Zango Caught Lying About Targeting MySpace?

from the gee,-what-a-surprise dept

Fri, Jul 28th 2006 1:43pm — Mike Masnick

Things keep getting worse for spyware/adware firm Zango -- but it appears to be mostly of their own doing. First, a security researcher spotted the fact that someone had set up a MySpace profile trying to get other MySpace users to include videos on their MySpace profiles that just so happened to sneakily install Zango. This, of course, is from the company that claims it's completely against sneaky installs and has the technology to stop such "rogue" installs... even though they don't actually seem to stop them. In response to this discovery, besides taking some cheap shots at the researcher who was helping them by pointing out this "rogue" distributor, Zango claimed that they don't target MySpace. Specifically, a spokesperson from the company said that the profiles were created by an employee, but were a mistake: "he didn't realize it was Zango business practice not to target MySpace. He should not have been doing this, and we want to tell MySpace that we didn't mean to target them." Apparently, however, that was news to some Zango affiliates. They've now shown the original security researcher emails from Zango telling them how to target MySpace with its adware and how to try to get popular MySpace users to embed the Zango-infested videos into their MySpace profiles as well. In other words, not only was it Zango practice to target MySpace, they actively encouraged affiliates to do so. Given the company's history, it's not surprising that they would be caught saying one thing publicly while doing something entirely different -- but it's still amazing that they thought no one would catch them in this lie.

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10 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 28 Jul 2006 @ 1:52pm

Still amazing me...
"but it's still amazing that they thought no one would catch them in this lie."

That company has amazed me at every turn. I just don't understand why they still exist. How can a company prove to the entire world that it is lying cheating and stealing, and continue to exist?

I wonder if they patented that business model... I might have to try it, it sure sounds easier than anything else.
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Lyin Biatches..., 28 Jul 2006 @ 2:51pm

Zango is great! Leave them alone. They do nothing to harm anyone and those people need to eat too.

Move along folks, Nuthin to see here...
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- Anonymous Coward, 28 Jul 2006 @ 4:26pm
  
  Re:
  Zango is crap! Disembowel them all. They do nothing to help anyone and those people need to die too.
  
  Keep watch folks, plenty to concern here...
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- Bob Dole, 31 Jul 2006 @ 10:26am
  
  Re: They can eat ramen and spam
  Great??? It's adware. It's never great. I dont care if it's adware for naked chicks, viagra, cars, mortages or computer hardware. these people need to eat? they can work at mcdonalds and steal french fries like the rest of the employees.
  
  Their right to exist and prosper ends where my right to not have to look at their crap begins.
  
  wait--- why do i care? it's myspace anyway. let em have it.
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NwEsT, 28 Jul 2006 @ 3:30pm

Problem Solved
If these people lie so obviously, why haven't they been sued apart yet?
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Chris, 28 Jul 2006 @ 5:57pm

Flame war?
Well it sure looks like a flame war to me, post stuff that actuall has to do with the article and not your personal oppion of their company and weither they should be sued or not.
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DittoBox, 30 Jul 2006 @ 10:38pm

What utter BS
"he didn't realize it was Zango business practice not to target MySpace. He should not have been doing this, and we want to tell MySpace that we didn't mean to target them."

Oh please. They claim they don't do sneaky installs but they admit that this employee was targetting MySpace -which they claim is against company policy- by signing up to get sneaky installs into pages.

What crap. What utter, total crap.
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Sanguine Dream, 31 Jul 2006 @ 7:04am

I
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Sanguine Dream, 31 Jul 2006 @ 7:06am

Im surprised...
MySpace hasn't sued them yet. And considering that Zango has trying to get MySpace users to use their infected vids to spread their dirty wares, I think MySpace would have a decent case.
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Skwalla, 24 Aug 2008 @ 6:43am

Zango is a legal program thats fuks upp our computer read this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zango

Zango are u gays paid by FOX or someting ??
to fuck upp the Internett...
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