"Spyware can constitute illegal trespass on home computers"

Eric J. Sinrod has a column in USA Today about a lawsuit that was brought against a pusher of spyware. Having been the victim of spyware so disabling and persistent I had to reformat my hard drive, I welcome the decision of the court that spyware makers and distributors can be sued for trespass.

The plaintiff asserted that the defendants deceptively downloaded spyware onto thousands of computers.

...

In addition, the plaintiff asserted that the spyware is designed specifically to be difficult to remove from a computer once it is installed. Worse still, the plaintiff argued that computer users are bombarded with annoying pop-up advertisements by virtue of the spyware. Finally, the plaintiff claimed that the spyware destroys other legitimate software, slows down computers, and depletes bandwith and computer memory.

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In sum, and in the words of the court: "Simply put, plaintiff alleges that Spyware interfered with and damaged his personal property, namely his computer and Internet connection, by over-burdening their resources and diminishing their functioning. Accordingly, the court denies (the) motion to dismiss (the) trespass to chattels cause of action."

I know this won't stop the scourge, but maybe it will make some of those pendejos think twice before hijacking and infecting as many computers as they can.