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Is Deleting Spyware A Crime?
Mark Rasch, 2005-05-24

The murky waters that sustain the spyware companies may have a few unpleasant surprises just beneath the surface.

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Is Deleting Spyware A Crime? 2005-06-01
Telmo dos Santos Monteiro
Is Deleting Spyware A Crime? 2005-06-01
GrimRebuke
Is Deleting Spyware A Crime? 2005-06-02
Cosmin Stejerean
Is Deleting Spyware A Crime? 2005-06-02
Anonymous
I see no one else has yet fallen victim to your troll of a headline. So I will...

Go (or go back) to law school. It is not a crime to delete spyware. At worst for the consumer, it may be a breach of contract (license agreement), but that as you say is a tort not a violation of criminal law.

A good example of criminal behavior that IS also a violation of license agreement would be the unauthorized duplication and distribution of copies of software. That act is not a crime because it violates the license agreement, but because copyright law explicitly makes it a crime.

If you want to make a case that deleting spyware is a crime, quit trolling and find a law that says it is a crime. Otherwise you are just conjuring up law where there is none.

On the other side of the fence, there are numerous consumer protection, fraud, computer tampering, etc laws that make installing spyware a criminal act (without consent).

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Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/328/31957#31957
Is Deleting Spyware A Crime? 2005-06-02
Anonymous
Is Deleting Spyware A Crime? 2005-06-06
Anonymous
Is Deleting Spyware A Crime? 2005-06-07
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