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The Law Governing “Spyware” or “Malware”

The EU E-Privacy Directive (2002/58/EC) is aimed at modernising existing law in the area of e-privacy. Its focus is on the dangers of so-called spyware which, in extreme cases, can allow third parties access to your machine, storing knowledge of all kinds of information from the software on the system to user names and passwords. In essence, it allows someone you do not know to gain access to your confidential information, store their own information and also trace your activities.

Facilitate Disabling of “Spyware”

Whilst it seems that prior consent is not required from you in order to this, under the Directive a business must allow people to notify them that they do not want it. In simple terms, they must make it clear how to disable it. Furthermore, companies can only use such software for legitimate purposes and with the knowledge of the user.

Effectiveness of the Law

The problem with this is that the main offenders are people who will have little respect for the law and therefore policing it as a problem in the same way that the legislation allowing people to opt out of unsolicited marketing calls (the telephone preference service) has not been very effective due to the large use of such sales approaches by companies that are less than legitimate.

Best Practice

Our view, as solicitors representing the interests of businesses rather than individuals whose rights need protecting, is that even without the Directive the best practice is not to use spyware unless there are very compelling reasons to do so which add value to the end user in some form or other. It is not rocket science: the company wishing to acquire a good brand reputation will want to adopt a higher standard even than required by law if it is serious about building its brand.

Alternative Remedies

As an aside, for the more extreme cases of the use of spyware or malware, the Computer Misuse Act 1990 covers unauthorised access to computer material amongst other things and already makes this a criminal offence.

Core obligation

Under the Directive, service providers (ie. businesses) must inform individuals of the risk involved if they allow the spyware into their system. In essence, the bottom line message is: be transparent.

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It seems everywhere you go these days, at least in the US, the conversations are about the price of gasoline.

No wonder, since it’s broken the $3.00 a gallon barrier and is causing a lot of people real hardships.

I’m old enough to remember the gas lines of the 1970’s when a similar situation occurred. At that time, I had a production services company in New England, in partnership with a man named, Irving Goldmacher.

In addition to being one of the two smartest people I’ve known – my wife, Georgia, being the other – Irving was a fascinating person. I could probably write a book about him.

One day, in the midst of soaring gas prices, Irving went out and bought a new Caddilac, a car that was known to have low gas mileage.

I asked him if he had lost his mind, buying a gas guzzling car when gas prices were at an all time high.

“James,” he answered, “if the price of gas goes up, I’ll just figure out how to make more money. I’m not going to live my life worrying about the price of gasoline.”

Talk about a prosperity mindset! What a great outlook. Irving knew he was capable of creating whatever income he wanted, no matter what was going on around him.

This is the real key to living a prosperous life. Be in control of your income.

First, realize that your income comes from God and is not dependent on the economy. If you believe otherwise, you’re in for a challenging time.

Then, develop additional streams of income to supplement whatever else you’re doing. If you have a job, this might mean starting a part-time business.

If you’re already in business, it may mean adding new revenue streams to your existing products or services. Whatever your path, it is crucial to have more than one channel of income.

For a list of resources to help you increase your income, visit http://www.jimdonovan.com/resources.html

I decided to transfer funds from one pension plan to another. I had a 401(K) that I converted to an IRA when I left the private sector and went to work for the government.

The government’s version of a 401(K) is called a TSP Thrift Savings Program.

I decided to make the transfer and went to the TSP web site. I was able to download the required form, so that part was electronic.

Then I had to fill it out by hand and send it Fidelity via snail mail. About one week later, I received a letter in the postal mail from Fidelity stating they had tried to contact me by phone to resolve an issue and they were unable to contact me. This was pure BS as both my work and cell phone have voice mail.

I called Fidelity and the problem was they did not know how much I wanted transferred even though I indicated “all”. I was given an assurance that it would be taken care of. I told them to make sure that they filled out the proper section on the form and submit it to the TSP office.

About one week goes by and I receive a letter from TSP, again snail mail, that they have received the check, but do not have the proper transfer form from Fidelity. Without the form, they will send the check back to Fidelity in 15 days.

I once again call Fidelity and am told that the check is sent from one office and the form is sent from another. It doesnt make sense, but it is there system.

One week later, another letter from Fidelity is received stating that the form has been sent.

I call the TSP office to find out if the check and the form have found each other and no joy. I am told it could take 7 to 10 business days for the two to find each other.

Another week passes, and I call and I am informed that the check and form are back together in a lock box. I guess that this is a good thing and keep my fingers crossed that the money will actually be posted to my account.

Four days later, I see the additional funds in my account. Hooray!

So, for about 3 weeks, my funds were in limbo gaining interest for either Fidelity or the government at TSP.

Fortunately, the stock market didnt go up or down much during this period, so the value was not really affected. However, it could have been.
It is strange to me that I can transfer funds online from my checking to savings in a matter of seconds. I can transfer funds via email using PayPal for free in a couple of days.

But, if I want to transfer funds from a mega-investing company like Fidelity to one of the biggest pension funds in the world, I have to do via the post office and wait almost one month for the transaction to be finalized.

Electronic age, my eye!

The finance of a business is its lifeblood without which there is no point in putting up or maintaining one. At the end of the day, money is what matters in any kind of business and that is an established fact. Most of us know how elaborate money matters are. Loosely translated, that means dealing with finances is a pain. This is especially true for people who dont know the first thing about it and I believe that comprises majority of the population.

Mortgages, trusts, annuities, bonds and brokers are only a few of the facets of finances. If that doesnt make you cringe, the likes of auditing and secured loans will. Im tempted to say that rocket science would be easier to understand. Although I know that is not true, they do share an element of difficulty that the ordinary layperson would be hard pressed to comprehend. It would be grand if we didnt have to deal with finances. But just like death and taxes, we are sure to deal with money matters in the course of our lives.

Going back to business and its financial aspect, who or where do you go to in order to get the much needed help? I presume financial advisers or accountants would be the first people that wed think of. But which financial adviser do we approach? What do we say when we get hold of one? Would they know what to do with our specific need immediately? The only logical thing to do would be to employ a skill that we have acquired way back in elementary school: research.

The Internet is always a good place to start when doing research. Business and financial sites are abundant in the net, you just have to sift through to find the good ones and ignore the irrelevant sites. The way to go would be to look for a good business portal. Portals are basically sites with a collection of topics or subjects that acts as a launch pad. This will enable you to spring to several sites that contain pertinent information about the subject that you are interested in. The apparent advantage when using a portal is that all the data and information that has to do with what you are looking for is already within reach.

You dont have to go to a search engine to look for a subject within the same topic. Take for example a business or financial portal. Ive mentioned about where to find good accountants earlier, heres the place. The obvious link to click on would be accountants in the portal. Details like services an accountant offers and how to pick the right one for your needs are discussed in-depth. After youre satisfied with the information youve gathered, you can simply go back to the portal and select another link that you might also be interested in like maybe loans or insurance and do the same thing again. Thats how convenient it is to use a business or financial portal. Information is indispensable in the realm of business. Find the right portal and get on the road to financial success.