The FTC has shut down a known malware and spyware vendor. On Monday a U.S. District Court handed down temporary restraining order forcing CyberSpy Software to cease selling its RemoteSpy program, which is a keylogger. The company was also ordered to shut down its website.

The program records every keystroke on the infected computer, takes screenshots of the screen and records the addresses of every site visited. It also records all documents opened and logs conversations from a variety of IM programs including MSN Messenger, AIM, Skype, and Yahoo! Messenger. This information is transmitted to CyberSpy’s website where their customers log in to retrieve it. The program also comes with instructions on how to disguise the software and send it via email to their unsuspecting victims. Installation is as simple as clicking on a image. From the FTC’s complaint:

          The defendants violated the FTC Act by engaging in the unfair advertising and selling of software that could be: (1) deployed remotely by someone other than the owner or authorized user of a computer; (2) installed without the knowledge and consent of the owner or authorized user; and (3) used to surreptitiously collect and disclose personal information. The FTC complaint also alleges that the defendants unfairly collected and stored the personal information gathered by their spyware on their own servers and disclosed it to their clients. The complaint further alleges that the defendants provided their clients with the means and instrumentalities to unfairly deploy and install keylogger spyware and to deceive consumer victims into downloading the spyware.

Fortunately, most anti-virus and anti-spyware programs do detect the presence of RemoteSpy. Experts say the shut down isn’t likely to do much to stem the flow of malware in spam. The cyber crooks will simply find another company to do business with, and sadly, they have plenty to choose from.