2.  The purpose of this report is to inform people that the spyware and virus threat is growing and what people can do to stop the spread of spyware and viruses.

3.  The spyware and virus epidemic needs to be addressed by both computer users and the United States government.  Identity theft and other cyber crimes are on the rise due to the malicious software applications residing on the Internet.  Home and Business computer users are under attack and losing valuable time and money.

4.  The spyware and virus epidemic is a serious threat to our business and home computer use.  Spyware and virus applications will be a major contributor to computer/network performance issues and security threats, as well as a primary source for computer related crimes.  Computer users are losing valuable time each day due to the related effects from these applications, thus slowing productivity.  The United States Government needs to investigate and punish these application developers to make the Internet a safer place for everyone to use.  Educating the computer user population will greatly reduce the amount of computers infected.  Credible spyware and virus protection is critical to a computers well-being.