Microsoft faces second class-action spyware lawsuit

[Corrine]

Microsoft faces second class-action spyware lawsuitBy Benjamin J. RomanoSeattle Times technology reporterA second class-action lawsuit filed in less than a week against Microsoft alleges that a central pillar of the company's anti-piracy effort — installed automatically on millions of computers — amounts to spyware.But the attorney behind the first suit, filed on behalf of a Los Angeles man, said the company addressed many of his concerns in a software update it issued last Tuesday.The second suit, filed Friday on behalf of a group of Washington businesses and individuals, appears to refer to a test version of Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), a Microsoft program that is designed to check whether a user is running a legitimate copy of the company's operating system software.Before it was updated, WGA "phoned home" to Microsoft servers once a day, delivering information about a user's computer and operating system. This daily communication was not disclosed when WGA was installed and fits the definition of spyware offered by at least two computer security groups, the Washington suit alleges.It also states that users who elected to receive automatic updates from Microsoft "received WGA without user action, as though it was a critical security update — which it is not."Microsoft disputes the allegations.

Rest of the story: SeattleTimes

[Guest LilBambi]

This was very interesting ...And so was the 'gushing' turn around by the lawyer of the 'first' lawsuit that was filed. Now he seems to think his client's concerns were all addressed because the WGA spyware will only phone home periodically?!