Harder try vs. spy: AOL gets spyware slayer
America Online is adding a feature to spy on spyware. AOL said Tuesday that soon its internet services will be able to assist users in detecting and deleting spyware that surreptitiously tracks web surfing habits for marketers and can sometimes lead to identity theft. AOL’s newest addition arrives just after MSN’s new spyware security feature was introduced, and both came after EarthLink’s spyware-blocker. Spyware is a large problem for internet service providers, with 91 percent of broadband users having spyware or adware on their home computers, according to a study by the National Cyber Security Alliance. As advertising and marketing has grown more targeted, companies have been trying desperately to find ways of gathering personal information from consumers. Although many spyware programs are harmless, some can pry out information such as social security numbers, e-mail addresses, financial account numbers and passwords.

Women cut ahead of men at online stores
Who says women can’t get enough of the mall? Until now men had comprised the majority of internet shoppers, but that all changed last year when women overtook them for the first time in online holiday shopping. This change of tides heartily boosted overall online holiday sales, rising 35 percent to $18 billion from $13 billion the year before, according to a survey by Goldman Sachs & Co., Harris Interactive Inc. and Nielsen//NetRatings. Women are the driving force behind online shopping, making up 52 percent of buyers and purchasing clothing, jewelry and home and garden items, according to analysts. Of course, these days web sites are starting to look just like the mall, offering reviews and comparisons of products and prices on sites like Froogle and Shopping.com.

RealNetworks, pro choice for music fans
Right now the major online music services are forcing users to make a choice: Mac or Windows. A new music download store and media player launched by RealNetworks Inc. is kicking the choice back to users by supporting both encoding formats and the older MP3 format. The new version RealPlayer 10 supports the format used by Apple’s iTunes Music store, the Advanced Audio Coding format (AAC), and Microsoft’s Windows Media Audio, or WMA format, which can be seen in virtually every other major music site. RealPlayer 10 is available in a free version and premium pay versions. The music store, which offers more than 300,000 songs from all the major labels and 200 indie labels, lets customers take purchased CDs and burn up to five copies without changing the playlist.

Dust flies as Microsoft kicks at Linux (again)
Is Microsoft being a tad misleading in its new ad campaign suggesting Windows-based systems are cheaper in the long run than Linux-based systems? The ads, which debuted Monday and will appear in internet and print publications, encourage potential customers to check out a section of the Microsoft web site where they can “get the facts” concerning the two operating systems. However, critics say that the “independent analyses” provided in the so-called informative guide are not so independent, since Microsoft footed the bill for most of them. Microsoft has promised to make it clear which analyses the corporation funded, but some don’t think that’s enough, saying ifMicrosoft’s claims are true, it seems it would be easy to find some objective material.

RIAA settles 10 more uploading suits
A group of Colorado music swappers aren’t willing to chance a court date with the music industry. At least 10 Colorado residents accused of illegally sharing music files on the internet now have made settlements, with some paying up to $4,000 to escape. Brad Wise, a Highland Ranch resident who settled his suit for $2,814.30, said he resorted to settling because he’d spend that much money in attorney’s fees to fight the case. On Tuesday in U.S. District court, the settlements were made available. Of the 10, eight settled between $1,000 and $4,000, and two people were not ordered to pay. The Recording Industry Association of America has filed nearly 400 suits since September, but the hardline approach is having the right effect. A recent Pew study found that half as many Americans are downloading music online.