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Company accused of selling fake antispyware settles suit
From: "Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 21:50:18 -0500
Company accused of selling fake antispyware settles suit By Joris Evers <http://news.com.com/Company+accused+of+selling+fake+antispyware+settles+sui t/2100-7350_3-6140656.html> http://news.com.com/Company+accused+of+selling+fake+antispyware+settles+suit /2100-7350_3-6140656.html Story last modified Mon Dec 04 16:03:25 PST 2006 <http://adlog.com.com/adlog/i/r=6465&s=690416&t=2006.12.05.02.47.19&o=1009:7 350:&h=cn&p=2&b=5&l=en_US&site=3&pt=2102&nd=7350&pid=&cid=6140656&pp=100&e=3 &rqid=00c18-ad-e145744A45805227/http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/Ads/common/dotcle ar.gif> A company accused of selling phony antispyware tools has settled a lawsuit filed by Washington State's attorney general. White Plains, N.Y.-based Secure Computer has agreed to pay $1 million to settle charges that it violated Washington's computer spyware law, the attorney general's office said in a statement Monday. The case was the first lawsuit under the law. Filed in January, the suit accused Secure Computer of marketing software that <http://news.com.com/Washington+state+sues+over+spyware/2100-7348_3-6031108. html> falsely claimed PCs were infected with spyware, then enticing consumers to pay $49.95 for a program called Spyware Cleaner that claimed to remove it. The suit alleged violations under Washington's 2005 Computer Spyware Act, federal and state spam laws, and the state Consumer Protection Act. "This settlement with Secure Computer is a significant victory," Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna said in the statement. "It sends a strong message to Internet businesses that they must promote their products ethically and legally. We won't tolerate deceptive marketing such as scareware that preys on consumers' fears about spyware and online threats." <http://news.com.com/Anti-spyware+guidelines+get+final+version/2100-7349_3-6 026632.html> Spyware and adware have become widely despised for their sneaky distribution tactics, unauthorized data gathering and tying-up of computer processing power. The terms are used to describe software that pops up ads on a PC screen or that logs keystrokes, makes screenshots or tracks a user's Web-surfing habits. Secure Computer allegedly used deceptive links on search engine Google's site, as well as in pop-up advertising and in spam e-mail for Spyware Cleaner. Additionally, the company was accused of using a Windows feature to pop up warnings on users' PCs, telling them their system had been compromised by spyware, when it had not. ...
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- Company accused of selling fake antispyware settles suit Richard M. Smith (Dec 04)