The Anti-Spyware Coalition (ASC) has finalised a
set of documents designed to provide new information and tactics to
software companies developing anti-spyware products.
One of the documents, called
"Best Practices: Guidelines to Consider in the
Evaluation of Potentially Unwanted Technologies," details a
recommended process by which companies can identify software as
unwanted or malicious, based on the coalition’s definition of
spyware and risk models.
Another document, "Conflict Identification and Resolution
Process," is aimed at preventing the situation in which two
competing anti-spyware companies get into an unwanted conflict
between their respective software products.
The ASC was founded in 2005 to build a consensus about
definitions and best practices in the debate surrounding spyware
and other malware technologies. The process of completing the two
newly finalised documents – now posted on the organisation's
website – took more than a year.
We need more initiatives like this to be able to combat the
organised crime now plaguing companies and individuals through
spyware and keyloggers. What we don’t need is for them to take a
year to gestate. In normal terms, a year wouldn’t be too bad. But
in security, that’s still too long.
Spyware hits productivity, says survey
Comment on this article:
computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk