You probably never read those long "End User License Agreements" (known in the trade as EULA). But if you don't, they could come back and bite you (or at least your computer.
www.slashdot.org reports: "There is a new virtual postcard from Friend Greetings, owned by Permissioned Media that prompts you to install their software to view the card.
You are then presented with a EULA granting them permission to e-mail all the Contacts in your Outlook Address Book!
Those people are presented with an e-mail from you telling them they have a greeting card to pick up. So, this thing spreads like a worm, but includes a EULA that 99% of users won't take the time to read.
Symantec isn't detecting this as a virus, but does have <a hrref="http://www.sarc.com/avcenter/venc/data/friendgreetings.html
">information about it on their site. </a>In addition to the worm-like way it spreads, it also installs spyware designed to deliver ads to your computer. You also give them permission to install further software any time they want!
In my opinion this is completely nasty, but it's all clearly in the EULA that you must agree to before it installs the software." So it may not be ethical, but it may very well be legal.
See <a href="http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/25/1636215&mode=thread&tid=95
">SlashDot</a> for more
So--READ LICENSE AGREEMENTS (yes, it's tedious, but important), and avoid anything from "Permissioned Media" or "FriendGreetings"
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www.will-harris.com
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