Hounded by spyware charges, Direct Revenue shuts down

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>]

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic
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Hounded by spyware charges, Direct Revenue shuts down

Will adware company execs 'take the money and run?' 
Robert McMillan
 

October 24, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- Notorious adware maker DirectRevenue
LLC has closed shop. 


The company, which was recently doing business as Best Offers, gave no
reason for its sudden closure, which was announced on its Web site. "Best
Offers and Direct Revenue have ceased operations. To service legacy
consumers we are maintaining this page of uninstall instructions, an
uninstall software tool, and an e-mail based support service." 


E-mail sent to the
<http://www.computerworld.com/action/inform.do?command=search&searchTerms=Go
ogle+Gmail> Gmail address listed on the company's Web site was returned as
undeliverable.

DirectRevenue was founded in 2002, but it managed to make a lot of people
unhappy during the course of its short life. Its software, which was often
installed without user consent, would bombard victims with unwanted pop-up
ads and was difficult to remove. 


The company was fined $1.5 million by the
<http://www.computerworld.com/action/inform.do?command=search&searchTerms=U.
S.+Federal+Trade+Commission> Federal Trade Commission in February and it was
also sued by the New York attorney general. Critics called the FTC fine a
slap on the wrist, however, as the company is thought to have made more than
$20 million from its questionable business practices. 


"This is a business that never should have existed," said
<http://www.computerworld.com/action/inform.do?command=search&searchTerms=Be
n+Edelman> Ben Edelman, a critic of the company who is an assistant
professor at the
<http://www.computerworld.com/action/inform.do?command=search&searchTerms=Ha
rvard+Business+School> Harvard Business School. "They never did anything
useful for users and merely preyed on victims too trusting or hurried to
protect themselves from DirectRevenue's attacks." 

...

 

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