I see what you're saying.
But I think I tend to somewhat disagree that it's just starting. With any hope, it's on its way out.
Several years ago when there were only a handful, it was annoying to get popups and get hit by driveby downloads. But most free spyware removers got the job done to catch it and remove it. The worst was CoolWebSearch and there was a good free tool to take care of it that still exists today.
Now with 400+ of them, and so many bundles of so many programs that all get installed via the same driveby, it totally destroys computers because right there and then, the computer is unusable. One adware application alone is annoying but it doesn't hurt the computer, or not that much (like zango), depending on which one of course. It's hard to remove on your own, impossible for a newbie, but you don't have to buy a brand new computer. But get 2 or more at the same time, and now the fun really starts.
With trojans, keyloggers and phishing sites that steal your personal information and turn your computer into a spambot or used to launch DDOS attacks, the law is starting to crack down on some of these applications.
Not only because the consumer is starting to scream LOUDER, but because now there's big money involved, financial institutions are starting to care more. And that's not only in North America, it's all over the world.
The louder everyone screams, the more noise we ALL make about these programs, the more attention it will get.
You get hit with a driveby download? Note the company on the ad and contact your news channels about it and local newspapers. Once big companies start making the news and their names get associated with stuff that fuck up people's computers, the bad publicity will hurt their business offline as much as it will online.
You bought a brand new Toshiba comp with crap already preinstalled? Man I would have turned their world upside down!!!
There are so many things we can ALL do to help get rid of them. Those who cry that there's nothing that can be done, let them rot. When the rest of us who make noise on a continuous basis to get somewhere some day, they'll thank us for it even though they never lifted a finger to help the fight.
Missie