Look at all the times they seem to be going after the scumbags that otherwise get ignored in the USA.

OK, so they seem to get ignored in the UK, too. Why didn't Sony get their head nailed to the floor with the Computer Misuse Act?

...they should burst into his cell at random intervals throughout the day and night and tell him that what services are available at www.wxyz.com for only $9.99 a month!

It's not happening to them, so it can't be a problem, can it?

I was recently attacked by a related piece of crapware pushed through a malformed banner ad. My PC was well protected, but closing the browser was the only safe way to get rid of the incessant demand that I install the crap.

I informed the host site concerned (for which I pay a subscription), explaining what was happening and that they should have words with their banner ad supplier.

Their response (overnight) was very dismissive, claiming that their site was entirely virus free. I emailed back explaining again EXACTLY what was happening. I named their banner ad agent and told them to shout in that direction.

Again a dismissive reply. At least they mentioned removal tools this time. I knew I was not infected, so did not need them.

Half an hour later, another malformed banner. Different "product" name, same scam.

Another email to the host, explaining that although I knew that their site did not actually push this crap directly, other subscribers would not be as savvy, and that they would lose trust, and serious money. The site, and the related ones which almost certainly share the same banner ads, have hundreds of thousands of subscribers. They ought to have serious words with their banner ad provider.

The next day an apologetic email arrived. They had eventually spoken to their supplier.

A "pop up" is the vernacular for Microsoft's Remotely-Operated Malware Installation System, otherwise known as "Internet Explorer with ActiveX"

"What's a pop-up?", well, you must not be employed, or not by a company over 100 people. I us FF at home and work, with pop-ups "mostly blocked", and essentially _every_ corporate "service", like finding the documents I need to do my job, or applying for PTO, or finding out what medical claims have been paid, or getting the ISO-9000/14000-required "training", are served via pop-up/flash/javascript-infested web-servers, nearly all of which have been outsourced to "solution providers", so even keeping up with the "allow web-rape from..." preferences is a significant time-sink.

Ain't that the truth. First bit of troubleshooting for most of these "solutions" when they don't work is "ensure pop-ups aren't blocked".

And whilst you're at it, break out the vaseline and bend over.

What is that by god´s sake? I fail to understand how people still put up with that nonsense...it is not that you cannot find alternatives anymore. I ditched windows after 98se, and never looked back.

Tried to use linux for a couple of years, and after I learned what a Mac could do maintaining my boss computer, I had just do get one for myself. Been using one for a couple of years now, and I couldn´t be more happier.

It is just enough pain to open the XP emulation once every two months...

Regards,

Rui