Spyware samples are used by vendors to develop specific signatures for blocking them with their antispyware tools, in much the same way antivirus vendors use virus and worm samples to develop signatures that block them.

Sharing samples and other information on spyware programs will allow the vendors to develop signatures for a broader range of spyware than is now possible, he said. 'Sharing spyware samples makes everybody a lot stronger,' Hughes said. Right now, there are so many spyware programs that it's difficult for vendors to protect against them all without some sort of information- and sample-sharing, he said.

The latest vendor initiative should complement the efforts by the Anti-Spyware Coalition (ASC) to develop best practices and standards for dealing with spyware programs, said Larry Bridwell, content security programs manager at ICSA Labs.

The ASC is an alliance of technology companies and public interest groups such as the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT). In October 2005, the group released a broad definition of spyware programs that vendors can use to develop products to identify and fight spyware.

'The ASC has done a tremendous job in getting some industry consensus on terms, definitions and risk models' relating to spyware, Bridwell said. Where the industry has yet to come together is on how to test antispyware products and share information among industry researchers and vendors, he said.