Like you, I had heard stories about spyware that had changed registries and corrupted firmware. I scoffed until malware on my highly fortified laptop remapped Wi-Fi card drivers to interfere with a trackball, crashing Windows XP every 10 minutes. This type of software attack needs no special cyber-legislation. Using existing criminal statutes would avoid the ex post facto nature of new laws and allow a wide assault on current authors of covert pop-up enablers and keystroke monitors.

Some advertisers tremble at the prospect, wondering if blanket use of burglary laws can scoop up the "good" spyware (is there any?) with the bad. Too many advertisers are relying on spyware, they say. My response is that if two-thirds of a senior class was engaged in group "wilding" in a neighborhood, the residents wouldn't suggest the cops merely go after ringleaders.

In my case, I had a good firewall and anti-virus programs that proved next to worthless. The AOL study pointed to the high percentage of home users who have no firewall and who rely on outdated virus definitions. You can expect spyware propagators to exploit that as fodder for lectures on personal responsibility. But a burglary statute does not become invalid if the victim leaves the door unlocked.

In Qwest of a buyer?
After Qwest settled the bulk of federal fraud complaints against it with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 21, media analysts wondered whether Qwest executives were prettying it up for a sale. Only the Denver Post asked the related question: Who might want to purchase it?

It's not that Qwest's assets are inherently distressed; it's that carriers no longer value footprint expansion and, instead, are looking to make overdue improvements in infrastructure.

Almost on cue, Verizon and SBC announced new regional expansions of fiber to the home and hub. Looks like the smart money goes to buildouts, not buyouts.

Loring Wirbel is Communications editorial director for EE Times and its network publications.