Neowin.net - FTC Shuts Down Fraudulent Antispyware Company

FTC Shuts Down Fraudulent Antispyware Company

Posted by Daninku on 14 March 2005 - 10:37 · 17 comments & 1252 views

Chalk one up for the good guys. The FTC today announced that it's filed a restraining order against a company that allegedly offered Internet users a spyware scanner program that falsely reported that computers were infected with spyware, and which failed to remove any spyware at all from infected machines. (We detailed some similarly sketchy businesses in last fall's story, Poor Defenders.)

"In an effort to induce consumers to purchase and download the defendants' "anti-spyware" software from their Web site, the defendants make numerous material deceptive representations in their marketing media," the FTC report says."

"First, after describing the various dangers of spyware surreptitiously installed on a computer, the defendants represent that they have "scanned" or otherwise examined the consumer's computer and have detected that spyware already resides on it. In numerous instances, the defendants make these spyware detection claims when the computer has no spyware residing on it."

News source: PCWorld Staff Blog

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#1 Posted by Ficman on 14 Mar 2005 - 10:55: Good deal...

#2 Posted by FloatingFatMan on 14 Mar 2005 - 11:27: About time someone started doing something about these kind of crooks...

My dad got ripped off by these jerks...

#3 Posted by M/\TT on 14 Mar 2005 - 11:46: Go FTC!

I hate people that do this sort of thing.

#4 Posted by Nelsinho on 14 Mar 2005 - 12:03: ^^ I agree too.

#5 Posted by Fat Tony on 14 Mar 2005 - 12:08: Good for them I hope they get the book thrown at them...

#6 Posted by Steffan on 14 Mar 2005 - 13:33: Good job FTC!! At least now we know they are taking spyware seriously.

(4 replies) #7 Posted by lnatan25 on 14 Mar 2005 - 14:09: Any idea on what's the company's name?

#8 Posted by imtoomuch on 14 Mar 2005 - 15:02: Good to see companies like this getting busted.

#9 Posted by shao on 14 Mar 2005 - 15:06: this company's pop-ups and ads used to make me so angry; i could see a certain type of person falling for them easily as they were often very convincing. What's more worrying is that the companies publishing the adverts didn't screen them for ethical content before hand.
where there's a market there will be people willing to provide it. we need regulations for the content of all ads. pop-up or banner, and we need accountability rather than the all too often illegal conduct of these ad content providers.

we've seen reports before of other companies openly supporting warez and other types of sites with ad content fitting with such illegal practices (porn, illegally installing malware, trojans, etc), and tbh, you really have to question the legitimacey of any company which does such things.

it's good to see the ftc going after one such company, but we need to see a punishment which fits the crime. If this was the story of a confidence trickster gaining access to an old ladies house and stealing money we'd see punishment behind bars, i don't see this as being any different, so lets not see this case end with maxTheatre being given a virtual slap on the wrist.

#10 Posted by Jestermask on 14 Mar 2005 - 15:27: Now we just need to get those eAnthology @ssholes who make Stop-Sign....that is nigh impossible to remove!

(2 replies) #11 Posted by SVT on 14 Mar 2005 - 16:58: I'm glad to see my government fighting spyware. What are the European governments doing to fight spyware? Oh yea, same thing they're doing in Afghanistan and Iraq: letting the US do all the work.

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