FTC Ponders: Is 'Adware' Spyware? »

Companies that install ad-serving software on consumers' computers and serve them pop-ups--such as WhenU, Claria, and 180solutions--bristle at being called "spyware," rather than the more neutral term "adware." But is spyware really the wrong word for such companies? Perhaps not, according to participants in a spyware workshop convened last year by the Federal Trade Commission.