Thompson said that technology companies should develop standards for downloads that would distinguish them from spyware.

Marc Rotenberg, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, said it is a mistake to say that "the problem is too hard and therefore we're not going to try to solve it."

"It's a little late in the day for those types of excuses, particularly for the Federal Trade Commission, which has an obligation to protect consumers' interests in the electronic market place," he said. "To expect that market-based solutions are going to protect the consumers, I think, is to misunderstand the problem."

At least one law already has gone into effect against spyware. Utah last month passed a law to cut down on spyware and Internet pop-up ads. New York-based Internet advertising company WhenU.com Inc. earlier this month filed a lawsuit in federal court to overturn the law.

The U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives are considering anti-spyware bills. Backers of those bills said they would not harm legitimate programs.

"Consumers have been impacted by spyware for some time and I think there is a concern out there that this is an issue that should be addressed," said Frank Cullen, chief of staff for Rep. Mary Bono (R-Calif.), who is sponsoring an anti-spyware bill.

Cullen said that Bono would take the technology industry's concerns into consideration.

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), who is co-sponsoring the Senate bill with Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), said spyware "is just plain wrong."

"These invasive programs hide in the shadows of hard drives without user knowledge or consent and deceitfully steal passwords, credit card numbers, and other valuable information," he said.