Three Minutes With Spybot's Patrick Kolla

By Andrew Brandt, PC World
Friday April 02, 2004

The author of Search & Destroy wages war against ever-sneakier spyware and competitors who poach on his name and reputation.

From the May 2004 issue of PC World magazine

Patrick M. Kolla wrote Spybot Search & Destroy, a free download that is one of PC World's most recommended programs. Spybot is an anti-spyware scanner that finds and cleans out adware on your PC so your private information can't be transmitted. The software is so popular worldwide that user donations support Kolla's company, Safer Networking Limited, which he runs with part-time help from his father, Dr. Michael Kolla, and a group of computer science students called Team Spybot. Kolla, 26, lives in Germany 300 steps from the Safer Networking office that takes up a floor in his parents' home. An edited transcript of the February 23, 2004, conversation follows.

PC World: How do you define spyware?

Patrick Kolla: Well, it's some piece of software that the user doesn't know about that transmits personal information.

PCW: What got you interested in writing Spybot?

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