Have any of the creators of malware/spyware been caught?

Factual Questions
1

A spyware problem a friend of mine is having (see this thread – http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=352321) got me to thinking: Does anybody know who is behind any of these programs? Have any of the fiendish perpetrators been caught?

If they could be caught – with what crimes, if any, could they be charged? (Would we have to resort to vigilante justice?)

For general info about malware and spyware (assuming you have the rare good fortune to be surfing the Net and yet be ignorant of such matters), see these articles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware

2

Sometimes the creators of these programs are well enough known. The problem is there is a largish gray area they can operate in and not necessarily break the law. Tracking cookies are used by many, many websites that are perfectly legit. They want to track your progress through their system and may even make life easier by remembering who you are and your preferences. Rarely are you asked if this sort of behavior is something you wish to have on your PC.

Of course the more insidious spyware can be programs that download to your computer and trust me when I say some are downright evil things to get rid of. Still…some are more upfront…or at least sort of…about what they are doing. Free screensaver? Free weather bug? Free whatever? Usually not free and if you bothered to read the agreement you would see you are opting into getting popup ads as a means for them to provied you with these things (Gator comes to mind as a company that does this openly).

Then you have the people who tell you that you have a problem and offer a solution to that problem. Thing is it is often they who caused the problem in the first place.

Sadly many of these programmers live in other countries so getting back at them is dicey at best. I know one of the most evil of all spyware programs I had to get rid of originated in Russia. Not sure how you get him/her.

That said some get caught. The FTC went after the guy who would tell you your computer was infected (by something of his creation) then sell you software to get rid of the problem he caused. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/13/uttm/main648921.shtml

Israelis seem to have caught some coporate spyware ring after other company’s trade secrets. Nine indicted in Israeli spyware espionage case .

3

You could take out an ad in something like “Soldier of Fortune” magazine, or other similar publications, but it would likely be pricey (the operation, not the ad).

:wink:

4

Oops. Forgot to add that it would be up to you to identify the target. This could take some time/$$ as well.

5

Hmmm . . . Mods, which is the appropriate forum for taking up a collection?

6

The Texas Attorney General is filing a suit against Sony because spyware included on music CDs they sell violate the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. I’m curious as to how this will turn out.