Judge orders Spam King banished

A US federal judge has ordered a man dubbed the Spam King to disable so-called spyware programs.

US District Judge Joseph DiClerico issued a temporary restraining order against one of the world's worst spammers Stanford Wallace and his outfits, SmartBot.net and Seismic Entertainment Productions.

Prosecutors sought the injunction on behalf of the FTC which targeted Wallace in its first anti-spyware action.

Wallace was told to remove any software code that exploits security holes in computer operating systems and Web browsers, then tracks people's Internet use to bombard them with pop-up ads.

He also faces charges of peddling $30 remedies called "Spy Wiper" and "Spy Deleter" that the FTC says don't work. According to Wallace's lawyer, Ralph Jacobs said that Wallace wanted to use the Internet for advertising in lawful and proper ways.

He said that there are a wide range of advertising practices on the Internet that use some of the techniques the FTC objects to, and the defendant looks forward to an opportunity to establish exactly what advertising practices are allowable.

You might remember Wallace from when he fronted an outfit called Cyber Promotions that sent as many as 30 million junk e-mails daily to consumers. This earned him the nickname "Spamford" and "Spam King." He left the company after lawsuits by America Online and CompuServe. µ