Up Front: Rule One--They're Our Machines

So it would go in the real world. Then there's the online realm, where PC break-ins are not only maddening, but maddeningly mundane: All connected Windows computers endure ongoing attack from an array of Internet intruders. Each time an old enemy starts to wane, a new one pops up to take its place. And behind the threats is a nebulous malware economy that gives bad actors every incentive to ply their trade.

A crisis this vast demands a big response. Which is why we've devoted this issue's entire feature section to "The New Security War," a special report spearheaded by Senior Editor Anush Yegyazarian. Our package unblinkingly explores multiple facets of the situation, from illicit adware to identity theft to the future of cybercrime.

Just as important, it provides plenty of strategies for fighting back. "For every problem, there's something you can do," says Anush. "Whether it's running the right software to protect your PC, or just remembering to use lots of plain old skepticism in your everyday life online."

Senators vs. Spies

"Spyware is essentially wreaking havoc... Turn on your computer, and the avalanche begins!" Those could be the words of any harried PC user, but the speaker happens to be in a position to do something: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon).

With Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Conrad Burns (R-Montana), Wyden is cosponsoring a bill--one of several proposed laws--that aims to stem the spyware tide. The Software Principles Yielding Better Levels of Computer Knowledge Act (SPY BLOCK) would move against multiple standard malware techniques, including covert monitoring of user activity, "drive-by" software installations, and tricks to evade uninstalls.

Like PC users, legitimate software merchants suffer from spyware's pervasiveness. For one thing, their tech support departments often have to clean up the mess. But the industry hasn't exactly rallied behind anti-spyware legislation. True, its representatives decry electronic spying. But beyond that, they tend to hem and haw, fretting that new laws may stifle innovation or impose unreasonable demands on honest companies.

In March 2004, Robert Holleyman, president of the Business Software Alliance--a group that includes most of the major software companies--testified before a Senate subcommittee that was considering SPY BLOCK. Holleyman argued that the bill's limits on unauthorized installs amounted to banning technology rather than banning bad behavior. He urged that SPY BLOCK focus solely on information theft.

Today's security battle, however, isn't solely about the pilfering of data. Consider botnets--secret networks that turn unwitting users' systems into zombies for such nefarious purposes as spam distribution. That's theft of computing cycles, not information. But it's theft nonetheless.

Ultimately, taking time to get anti-spyware legislation right is vital, and any law must be designed to combat both today's menaces and those of tomorrow. "The technology industry has a valid point, that Congress always fights yesterday's problems," concedes Senator Wyden, who is working on revising SPY BLOCK. Skeptical feedback helps, he says: "We're pushing this rock up the hill."

There may be no simple solutions here, but one thing should be beyond debate. The people who get to determine what software runs on PCs should be the people who own those PCs. After all, they're our machines. And technology companies that want to earn our business should make clear--in both words and deeds--that when it comes to the security war, they're on our side.

Contact PC World Editor in Chief Harry McCracken at mageditor@pcworld.com; read his blog here.