What is the SPYACT ?
The SPYACT (Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act) is a bill that was introduced to the Senate. It will add more power to the FTC in stopping spyware from getting spread. It passed the sub-committee vote and is heading to the Senate floor for debate soon. Although it is not in the fast-track, it, along with its brother, the Can-Spam act do have some support in the press.
The SPYACT prohibits a website from putting spyware on government and financial computers in secret. It requires an oblivious notice before it (spyware) is downloaded. The SPYACT states that any program or application that in any way causes financial damage, changes settings or otherwise removes control of the computer from its owner, is illegal.
This bill should, if passed, protect the average computer user who may not have a real-time spyware scanner. It will help protect the rest of the world by stopping computers from becoming 'zombie-armies'. It also outlaws gathering any personal information on the owners or users of a given computer without explicit permission of the user.
Why should I care?
If the SPYACT is passed, it will protect ordinary computer users from getting spyware secretly downloaded onto their computers. For more adept computer users with spyware blockers, the SPYACT won't have that noticeable affect.
To conclude, I feel that this bill is a step in the right direction and should be supported and hopefully passed to protect the majority of the netizens with financial data on their computers. Way to go Cliff Stearns, Floridian Republican!
This article was originally published by CyberArmy.net in the CyberArmy Library.
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