COPYCENSE

"While we tend to think of UCITA as being dead outside of a few jurisdictions, its evil spirit is still very much with us. It’s haunting us in the form of the spyware problem, as I think spyware researcher Ben Edelman’s latest piece on spyware installation methods amply illustrates.

"Edelman provides a step-by-step examination of all the deception that can lie behind one "I agree" click to an innocuous-looking license agreement. 3D Desktop’s Flying Icons screensaver is initially presented to the user as shareware available for a 15-day free trial. Only by scrolling down in the little text window to the end of the EULA does the user find a hint that there’s another component to the deal. If you install the software, you’re also agreeing to the terms of something called Blazefind. The only way to find out what that means is to follow a link to Blazefind’s EULA."

Ed Foster. Spyware and the Ghost of UCITA. InfoWorld. April 15, 2005.

See also:
Benedelman.org. 3D Desktop’s Misleading Installation Methods. April 12, 2005.

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