Webroot, the developers of the Spy Sweeper anti-spyware product, this week released their “Top Ten Unwanted Spyware” list (is any of it actually wanted?)

The list was developed based on data obtained in scans done by Webroot, both from their own site, and in conjunction with Earthlink. The top ten baddies were each detected at least 50,000 times.

But quantity isn’t enough to get you on Webroot’s “Top Ten Most Unwanted Spyware” list, oh no. The product has to have … dare Aunty say it?.. “quality” as well.

Says Richard Stiennon, Vice President of Threat Research (now there’s an uncommon job title) for Webroot, ” We use the P-I index. P is for prevalence, and I is for insidiousness.”

According to Stiennon, the list comprises the the top ten which “are the most insidious programs in terms of prevalance and effect.”… [Continued…]