Crackdown On Sneaky Malware Firms Continues

from the shut-'em-down dept

Mon, Nov 13th 2006 5:10pm — Mike Masnick

It seems that the crackdown on adware/malware firms with sneaky installs is continuing pretty rapidly these days. Just after the FTC convinced Zango to pay up (though there are still questions about whether or not the company is abiding by the agreement), a district court has sided with the FTC in demanding that sneaky adware firm ERG and one of its affiliates cease distributing its software. Like so many of these applications, it worked by convincing people to download screensavers or videos, but included malware/spyware/adware in the bundle without making it clear to users or making it easy to remove. Of course, as we've seen before, it's one thing to demand that these firms stop -- it's another if they actually obey.

8 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 13 Nov 2006 @ 6:43pm

Some progress is better than nothing at least... Ill bet if W got malware on his computer 2-3 times the problem would suddenly disapear
[ link to this | view in thread ]
tek'a, 13 Nov 2006 @ 6:49pm

ok.. thats a very nice story you spammed all over.. and, as spam, it needs taken down.

ontopic..

small steps, at the very least. anything to start chipping away at these interwoven and basicly evil companies.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Not-so-Anonymous Coward, 13 Nov 2006 @ 7:25pm

To Sean
Jebuz cripes!
This is a blog post not a 2,000+ word essay...
You made some fine points however, it all gets lost somewhere after the first page or so :/
P.S. wasn't the topic Malware: C&D?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Computer Expert??????, 13 Nov 2006 @ 11:23pm

Re:
In what alternative universe are you living in? W using a computer? That got me rolling on the floor laughing.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jay Jay, 14 Nov 2006 @ 4:02am

Hey tek'a,

How can the story be spam? You went to this site and read the story of your own free will. This is the exact opposite of spam, which comes to you and is unwanted.

If the stories here are spam, to you, just "change the channel" !
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Sanguine Dream, 14 Nov 2006 @ 5:28am

It can be done...
Start enforcing tough penalties. Start allowing victims of spy/mal/adware to sue the distributors and makers of it. If the **AAs can just willy nilly sue anyone, anytime, anywhere with weak evidence and little to no proof why not let real victims start suing for real crimes.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
tek'a, 14 Nov 2006 @ 12:52pm

J J
the multi-page scolling, nothing-to-do-with-blog-post in the response that Had been listed just over me? that was spam, in that it had been randomly posted on other pages, was offtopic and pointless. and now its gone, so please disregard the spam comments. the ontopic bit still applies though!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 Nov 2006 @ 1:34pm

Re:
W is too much of a fool to realize what is or is not on his computer

that wouldn't help a damn thing
[ link to this | view in thread ]