<http://www.forbes.com/2005/01/19/cx_pp_0120spyedelman_print.html> Forbes Software Sleuthing Spyware--And Its Corporate Sponsors Penelope Patsuris, 01.19.05, 5:34 PM ET Benjamin Edelman became a spyware expert before most of us had any idea what was even clogging our computers. He's currently a candidate for a doctorate in economics at Harvard University and a Harvard Law student, but his work is hardly academic. Edelman, 24, has built a cottage industry documenting the nefarious ways of the spyware and adware industries, which he contends are one and the same. His extensive Web site is packed with the kind of hard evidence--screenshots and videos--that's required to combat the deception he says has been employed by companies like Claria, 180solutions, WhenU and DirectRevenue to make a buck. Each of these companies denies any wrongdoing, except DirectRevenue, whose spokesman had no comment. Many of Edelman's opponents say his accusations are self-serving, since he has at times worked for companies suing adware outfits. Edelman has lots of litigation experience despite his young age, having consulted for and testified on behalf of organizations like the ACLU, the National Association of Broadcasters and the National Football League. In 2002 he testified on behalf of a group of media outfits, including The New York Times Co. (nyse: NYT - news - people ), The Washington Post's (nyse: WPO - news - people ) interactive unit and Dow Jones (nyse: DJ - news - people ), in their lawsuit against adware outfit Gator--now named Claria. The suit claimed, among other things, that Gator's pop-up ads were unlawfully obscuring the media companies' own online content. The suit was settled under confidential terms in February 2003. Edelman doesn't just take on the makers of spyware--he outs the big-name companies that support them. In June 2004, he posted a list of WhenU advertisers, including J.P. Morgan Chase (nyse: JPM - news - people ), Verizon Communications (nyse: VZ - news - people ), Merck (nyse: MRK - news - people ) and T-Mobile. Advertisers react to the finger-pointing with varying degrees of concern. Verizon says that it "no longer uses WhenU," while a spokesman for T-Mobile says that he hasn't received any complaints about the WhenU ads and that "WhenU is opt-in and it can be removed easily." Repeated calls to Merck and J.P. Morgan Chase were not returned. Edelman's Web page also accuses WhenU of transmitting the browsing activity of its users back to the company, a practice that he says WhenU's privacy policy specifically promises not to engage in. He also writes that WhenU has spammed search giant Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ). WhenU President Avi Naider says Edelman is wrong. "In the past Mr. Edelman has made statements about WhenU that drew incorrect conclusions about WhenU and were legally inappropriate," says Naider. "We take our privacy protection very seriously." He adds that WhenU's privacy policy has been audited by Microsoft's (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) former chief privacy officer, Richard Purcell, who is chairman of TRUSTe, a nonprofit online-privacy organization. Perhaps what's most interesting on Edelman's Web site is a video dated Nov. 18, 2004, which depicts roughly 25 different adware programs, including 180solutions, that download via security holes onto his browser. Todd Sawicki, 180's director of marketing, says that his company is taking various steps to prevent this kind of thing from happening, but that "unfortunately, where there is money, the bad guys will follow." Edelman's biggest beef with Claria: "Their license fails to prominently disclose the fact that they are collecting and storing information about what users do online," he says. "But when you read the Claria installer, it never tells you, 'We collect information.' Instead it says, 'We show you ads that are based on where you visit.' " Claria Chief Marketing Officer Scott Eagle says the company's updated user agreement clarifies that point, but admits that the update isn't presented to many users that get Claria when they download free software like Kazaa. Indeed, Claria said in an S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission--since withdrawn--that it gets most of its users via Kazaa. Still, Eagle questions Edelman's motives, saying he's worked for companies that are suing Claria. (Edelman did work for Teleflora, which has a case against Claria, but he no longer does.) Edelman counters, "My clients don't hire me to help them with litigation against Claria because I'm a big fan." The Harvard student also takes Claria advertisers to task, posting a screen shot of a British ad for Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ) that appeared on his PC via Claria when he was browsing IBM's (nyse: IBM - news - people ) Web site. Edelman notes the irony that Dell has been quite vocal about the burden that the spyware boom has placed on its own customer support. "When any issues like this come to our attention, we put an end to them," says a Dell spokeswoman. "I can tell you that today we do not do business with anyone like Claria." Edelman says he has a long list of advertisers who currently work with Claria that he hasn't posted to his site. "They're a very litigious company," he says. Maybe he'll reconsider after he gets that law degree. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'