Microsoft is planning (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/30/technology/30soft.html?ei=5090&en=f489deb1b5308190&ex=1277784000&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print) to buy Claria Corporation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claria_Corporation), which created the spyware that everybody loves: Gator. It's going to help them compete with Google and Yahoo for ad revenues.
Microsoft has also started calling Gator "moderate" and recommending that you ignore it.
This is very shady. I don't like it at all.
More information:
http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/340
The pre-article thing:
QuoteI don't get mad too easily, but there's one thing guaranteed to really get me steaming, and that's when someone is lying to me. Right now I'm feeling lied to, and while I could be wrong, I don't think I am. Worse, I don't think I'm the only one who's the victim here. I think virtually all of you are having your chains yanked as well.
Whats next including Gator with the OS?
Who wants to bet that Microsoft Anti-Spyware won't detect Gator anymore?
I want to know who the genius was that made this move. Either its just a rumor (coming from iago the odds of that are pretty low) or somebody is going to ruin Microsoft's reputation even more.
The aquisition/partnership/whatever is being cancelled, I'm told. I guess they realized how bad it looks.
And the check for Gator are now "moderate", even though it's the worst piece of Spyware I've ever seen.