FTC Filing Targets Malicious Spyware
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FTC Filing Targets Malicious Spyware  Spyware has come under target of the Federal Trade Commission with a new complaint filed in federal court which is requesting that two Internet based advertising and software firms be closed. The FTC filing was made last week with a press conference to be scheduled for ...
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Homes computers, lacking firewalls and up-to-date virus protection, are crawling with spyware.
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The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a legal complaint against two companies that allegedly infected computers with spyware and pop-up advertising, then tried to sell spyware-blocking software.
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Blog: A new Senate bill is likely to vex Internet companies and advertisers, who have been warning for years that supposedly "anti-spyware" proposals could impose problematic regulations on legitimate businesses.
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Scareware tactics backfire on Secure Computer A firm accused of marketing bogus anti-spyware software has paid $1m to settle a lawsuit brought by the US State of Washington.â¦
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Hacking tools that let you unlawfully activate trial software can include malware used by hackers to steal financial data.
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A company which makes software that infiltrates users&#39; computers and demands $30 to be removed has been targeted by US authorities.
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(InfoWorld) - Two consumer protection groups are asking the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate FastMP3Search.com.ar, a Web site that distributes software that can be used to search for digital music on the Web. The FastMP3Search plugin disables the Windows Firewall, installs adware and Trojan horse programs, and generally hobbles the user's PC, said John Palfrey, the Harvard Law School professor who is StopBadware.org's co-director. The software is also virtually impossible to remove once installed, he added. StopBadware.org and the Center for Democracy and Technology plan to file a formal complaint with the FTC on Thursday. "We are asking the FTC to take a close look at an application that we consider to be the worst of the bad applications that we've seen over the course of the last year," Palfrey said. Representatives from FastMP3Search.com.ar could not be reached immediately for comment. The Web site is registered to a company called Direct S.A., based in Buenos Aires, according to the Network Information Center Argentina domain name database. StopBadware.org was also unable to reach representatives from the company before filing its complaint Palfrey said. The company's Web site tells users that the software will provide a fast way to search the Internet for downloadable music files, "in exchange for your agreement to also install our plugin software, which may occasionally display ads on your computer." Although the FTC has sought court orders to shut down Web sites in the past, the fact that FastMP3Search.com.ar appears to be based in Argentina complicates matters, Palfrey admitted. Still the FTC has worked on international efforts to fight spam and online fraud. "When an application is hosted outside of the U.S., but is plainly affecting U.S. consumers, they can coordinate with other governments," Palfrey said. "We would hope that they would start an investigation of this application." FTC representatives could not be reached immediately for comment. Formed earlier this year with funding from Google Inc. Lenovo Group Ltd., and Sun Microsystems Inc., StopBadware.org has issued reports on dozens of software products that engage in questionable or downright malicious behavior. It has exposed problems in everything from Kazaa to the Jessica Simpson Screensaver, to AOL LLC's free client.
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The computer maker and a nonprofit organization have launched a project to teach people about spyware and how to avoid it. By Thomas Claburn.
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SPY ACT would allow fines of up to $3 million for some types of spyware.
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User-generated Web content is becoming a target for hackers and cross-site scripting attacks on Web sites can lead to malware taking over the browsers of machines that use the sites.
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Unpatched Windows machines are vulnerable to latest adware attack
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A new federal case illustrates the role computer intrusion is taking in the high-stakes world of niche Internet commerce.
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The Federal Trade Commission has filed suit against two companies owned by New Hampshire resident Sanford Wallace. The firms allegedly infected users&#39; computer with spyware -- and also sold anti-spyware software.
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StopBadware.org and Center for Democracy and Technology file FTC complaint against FastMP3Search.
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(InfoWorld) - The sellers of the Spyware Slayer antispyware program have agreed to pay US$300,000 in fines to settle charges that they violated Washington State spyware and consumer protection laws. Both the charges and the settlement were filed Wednesday in King County Superior Court in Seattle, said Washington State Assistant Attorney General Katherine Tassi. Two companies, both controlled by the same owners, were named in the settlement, she said: High Falls Media LLC, of Hilton, New York, and Roc Telecommunications LLC, of Rochester, New York. Company associates Thomas Tortora, Mark Libutti and Brian Einhaus, all of New York, were also named as defendants. They could not be reached immediately for comment, and the freepcscan.com Web site used to market Spyware Slayer was no longer active on Wednesday. High Falls promoted Spyware Slayer with false pop-up ads warning victims that their computer was infected with spyware, Tassi said. If the victim tried to leave the site, another pop-up cautioned, "if you leave now, damage could be done by harmful worms, viruses, adware, spyware, malware or hacker code." These ads "were essentially startling consumers into believing that they had spyware on their computer," Tassi said. "They had a pop-up that said 'we have detected a 99 percent chance that you have spyware on your computer,' and this was just an advertisement. They had not done anything to detect anything." This type of inducement is illegal under Washington's Computer Spyware Act, but has become an "all too common mode of marketing security software," Tassi said. "We do see this as an increasing trend: the exploiting of consumer fears over spyware and adware as a way of marketing software products." Las week, Washington's attorney general announced a similar settlement with a New York man who used pop-up ads designed to look like Internet Explorer alerts. He was marketing a program called QuikShield Security, she said. Roc Telecommunications ran a number of music download sites, including 24/7 Downloads, Free Download Club, and MP3s Unlimited, which also engaged in deceptive marketing practices, Tassi said. The defendants have not admitted any wrongdoing under the agreement and will have the bulk of their $300,000 fine suspended, provided that they comply with the terms of the agreement and no longer misrepresent what they are selling. "They pay $25,000 of that and then the remaining portion hangs over their head as an incentive to comply with the injunctive provisions," Tassi said. The defendants must also pay $30,000 in legal fees and provide refunds to Washington state residents who purchased their products.
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A screensaver targeting spam-related websites could help drive spammers out of business.