Ben Edelman: Critiquing C|Net Media's Anti-Spyware Offerings and Adver tising Practices

["Paul Ferguson" <fergdawg () netzero net>]

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Ben Edelman:

[snip]

Not every "anti-spyware" program is what it claims to be. Some truly have
users' interests at heart -- identifying and removing bona fide risks to
privacy, security, stability, or performance. Others resort to a variety of
tricks to confuse users about what they're getting and why they purportedly
need it.

This article reports the results of my examination of anti-spyware software
from C|Net Media. I show:

* Deceptive advertising, deceptive product names, and deceptive web site
designs falsely suggest affiliation with security industry leaders.
* The use of many disjoint product names prevents consumers from easily
learning more about C-Net, its reputation, and its practices.
* High-pressure sales tactics, including false positives, overstate the
urgency of paying for an upgraded version.

[snip]

Much more:
http://www.benedelman.org/news/021408-1.html

- - ferg


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--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg(at)netzero.net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/


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