Radiate states unequivocally that "We do not track your web surfing habits. We do not monitor what you do on your computer. We do not search your system for personal information."

Hype aside, it seems that Radiate is not engaged in any shady activity, and the supposed tracking of users, scanning of hard drives, etc., is another in a long line of Internet myths. Interested readers can visit Radiate online for further info, and independent analyses of the issue. The most in-depth is at Steve Gibson's web site, with the Radiate specific information here . You can also download his own 'spyware' removal utility, OptOut, which detects the presence of the Radiate DLLs, and can remove them.

Gibson states that "as a result of my extensive analysis, I have found NO EVIDENCE to suggest that the Aureate technology has the ability to - in any fashion - inventory the contents of the user's system. Nor that it's able to transmit personal or private data out of the system. This is not to say that I think the Aureate system is either benign or desirable. I continue to feel that it is neither - but this is just my opinion. It does NOT appear that they have been secretly inventorying any contents of their client's machines."

Hmmm . . . I have at least one program that uses the Radiate software. It might be time to run OptOut and check out what's happening on my own system. If you are interested in more information than is offered at Steve Gibson's site, here are some suggestions:

Kumite.com has a fairly detailed article. Another well-balanced treatment, by Bill Machrone, can be found at ZDNet.

Happy reading.