Spybot is considered to be the best spyware program.  This program is
also accessible to the blind.  The mainstream version offers a
configuration tailored for blind users with screen readers that has an
installable desktop icon that says "Spybot Search and Destroy for Blind
users."   it just goes to show that a long-haired radical with an
attitude of inclusion and human equality can create accessible software
from his home that giant companies with thousands of employees find
seemingly impossible to do.

Kelly


The Wall Street Journal
September 25, 2003


    Unlikely German Leads the War Against Spyware

By James R. Hagerty in New York and
Annick Moes in Bochum, Germany



    Three years ago, Patrick M. Kolla began noticing that some of the
free software he had downloaded into his computer was sending him pop-up
ads and keeping track of which Web sites he visited.

    Most people who discover such invaders sigh and click away the ads.
But the young German computer programmer and self-described anarchist
wrote what he calls a "quick and dirty" software tool to purge computers
of such unwanted programs. He called it Spybot Search & Destroy.

        Spybot is now emerging as an early leader in a fast-growing niche
of
software programs that find and delete so-called spyware. The catchall
term applies to a range of annoying programs that sometimes come bundled
with screen savers, music-swapping software and other downloads. Spyware
can create pop-up ads, add links that promote porn and gambling sites
and can even be used to steal personal information.

    "No one is safe from this spying," says Mr. Kolla, 26 years old,
whose company, PepiMK Software, distributes the Spybot software free to
individual users through his personal Web site.

    Although the market for antispyware software is still tiny --
estimates range from $10 million to $15 million in sales for this year
-- as more people find dubious programs clogging their computers, a
growing list of tech companies are rushing into the market. They think
antispyware could follow the example of antivirus software, which was
little-known 15 years ago but last year racked up global sales of $2.2
billion, according to market-research company IDC.

    For Mr. Kolla, who wears his frizzy brown hair in a ponytail and
sports a goatee, fighting spyware began more as a mission than a
profitmaking venture. He suspended his computer-science studies at the
University of Dortmund to battle spyware. With two part-time assistants,
and help from a global network of volunteer helpers, he works in an
office in his parent's home in the German industrial town of Bochum and
sustains himself with pots of peppermint tea and frequent blasts of
heavy-metal music. While the software is free, Mr. Kolla does ask for
donations to support his work. Though fewer than 1% of users give, he
says, the income is enough to cover his expenses.

    Meanwhile, the popularity of his program keeps spreading. Mr. Kolla
estimates that Spybot, which is available at www.security.kolla.de,
attracts more than three million downloads a month. In June, PC World
magazine rated Spybot as the best software of its kind. It also
regularly ranks among the 10 most popular programs -- and is the
top-rated program to combat spyware -- available from the download.com
Web site.

    Now Mr. Kolla is selling a commercial version of Spybot for computer
networks. Though he believes individuals shouldn't have to pay for
software, Mr. Kolla says, "I have no problem taking money from
companies." He adds that giving away software can be good marketing: If
people get used to a program at home, they may demand the same thing in
their offices.

    With such tantalizing potential, Mr. Kolla is getting competition
from several U.S. software companies, including Pest Patrol, Carlisle,
Pa., Webroot Software Inc., Boulder, Colo., and Aluria Software LLC,
Lake Mary, Fla., all of which have bigger staffs than he does and sell
antispyware to individuals and commercial clients.

    EarthLink Inc., a big Atlanta Internet-service provider, plans to
offer Webroot's program, under the name Spyware Blocker, to its
customers starting soon.

    Two big makers of antivirus software also are zeroing in on the
spyware market. Network Associates Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., recently
announced a new version of its McAfee VirusScan to help users remove
various kinds of spyware, while Symantec Corp., Cupertino, Calif., says
its new Norton AntiVirus 2004 software helps protect against spyware,
among other plagues.

    Another established maker of computer-security products, Websense
Inc., San Diego, sells software that lets companies prevent their
employees from downloading programs and blocks spyware from operating if
it does get into a machine.

    Despite this growing competition from corporate rivals, Mr. Kolla
maintains his idiosyncrasies: When his software downloads, a notice
appears saying that it is "dedicated to the most wonderful girl on
earth," a former flame who moved to Spain, he says. His Web site
recently has featured quotations from the leftist guerrilla Che Guevara
and heavy-metal rock groups such as Iron Maiden and Uriah Heep.

    A zealot for Internet privacy, Mr. Kolla also has waged an e-mail
debate with officials of Gator Corp., maker of software that tracks
computer users' movements on the Internet and sends them pop-up ads
matching their apparent interests. Mr. Kolla classifies the Redwood
City, Calif., company's program as spyware, although Gator insists it
preserves users' anonymity and denies it violates their privacy. Gator
executives have estimated that more than 100 million copies of their ad
software have been downloaded over the past four years, and say about 35
million copies currently are running on computers.

    Mr. Kolla argues that people need an easy way to flush out programs
like Gator. Spybot helps people "get a bit more privacy again," the
young German recently wrote in an e-mail to an American executive at
closely held Gator. "And that's quite an important thing if you read it
up in your Constitution."

    Write to James R. Hagerty at [log in to unmask] and Annick Moes at
[log in to unmask]


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