172922.htm

I could make some comments about this but a poster to the Slashdot news forum already has summed it up beautifully:

So instead of using the Internet to rally and energize the American public into voting for them, they are going to use it to furthor alienate and annoy us with pop-ups? Are they that out of touch that they believe pop-ups are actualy going to give them some sort of edge?

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I have been informed that SpywareInfo is listed as one of "The 100 Best Undiscovered Sites" by PC Magazine in their April 20 issue. I've been told it's listed on page 87 of that issue. I haven't seen the article myself; I can't find the issue on stands anywhere. :(

All I can say is "wow". That is awesome. Go pick up a copy as soon as that issue hits stands near you.

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I totally forgot to mention this last week. TomCoyote.org was attacked along with SpywareInfo, Merijn.org, Net-Integration.net and Xblock.com. The site was unavailable for several weeks but it is online again thanks to Net-Integration's generous donation of hosting. Now it is located at www.tomcoyote.com instead of .org, so update your bookmarks.

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As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I will be attending the FTC workshop on spyware on April 19. I am planning to drive to DC for that, then spend a few days gawking at all the tourist attractions.

The problem is that my car does not have cruise control and I tend to have a heavy foot if I'm not paying attention. I want to buy a radar/laser detector, but I can't find any objective reviews of them anywhere.

I've never bought one before and I have no idea what I should look for. I don't want to buy a dud that's not going to work. I'm sure there's one or two experts on the subject out there. I want to ask which radar/laser detector I should buy based on your experiences.

Reply to this newsletter or use the webform and let me know what you think. Thanks!

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I am signed up for Google News Alerts for the keywords "spyware" and "spywareinfo". While I was away for a couple weeks, the alert emails piled up. Normally I quote a small section of each article but, just to clear this out of my inbox, I'm going to link all the articles below. I may have linked to some of these previously.

Are you being watched online? : http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3475956/

Legislator takes aim at computer 'spyware' : http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,590043291,00.html

Spyware blighting record numbers : http://www.contractoruk.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=10714

Scare tactics used in adverts to sell anti-spyware software : http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=7687

Under the radar, Aluria inks AOL spyware deal : http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2004/02/16/story4.html

Spies log your every keystroke : http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,8746633%5E15388%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

Anti-Spyware Law Proposed : http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,114999,00.asp

Sen. Wyden seeks to protect computer users from spyware : http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=64907

Congress targets computer spyware : http://www.bendbulletin.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=12816

Spyware/Adware/Popups - Controlling the Beasts : http://www.nbc4.com/technology/2887104/detail.html

Senators Try to Smoke Out Spyware : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23307-2004Mar2.html

'Spyware' sneaks in : http://www.heraldnet.com/Stories/04/3/3/18272918.cfm

New bill aims to shine light on spyware : http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/03/03/hln.wired.spyware/

AIM add-on sparks privacy concerns : http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5168991.html

Lurking "spyware" may be a security weak spot : http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994745

Are IM and Spyware Inevitable Partners? : http://www.winnetmag.com/Article/ArticleID/41938/Windows_41938.html

Spyware can put even fastest PCs in the slow lane : http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/computing/choney/20040308-9999-mz1b8choney.html

Spying software can invade your computer, steal personal data : http://www.thenewsherald.com/stories/031704/bus_20040317022.shtml

Another Computer Age Nuisance: Spyware : http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1777227.html

GATES Weighs In On Spyware Issue : http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3332311

Is your computer spying on you? : http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0329/p14s02-stin.html

For Windows Users, 'Browser Hijacking' Is Only the Latest Threat : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14264-2004Feb28.html