Spyware targeting kids

This is something online families need to talk about: how spyware gets downloaded onto the family PC. One clear answer just confirmed by spyware expert Ben Edelman is "kids." But it's not their fault. As Edelman explains it to ZDNET, spyware creators are buying banner ads on kids' Web sites - cute ads with offers like "Click here for free smileys!" (smiley faces and other little graphical icons to add to/spiff up their instant messages). When kids click on these free, fun, innocuous-looking ads, they download spyware, Edelman said. "I've been trying to figure out how these programs have such a large installed base: Who in their right mind would agree to have their computer become a vehicle for pop-up ads? It turns out that many of these programs target kids." Besides free IM graphics, another temptation is free little games kids can click on, play, and in the process download spyware. But informed families are empowered families, and kids will probably appreciate this heads-up, which they can in turn IM to their friends! The simple message is "think before you click" (and you probably don't want to click on free downloads or to Web sites advertised on banner ads that make them sound really cool with all kinds of freebies (so they don't have to ask Mom or Dad to pay for them). Here are Edelman's report on this and bio.