Spyware Financing - Did I Say That?

I received some interesting feedback about my article regarding companies that are financing spyware. Some good, some bad, but in the end it was one that really got my attention. The reason is, this one came from Ben Edelman, the author of the Web site. He states in his e-mail “that the same folks who invested in these companies (Loews, etc.) also invested in spyware companies. Notice that this doesn’t mean that Loews invested in spyware.” Thank you Ben for bringing this to my attention. This also means that the conclusions I drew from this misunderstanding regarding companies such as Loews Cineplex, Cellular One, Emachines, Red Hat, and Expedia were incorrect. My apologies to all.

This does lead me to think about the whole matter of spyware financing a little more though. Okay, so these companies aren’t investing in spyware. Even so, is it okay for computer companies to accept money from investors that have ties to spyware? I would best relate this to politicians who accept campaign contributions from less than law-abiding citizens. Politicians often give back money to contributors when it is believed that the contributor has been involved in improper activities. If a computer company is aware that it receives money from companies that are involved with spyware, maybe it should re-think these relationships. Spyware is one of the most serious problem affecting computers today. It only seems logical to me that you wouldn’t do business with your greatest nemesis. Let me know what you think.