Who pays price? You and I.

What is being done to stop it?

In all honesty, not much. It is not because no one cares, but more because more we try to stop it, more technical these companies get. As always, human eyes are being required to track down and stop these companies.

Affiliate managers and companies are becoming far more active in monitoring their affiliates to catch spyware. Affiliates are also becoming a bit more vigilant in reporting these companies (although not near enough).

There has been a moving trend towards software products that block these spyware agents. Consumers are slowly becoming more aggressive in trying to stop their computers from being invaded (they are tired of pop-ups).

How you can help in fight against spyware?

The biggest area we need to work on is by applying pressure to affiliate networks like LinkShare and Commission Junction to be far more active. Although these companies have strictly stated that they will immediately shut down spyware companies, more and more cases always seem to slip through.

You cannot really blame them, since more affiliate sales, more money they make. But, if enough genuine affiliates apply pressure, these companies will be forced to be even stricter.

Do not get me wrong, they ARE starting to become a lot more active.

In all honesty, next thing you can do, short of designing a break-through program to stop this problem, is to be more careful and report more actively. Any time you see an uninvited pop-up on your computer that has an affiliate ID in link – you can be 98% sure that it is spyware.

Take time to report it!

Other than that, for now, being educated about spyware is enough – spread word and make sure more affiliates know.

What about you? Do you get ridiculed by your friends and family when you tell them about your Internet dreams? It’s very common. The simple fact is that loved ones who do this to you have good intentions. They don’t want to see you get hurt, ripped off, or scammed. They just, quite honestly, have no idea what they’re talking about.

I’ve long since giving up on trying to explain what I do online to friends and extended family. Even trying to explain simple concepts such as email marketing can lead to comments such as “Oh, so you spam people?” It’s frustrating, to say least. It hurts because these are people who you’d expect to be on your side.

Don’t let these people get you down. Ask yourself one question: Do I believe that what I’m doing will eventually lead to financial success? Whether it’s creating e-books, doing affiliate marketing, making content sites, writing articles, or whatever it may be. If you can honestly say yes, then keep plugging away and never give up.

The next time a loved one says you’re crazy for trying to make money online, don’t get mad. Don’t get defensive. You don’t have to defend anything. You know what you’re doing. They have no clue. Just think about Locke, getting up from that crash site and walking, and simply say “Don’t tell me what I can’t do.”