Intermix Sued Over ‘Spyware’

 

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued a major Internet marketer, claming they secretly installed software that delivered nuisance pop-up advertisements and can slow and crash personal computers.

A six-month investigation found that the company installed a wide range of advertising software on countless personal computers nationwide, with more than 3.7 million downloads directed at New Yorkers alone, Spitzer said.

“Spyware and adware are more than an annoyance,” Spitzer said. “These fraudulent programs foul machines, undermine productivity and in many cases frustrate consumers’ efforts to remove them from their computers. These issues can serve to be a hindrance to the growth of e-commerce.”

Christopher Lipp, senior vice president and general counsel for Intermix, denied promoting or condoning spyware, saying its toolbars and redirect applications do not collect personal information on computer users.

I am relieved I have nevered visited these sites.

According to Spitzer, Intermix owns and operates such Web sites as mycoolscreen.com, cursorzone.com and flowgo.com, which advertised screensavers, games and other software available for download. Though those programs are free, they often carry other software for delivering ads and can interfere with normal computer use, he said.

One of the company’s ad-delivery programs, “KeenValue,” delivered pop-up ads while another program, “IncrediFind,” redirected Web addresses to Intermix’s own search engine, Spitzer said.

The ad software sometimes comes without notice, or if a user was asked permission, it was often through a vague reference in a lengthy licensing agreement that could be misleading or inaccurate, investigators said.

The programs sometimes omitted “un-install” applications and couldn’t be removed by most computers’ add/remove function, Spitzer said.

Spitzer’s civil suit accuses Intermix of violating state General Business Law provisions against false advertising and deceptive business practices. He also accuses them of trespass under New York common law.

Posted May 1, 2005 by
Business, Technology | 2 comments


If you liked this post, you may also like these:

  • Microsoft to Offer Security Suite
  • Music was meant to be Free. Real Networks is taking another step in that direction.
  • Feds Nail 38 People in International Phishing Scam … Operated in Romania, United States, Canada, Portugal and Pakistan




  • Comments

    2 Responses to “Intermix Sued Over ‘Spyware’”

    1. JRB Technology on June 30th, 2005 9:28 am

      Should we pay more to have spyware removed?

      Anti-Virus companies are charging extra to remove spyware, should anti-virus software already take care of this? Lets take a closer look at viruses, worms and spyware.

    2. levaquin on July 28th, 2005 8:33 am

      levaquin

      Please take a look at some information in the field of propecia online pharmacies

    Leave a Reply




    Support Scared Monkeys! make a donation.

     
     
    • NEWS (breaking news alerts or news tips)
    • Red (comments)
    • Dugga (technical issues)
    • Dana (radio show comments)
    • Klaasend (blog and forum issues)
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Close
    E-mail It