The Tease of Things I Don't Need

More infections per hit than the bar scene

An unscientific, but either enlightening or darkly affirming experiment confirms not only that spyware is terribly pervasive but that marketers are going after children. (Note: Yes, it was Symantec who ran this experiment, and so it was in their best marketing interests to catch as many cooties as possible since they're out to sell all manner of e-prophylactics. Still, it does give one a sense of the volume of what's out there and how it's targeted at the most vulnerable level of users: children and the unwary.)

After visiting five or six Web sites aimed at kids, and clicking around a bit, the computer had been loaded with 359 different pieces of adware software. A deluge of pop-up ads followed.

A great deal seems to be avoidable just by impressing upon the kids that they shouldn't click through on any pop-up ad, as that's how most of these marketeers get their spyware on our computers.