Congratulations to all the malware companies! You've proven that behaving like scumbags can truly affect public behavior.

Lending more credence to the rumors that Microsoft is interested in buying Claria, Microsoft's anti-spyware utility says Claria is swell.

Sources tell CNet that Claria (nee Gator) is in buyout discussions with Microsoft. Maybe Claria can teach Microsoft how to close the Windows Security holes that allowed them to stay in business. Seriously though, when I served as an expert witness for a group of a dozen companies suing Claria, I learned a lot about their business practices. Unfortunately, I think they'd fit into the Redmond culture a little too easily.