Techdirt directs our attention to the fact that the Anti-Spyware coalition is considering whether Spyware vendors should block behavioral advertising. New behavioral ad systems track your browsing habits via deep packet inspection (DPI) hardware on the ISP network. The ad vendor then sends you more customized ads based on your online activity. The problem so far has been that ISPs don't clearly inform users that they've started tracking them, and the opt-out system is, for lack of a more technically precise term, junk.

As the NY Times Blog explores, the idea is that using anti-Spyware tools to block such services would put the power back into the hands of the consumer. Of course anti-spyware software can't stop the DPI hardware from tracking your online activity. Such systems do use cookies however -- both for opting-out of ad-delivery (but not tracking) and for inter-ad network communications.While the Times seems optimistic, it's hard to think that anything will come of this. Anti-Spyware vendors and consumers generally lose when it comes to the fight against "legitimate" (the term is used loosely) marketing efforts. Recall that the Anti-Spyware Coalition was formed after spyware vendors infiltrated and destroyed the group's previous incarnation. Once re-formed, it took years for the group to even define what spyware was.