New York Attorney General Sues Spyware Maker

[mandy]

New York state has asked a court to stop a software firm from installing spyware on users' computers...

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer alleges that Direct Revenue LLC, of New York City, sold software that surreptitiously installed millions of pop-up ad programs on users' computers.

His lawsuit asks the court to bar the firm from installing any more spyware or sending further ads through existing spyware, and to assign monetary damages.

"These applications are deceptive and unfair to consumers, bad for businesses that rely on efficient networks to do their jobs, and bad for online retailers that need consumers to trust and enjoy their online experience,"...

full article: http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/04/0...are_1.html

related topic:
Online Ad Firms Cleaning Up Their Acts?
http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...978.0.html

[stardust]

Scumbags!  >

[amy]

[quote author=stardust link=topic=3270.msg11902#msg11902 date=1144252989]
Scumbags!  >
[/quote]

My favorite scumbag spyware maker was this year's Olympic Gold Medalist skier/Spyware King who made millions off spyware.

Spyware Spam King Skis to Olympic Gold Medal
http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...675.0.html

[mandy]

A related article on Direct Revenue:

The Plot To Hijack Your Computer
They watch you surf the Web. They plague you with pop-up ads. Then they cripple your hard drive

Consumers have strong opinions about Direct Revenue's software. "If I ever meet anyone from your company, I will kill you," a person who identified himself as James Chang said in an e-mail to Direct Revenue last summer. "I will f------ kill you and your families." Such sentiments aren't unusual. "You people are EVIL personified," Kevin Horton wrote around the same time. "I would like the four hours of my life back I have wasted trying to get your stupid uninvited software off my now crippled system."...

According to angry consumers and the New York State Attorney General, Direct Revenue makes "spyware."...

full article: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/con...993001.htm