I just finished reading an article on InfoWorld regarding PC Tools’ auto-renewal of their spyware doctor product.  I can definitely see the writer’s gripe for the loss of control in the renewal process (if this is indeed what happened).  What I was surprised about was the response from the AMEX rep (If this is indeed true as well).  It appears that this is becoming a new process of subscription payments.  Is there a way to opt-out? Is this forced-continuity without notice?

A comment from a reader, Paul Herald, reveals the whole story:

"I purchased Spyware Doctor too but knew about the auto-renewals, from memory it seemed to be pretty clearly indicated to me when purchasing. after the purchase I just emailed them to not auto-renew me so I could do it manually. Anyway I think just about every security company does this now at least I know Symantec and McAfee .. I think Trend, Webroot and Kaspersky do too but not 100% sure. At least they cancelled and refunded it easily, with some subscriptions I’ve had it’s been nearly impossible to get in touch with a human behind all the automatic emails!"

So the verdict is forced continuity with notice during the spyware doctor purchase.  So this is a convenience mechanism that you can opt-out.