In the continuing saga of Microsoft and Claria/Gator, I found out via InternetWeek.com that things are still rolling along:

"Microsoft quietly changed how its for-free AntiSpyware program handles a pervasive form of adware, a move that has drawn criticism because of recent reports that Microsoft is interested in buying adware-maker Claria.

Eric L. Howes, who consults with Sunbelt Software and is on the faculty of the University of Illinois, stumbled on the change while testing four Claria applications: Dashbar, Gator, PrecisionTime, and Weatherscope. He traced the change back to early March, at which time Microsoft AntiSpyware detected the Claria programs, but modified its default recommendation to "Ignore."

Let me tell you, dear reader, my own Gator story. Before I knew any better, this malignant spyware crashed my own machine so good that I had to completely re-format my hard drive. I lost a ton of good stuff. Yes, lesson learned and all, but for Pete's sake, Microsoft! Why is this even being considered as a possibility? More from InternetWeek.com:

""If you ignore the conspiracy theory [that Microsoft did this because it's thinking of buying Claria], then the question becomes 'On what basis was this decision made?'" said Howes.

At the very least, he added, Microsoft should have taken the time to tell users why it changed the default setting. "If Microsoft made the change on good evidence, that seems potentially legitimate, but none of this was presented to the user."

Now, to be absolutely fair, Microsoft has issued a response to questions about Claria on the Microsoft home site; which goes into why exactly they have relaxed security settings for Gator. So, I guess we'll watch and wait.

Related: Recent news items from Microsoft include Longhorn and RSS, a tabbed browsing toolbar, and the always entertaining Mr. Ballmer.