[Rick K.]

According to the anti-spyware firm Webroot Software, Adware infections net the purveyors of slimeware software around $3 a year for each infected PC.

Webroot guesstimates the illicit advertising market underpinned by adware infection of home and business PCs could be worth up to $1.6bn a year

Adware company Avenue Media claims the 2m PCS running its software brought in $7m of revenue per year.

Claria (the firm formerly known as Gator) revealed that its software was loaded onto 40m PCs, bringing in $90m in revenue a year.

There are an estimated 280 million active PC's on the Internet. Multiplying the number of PCs by the average number of adware items on each by the revenue per app figure allows an intelligent guesstimate that the illicit advertising market is worth $1.6bn a year.

The complete article can be found at: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/02/adware_market_estimate/'

Congress is sponsoring a bill called H.R.29, known as the SPY ACT.
This proposed bill would make spyware, drivebys, keyloggers, and hijacker programs illegal. To read the bill, go to http://www.theorator.com/bills109/hr29.html

Contact your representatives and let them know that as a honest affiliate, you support the passage of H.R. 29.

To contact your House representative, go to http://www.theorator.com/government/house.html
the US House of Representatives list, find your state, and send them an e-mail.
To contact your Senate representative, go to the http://www.theorator.com/senate.html US Senate, find your state, and contact them.
It's more effective to write a personal letter. Our representatives, much like us, are deluged with spam. A letter will get attention.

If this bill passes, then the spyware, adware, keystroke loggers, phishers, and BHO'S will be forced to stop. I forsee the illegal industries to relocate offshore, or in other countries to keep their businesses going. 1.6 billion dollars a year would enable them to BUY another country. But, it's a step in the right direction.

[ecomcity]

Very good advice as the whole name of the BHO game is hidden bundling -re-infestation ploys, and especially lucrative is "incent" BHO drive-by installs...no payouts to the duped who don't even know they have a "incent" loyality/rebate/reward/donate type account.