Spitzer puts another firm in spyware crosshairs

[ronjor]

{QUOTE-> New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said on Tuesday he has sued Direct Revenue, charging the Internet marketer with secretly installing millions of spyware programs that sent unsolicited advertisements to users' computers. <-QUOTE}
Story (http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6057543.html)

[ErikAlbert]

Eliot Spitzer,
Well done and remember, the list is long. Let them pay !!!

[Lamehand]

It won't solve anything,they will get fined for a truckload of money, they will pay and go on their merry way putting more crap on the net.

It would be better if their business license was revoked.

I wish I had that kind of money.;)

Lamehand.

[ErikAlbert]

Lamehand,
I know but such posts increase my post counter. ;D

[Lamehand]

I see you have enough already, i'am just starting:)

Greetings
Lamehand

[Detox]

A drop in the bucket is, nonetheless, a good thing.

[Notok]

I actually rather think that things like this are one of the only ways they will be defeated. No amount of education campaigns or security software availability will realistically do any good as long as these companies are still making money. For them to stop, it needs to hit them in the bank account. One or two lawsuits may not do it, but if they can set a precident and show others that they can win, then others will start in as well, and drive these guys to bankruptcy. Will that happen? Probably not, but if it can get a start and combine it with some good legislation (and enforcement) and a healthy dose of social stigma, they might actually be able to realistically make it so that it's not worthwhile to push this kind of crap.

This is something I'd like to see more of. The fight against adware and spyware (and even security in general) ultimately goes beyond the apps you install and the things that you click.

[ErikAlbert]

{QUOTE-> I wish I had that kind of money.;) <-QUOTE}
Yes, me too. While all these guys are swimming in money and having a good life, I'm poor and already happy with saving $10 on buying a security software to protect me against these guys.
Who is the fool here, me of them ?
All I have is my integrity, big deal, that doesn't pay my bills.

[aigle]

I like money but not that comes by deceiving people. "Fraud" is a big bussiness in modern era, for many.

[TeMerc]

Here are a few highlights:

Revenues reported at $6.9 million in 2003, $39 million in 2004, $33 million in January-October 2005.
Payments to Direct Revenue's senior staff, totaling more than $27 million.
A list of distributors of Direct Revenue's spyware, with the number of installations attributable to each.
Admission that Direct Revenue for a time sold a "majority" of its advertising through ad networks Traffic Marketplace and ValueClick.
Admission that Direct Revenue's ads appear so frequently that they constitute "user abuse." But reducing ad frequency lowers company revenues, so frequency stays high.
Admission that Direct Revenue previously tracked and transmited users' GET and POST data -- names, addresses, emails -- and even sent this data to third parties Hitwise and Compete.com.
Instructs making Direct Revenue harder to remove, by deleting its entry from Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs, because too many users were relying on that method to remove Direct Revenue.
Report of April-June 2005 payments from Yahoo, totaling more than $600,000 in those three months alone.
Installation by Direct Revenue of Ebates' Moe Money Maker onto users' computers.
Listing of Direct Revenue's many names and shell companies, all used to confuse and deceive the public.

All details can be found here, courtesy of Ben Edelman: People of the State of New York v. Direct Revenue, LLC - Documents and Analysis (http://www.benedelman.org/spyware/nyag-dr/)

[ronjor]

Adware Firm Facing NY AG Lawsuit Denies Illegality

{QUOTE-> The lawyer for the New York adware company sued earlier this week by the state's attorney general said late Thursday that the firm has done nothing illegal <-QUOTE}
Story (http://www.techweb.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=184429829)

[Lamehand]

Well, if they are going to use a childish defence like "They did it too" they are gonna be ript apart in the courtroom, and that is a good thing.;D

From what i've read they don't have much substantial arguments to bring onto the table.

Lamehand

[ronjor]

{QUOTE-> Court documents supporting the New York Attorney General's lawsuit against noted adware purveyor Direct Revenue show that the company hired a private investigator to track down an anti-spyware researcher, developed software to delete competing adware programs, and went to great lengths to make its own software stealthy. <-QUOTE}
Story (http://www.techweb.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=184430242)