Adotas » Center_for_Democracy_and_Technology

180Solutions Drops Suit Against ZoneLabs

Sarah Novotny — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 16:03:22 +0000

Beleaguered adware provider 180Solutions has dropped their lawsuit against security software company Zone Labs, makers of ZoneAlarm. According to 180Solutions, ZoneAlarm mislabeled 180′s S3 “Safe and Secure Search” search assistant adware program as a piece of high-risk software that was dangerous to users and monitored both mouse movements and keystokes, something that 180 says is simply not true. 180 also insists that Zone Labs’ labeling of their software as high-risk cost them a potential partnership deal. 180 dropped the lawsuit, which had been filed in November of 2005, but only after Zone Labs downgraded their search assistant.

“Although the new labeling is still in our view overly aggressive, the immediate purpose of the lawsuit has been served,” said 180 chief compliance officer Ken McGraw in a statement. 180Solutions is currently facing a complaint to the FTC brought on by the Center for Democracy and Technology digital watchdog group, alleging improper business tactics.

Researchers and Tech Firms Collaborate on Adware Watchdog Site

Sarah Novotny — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 22:14:39 +0000

Researchers at Harvard and Oxford Universities, along with Google, Sun Microsystems, and Lenovo Group Ltd. are collaborating on a website that will identify and list carriers of spyware and malicious software. The site, StopBadware.org, will go online tomorrow (Wednesday).

Even with the advent of spam filters, ad blockers, and virus scanners, malicious software remains a major problem and a major paranoia. Traditional adware companies like 180Solutions, now under fire from the Center for Democracy and Technology, are trying to distance themselves from the sneaky reputation of opt-in adware. There are numerous anti-spyware and computer security resources out there already from the editorial blog of anti-spyware advocate Ben Edelman to the FTC’s information security web site to the uber-technical commentary and tools of Mark Russinovich of Sysinternals.

Malware researchers will post information about applications, games, and other platforms that distribute viruses and malicious software, as well as information about their developers, distributors, and affiliates some time in late February. The site will be updated monthly. Each corporation involved in the project is providing an undisclosed amount of funding, but it’s expected to be in the multimillion dollar range.

CDT Files Suit Against 180Solutions

Sarah Novotny — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 17:06:48 +0000

On Monday, the anti-spyware watchdog Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) filed a formal complaint with the FTC against adware provider 180Solutions The CDT maintains that 180Solutions tried to trick users into installing adware on their computers through a wall of affiliates. “This company’s brazen distribution practices saddle innocent Internet users with intrusive software that they neither want nor need and contribute to a general sense of wariness and distrust that threatens to stifle the growth of the medium,” said CDT Deputy Director Ari Schwartz in a recent statement.

The CDT also specifically targeted 180Solutions affiliate CJB.NET in a separate complaint in cooperation with the University of Washington’s Technology Law & Public Policy Clinic, citing the use of deceptive popups and a confusing install routine. 180Solutions’ Zango platform is an opt-in adware solution that is available through CJB.NET and approximately 1,000 other affiliates.

Sean Sundwall, Director of Corporate Communications for 180Solutions says that though the company hasn’t yet reviewed the CDT’s expansive 91-page complaint, “180solutions and the CDT share the same vision of protecting the rights and privacy of consumers on the Internet… We have voluntarily made improvements to address every reasonable concern that the CDT has made us aware of.”

180Solutions and the CDT have been cooperating for the past two years to address privacy concerns.