Spyware? We Don't Want No Stinking Spyware!

Hello again reader. Everyone doing ok?
The title of today's post is a takeoff on a line from the old Mel Brooks film "Blazing Saddles" (one of the funniest, and definitely not politically correct, movies ever made imho). I won't go into detail, but the actual line is "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!"
The subject of today's rant is a new and disturbing trend in the world of antispyware, the rogue antispyware program. I know this has nothing to do with politics, but I thought I would write about this as kind of a public service.
Up until yesterday, I was unaware that the so-called rogue antispyware problem existed. An article in the PCMag Security Watch newsletter I receive alerted me to this developing problem. I did a little reading on the subject and found out that the trend has existed for a little while and has been, seemingly, gathering momentum.
What the problem exactly is, is this...
As everyone with a computer knows, spyware and adware are a constant threat to the average 'Net surfer. Not only do they seem to be omnipresent, but they are almost never innocuous. Aside from the more malicious aspects of spyware, such as stealing your identity, personal info, or other sensitive info, they are annoying in the extreme. I put the distributors of spyware and adware in the same category as spammers, they are the scum of the internet. My personal solution to the whole spyware/adware/spam problem would involve a red-hot poker and a reference to King Edward II of England, but that is another story.
The way to rid yourself of spyware and adware to this point has been to get yourself a good antispyware program such as Spyware Search and Destroy, Ad-Aware, Spyware Blaster, or the like.
Heretofore, spyware distributors have pretty much left the antispyware programs alone. But lately, it would seem that these malicious individuals and companies have decided that the best defense is a good offense through deception. It would seem that, now, the companies and individuals distributing spyware and adware have gotten into the antispyware game by attempting to distribute rogue antispyware. These rogue programs do nothing to eliminate spyware on your system. In fact, they may, and usually do, install more spyware and adware than you may have originally had. These rogue programs do not solve your spyware problems, they only add to it.
The way these guys get you to install one of their junk programs is simply by deceiving you. They will try to lure or convince you with an ad or popup that claims you have spyware on your system, or they will run a banner ad with the name of a real antispyware program. The banner ad will, when clicked on, redirect you, not to the advertised program's site, but to the rogue program's page. Then if you click on the "download" button, what you get isn't an antispyware program, but a program that installs tons of spyware and adware and pretends to do a scan of your system.
In the course of my reading, I came across an excellent page that lists not only the good/trusted antispyware programs, but also the rogue antispyware. This allows you to determine whether your antispyware program is actually doing its job or is one of these bogus programs. The page also gives a ton of information concerning just about anything having to do with spyware/antispyware. The author of the page is a woman who calls herself "The Spyware Warrior". If you are at all concerned about spyware or adware, I highly recommend this page.
Here is the link:
The Spyware Warrior List of
Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites

I hope your program isn't listed in the rogue section.
I am Chuck and this has been a public service announcement brought to you as a public service of Chuck's Occasional Rants. We now return you to your regularly schedule lives.