[Bubble #5]

Originally Posted by Marco van Herwaarden

I am not a lawyer, and if you know more about this, then please provide both a quote of the text you mean and an explanation.

Hi Marco. I googled "laws about spyware" and found several good links for you. This link contains a lot of information regarding legislation regarding spyware. When you click here and go to the Library of Congress, Section 2-9c clearly states that no spyware can collect a persons e-mail address.

(9) The term `personal information' means--

? (A) a first and last name;

? (B) a home or other physical address including street name;

? (C) an electronic mail address;

? (D) a telephone number;

? (E) a Social Security number;

? (F) a credit card or bank account number or any password or access code associated with a credit card or bank account; and

? (G) a birth certificate number.

Section 3(1) states that no software, or any component thereof,

? (1) collects personal information about an owner or operator of that protected computer and transfers such information to any person other than such owner or operator;

? (2) monitors or analyzes the content of the Internet web pages accessed by an owner or operator of such computer and transfers information regarding the accessing of such web pages to any person other than such owner or operator

Furthermore; all spyware needs to contain either a removal utility for that spyware, or a on/off function so that the users of that software can, at their discretion, turn said spyware off. This hack contains no such feature/function.

This hack may also be in violation of Title III of the ECPA which prohibits the use of trace devices to record any addressing, and/or signalling information used in the process of transmitting electronic communications. This hack is also in violation of The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act which states that personal Information from any protected computer cannot be used in this matter when it involves an interstate or foreign communication. It also states that they cannot knowingly cause the transmission of a program, information, code, or command that intentionally accessing computer information such as their personal e-mail address. In Theofel v. Farey Jones it was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that it is unlawful to gain access to any e-mail information which is a breach of this act. Several of the above laws also show that this hack does not comply with the authorization section of those laws.

It's important that you understand that my concern is not about this hack per se. If someone is foolish enough to install it then that is their business. My concern is more in line with what Chris-777 and Lizard King were talking about earlier. For years we have all been loyal members of this site. We have done so because we have always felt that vb.org has always acted with the members best interest in mind. Now that comes into question if vb.org is going to allow hacks such as this with spyware to be available for download from this site. As mentioned before, it is not in the spirit of what we have come to expect from this great site. There used to be an unwritten standard here that even 'questionable' hacks were not allowed on this site. We have come to trust this site in that regard. Now, seeing a hack like this here is very disappointing to say the least. Hidden or not, spyware should not be allowed in hacks. As always I respect your decision regarding how your site is run, but at the same time I am also really sad to see a hack like this on a site with such high standards that I've always respected