Team for Research in
Ubiquitous Secure Technology

Citation
Ari Schwartz, Deirdre K. Mulligan, Indrani Monda. "Storing Our Lives Online: Expanded Email Storage Raises Complex Policy Issues". I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society, January 2005.

Abstract
Spyware is software which monitors user actions, gathers personal data, and/or displays advertisements to users. While some spyware is installed surreptitiously, a surprising amount is installed on users' computers with their active participation. In some cases, users agree to accept spyware as part of a software bundle as a cost associated with gaining functionality they desire. In many other cases, however, users are unaware that they installed spyware, or of the consequences of that installation. This lack of awareness occurs even when the functioning of the spyware is explicitly declared in the end user license agreement (EULA). We argue and demonstrate that poor interface design contributes to the difficulty end users experience when trying to manage their computing environment. This paper reviews the legal, technical, and design issues related to the installation of spyware bundled with other software. It reports on results of an experiment in which thirty-one users were asked to configure computers, deciding which software to install from a set of software that included disclosed spyware. The results suggest that current EULA interfaces do little to encourage informed decision-making and that simpler interfaces with key terms highlighted have potential to improve informed decision-making.

Electronic downloads

• http://www.is-journal.org/V02I02/2ISJLP283-Good%20et%20al.pdf

• HTML

  Ari Schwartz, Deirdre K. Mulligan, Indrani Monda. <a
  href="http://www.truststc.org/pubs/62.html"
  >Storing Our Lives Online:  Expanded Email Storage Raises
  Complex Policy Issues</a>, <i>I/S: A Journal of
  Law and Policy for the Information Society</i>,
  January 2005.

• Plain text

  Ari Schwartz, Deirdre K. Mulligan, Indrani Monda.
  "Storing Our Lives Online:  Expanded Email Storage
  Raises Complex Policy Issues". <i>I/S: A Journal
  of Law and Policy for the Information Society</i>,
  January 2005.

• BibTeX

  @article{SchwartzMulliganMonda05_StoringOurLivesOnlineExpandedEmailStorageRaisesComplex,
      author = {Ari Schwartz, Deirdre K. Mulligan, Indrani Monda},
      title = {Storing Our Lives Online:  Expanded Email Storage
                Raises Complex Policy Issues},
      journal = {I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the
                Information Society},
      number = {2},
      month = {January},
      year = {2005},
      abstract = {Spyware is software which monitors user actions,
                gathers personal data, and/or displays
                advertisements to users. While some spyware is
                installed surreptitiously, a surprising amount is
                installed on users' computers with their active
                participation. In some cases, users agree to
                accept spyware as part of a software bundle as a
                cost associated with gaining functionality they
                desire. In many other cases, however, users are
                unaware that they installed spyware, or of the
                consequences of that installation. This lack of
                awareness occurs even when the functioning of the
                spyware is explicitly declared in the end user
                license agreement (EULA). We argue and demonstrate
                that poor interface design contributes to the
                difficulty end users experience when trying to
                manage their computing environment. This paper
                reviews the legal, technical, and design issues
                related to the installation of spyware bundled
                with other software. It reports on results of an
                experiment in which thirty-one users were asked to
                configure computers, deciding which software to
                install from a set of software that included
                disclosed spyware. The results suggest that
                current EULA interfaces do little to encourage
                informed decision-making and that simpler
                interfaces with key terms highlighted have
                potential to improve informed decision-making.},
      URL = {http://www.truststc.org/pubs/62.html}
  }
  

Posted by Deirdre Mulligan on 17 Apr 2006.
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