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

[robert_mcmillan () idg com]

IN case anyone else jumps to the same conclusion that I did, note that

"C-NetMedia is unrelated to the well-known technology news site CNET
Networks "

Bob

Robert McMillan
Senior Writer, IDG News Service
501 Second Street, Suite 120
San Francisco, CA 94107
415 974-7470

The News Service distributes exclusive news, features, videos, photos and
podcasts to Computerworld, CIO, NetworkWorld, PC World, Macworld and
Infoworld – technology publications and web sites that account for more
than 300 titles circulated in more than 85 countries.

funsec-bounces () linuxbox org wrote on 02/13/2008 10:21:17 PM:

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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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