Spam and spyware are such pains for everyone. Yet with all the anti-spyware and spam filtering technology the industry and authorities keep sidestepping the engine that drives the beast.

The companies whom purchase the ads!

For example, buried in this piece about a California man being arrested for running a Botnet:

“Most of the money Achenta made was through deals with advertising service companies who paid him a fee to display their ads in his program. The identities of the companies were not disclosed, nor is it clear if they were aware of the money-making scheme.”

Sure, if consumers didn’t purchase the products advertised we would all be a lot better off.

More importantly, if companies didn’t pay for these ads, there would be no incentive to infect machines and pummel mail servers for profit.

You have to marvel at the idiotic reasoning given above, “nor is it clear if they were aware of the money-making scheme”.

Tracking the success of an ad is the primary function any advertising campaign.