CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A federal judge has ordered “Spam King” Stanford Wallace to immediately disable spyware programs that take over people’s computers and flood them with pop-up ads.

U.S. District Judge Joseph DiClerico issued a temporary restraining order late Thursday against Wallace and his companies, SmartBot.net Inc., of Richboro, Pa., and Seismic Entertainment Productions Inc. of Rochester. SmartBot’s principal place of business is Barrington.

The judge gave him 24 hours to remove software code that exploits security holes in computer operating systems and Web browers, then tracks people’s Internet use so it can bombard them with pop-up ads.

Federal prosecutors sought the injunction on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, which has targeted Wallace in its first anti-spyware action.

“Spyware” describes a broad category of software that can be installed through unsafe e-mails or Web pages. It sometimes is bundled with other software that consumers download and install, such as file-sharing programs for downloading music and movies illegally.

Spyware programs quietly monitor which Web sites a consumer visits, while some may even redirect users to different sites. It can make computers extremely sluggish and often causes them to crash.

“We see it as good relief for consumers,” FTC attorney Laura Sullivan said of DiClerico’s order. However, she could not say how pervasive Wallace’s spyware was.

Wallace’s lawyer, Ralph Jacobs, of Philadelphia, said Wallace wants “to use the Internet for advertising in lawful and proper ways.”

“There are a wide range of advertising practices on the Internet that use some of the techniques the FTC objects to, and the defendant looks forward to an opportunity to establish exactly what advertising practices are allowable,” Jacobs said.

Wallace is accused of using spyware to infiltrate people’s computers, then trying to sell them remedies called “Spy Wiper” and “Spy Deleter” for $30. The FTC lawsuit says the remedies don’t work.

Wallace says he is being persecuted because of his past involvement in junk Internet mailings. He headed a company called Cyber Promotions in the 1990s that sent as many as 30 million junk e-mails daily to consumers, earning him the nicknames “Spamford” and “Spam King.” He left the company after lawsuits from America Online and CompuServe.

The restraining order remains in effect until a preliminary hearing in U.S. District Court on Nov. 9. That hearing will involve arguments on whether the restrictions should remain in place until the case is resolved.