Bonzi Class Action Suit Settled: No Foolin'!
An anonymous reader writes "According to this
article in the Toronto Star, a class
action suit against Bonzi Software has reached a settlement.
Bonzi will not pay damages but will be required to stop using fake user
interface (FUI) style error messages to trick users into clicking on their
banners. This is a big win for the community as it will help to improve the
Internet's ailing perceived user experience.
Most of you have seen Bonzi's banners, and probably most of you won't admit
to having been fooled by them at some point. Well, imagine how many novice computer
users were tricked into installing again, or paying for software they really did not need.
Congratulations and thanks to Lukins & Annis
for a job well done.
Interestingly, bonzi.com has been returning connection refused all day. This is usually one of the net's busiest sites."
Interestingly, bonzi.com has been returning connection refused all day. This is usually one of the net's busiest sites.
Ah...a little thing called justice.
I agree, m4d props to L&A for showing them up. I've never actually clicked on one of them (I swear) but my friend, who uses the same computer, does so numerously. I pretty much have to uninstall Gator and such on a daily basis.
When you don't have a leg to stand on, don't even get up.
I thought my OS X aqua icons turned into these nasty, square-shaped, clunky, windows-esch styled buttons.
Bonzi doesn't have to pay any money? I guess Perfect Tommy and the rest of the Hong Kong Cavaliers managed to save the day after all!
:)
Bad joke, I know but it had to be said, err... written.
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde
Your operating system sucks. Click here to install Linux now! [Ok]
Your PC is in need of maitainance.
Click here to get the latest upgrade for your system.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Just like the idiots who get worried when they see the "your computer is broadcasting it's IP address" messages.
Even when I was occasionally using a WinBloze box I wasn't taken in, as I'm sure most tech-savvy users weren't. The people who fall for this tactic are the same ones who keep forwarding email warnings about anti-perspirants causing cancer, etc.
Maybe you should trade your dad's computer for a parrot. ;)
-T
Will EVER beat the Window Messaging Service pop-up I got selling a program that blocks Windows Messaging Service. They never responded to my emails as to whether or not they offered "change your windows background" or "how to change your boot-up wav" software.
Finally, math books without any of that base 6 crap in them.
Now I'll never be able to optimize my dial-up connection!
What in tarnations are yall talkin about. I use Mozilla everyday, I never seen one of these Bonzi Gorilla Men!!!! What is the big hullabaloo about:)
HenryJamesFeltus.com
Not just Bonzai, but all of those ads that try to 'trick' users into clicking through: fake 'X' buttons, bogus radio buttons, etc...
How many people, once fooled into the company's web site, decide "Hey, I'm already here. Why not give them my credit card number for some useless piece of shit I don't need."
?
I'm serious. Has there ever been a study on this sort of thing?
GeekNights!
Late Night Radio for Geeks!
WARNING Linux user! You have some Micro$oft webpages in your browser's cache! We can help you remove them safely!
Open up a shell and type: apt-get install hitthemonkey
K THX!
\\ Mitch
gimme an 'R'!
gimme an 'E'!
gimme a 'C'!
gimme another 'E'!
gimme a 'D'!
gimme yet another 'E'!
gimme an 'N'!
gimme a 'T'!
What's that spell?
PRECEDENT!
Now there's a definition of "friend" of which I was previous unacquainted with.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Now we just need a suit against Microsoft for that annoying Office Paperclip... I'll get you paperclip! You may have won the battle, but the war is not over! You're dead paperclip! DEAD!
just as their system grinds to a halt with a big purple ape [bonzi.com] on the screen jumping out at you,
The true victim in this lawsuit is the purple ape. He has been neutered and sent to a zoo;)
Harpo Tunnel Syndrome--my wrist feels funny.
Well, that's all well and good, but your computer is broadcasting an IP address which can be used by hackers, and now you can't even be warned of this fact. Thanks to Bonzi, I found out about this years ago, and my net experience has been much safer since I installed their software. *phew*
There is no sig, there is only Zuul.
Oh gods.
/. at 2:30pm), and I've no doubt that if anyone were caught with Bonzi installed on their machine, they would be laughed out of the department.
People at my (former) office would huddle around the monitor and watch the little bastard perform. Never believed me when I told them what it was, and yet constantly complained that their PCs were too slow.
Of course, now I work for IBM (work.. Yet I'm somehow posting on
GeekNights!
Late Night Radio for Geeks!
Your computer is transmitting an IP address!
Helpful warning, kind of one the same lines as:
Your epidermis is showing!
TallGreen CMS hosting
so any word on when I get my money for shocking that bouncing monkey thing!
If there was any justice, it would be the developers who got neutered...
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
Who wants to volunteer to write one of those FUI ads to install Linux on all those poor fools' Windoze machines?
the penguin will eat you.
karma whore! *pointsfinger* (Score:-1 Troll)
I'm happy those bogus errors will finally be put to an end, atleast from Bonzi. I'm rather disturbed that the firm that won this lawsuit is called Annis. Am I to believe that all lawyers are assholes, or just in that one practice?
A big win? What are you smoking? Bonzai duped countless users for years and completely got away with it. They didn't have to pay anything. A big win would be if they got slapped with such a huge fine.
No, A big win would be if they got slapped with a large trout.
http://use.perl.org
...it's good to see the monkey being spanked.
Max
My god carries a hammer. Your god died nailed to a tree. Any questions?
How much fun is it to be in the middle of a big data entry project, in the 'zone' and you get disturbed by a gigantic monkey with no 'off' button that wants to eat/nap/take your money?
Oh, so you've met my brother-in-law then?
But that would just make them more dedicated coders. Fewer distractions, you know.
"dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope"
"Who wants to volunteer to write one of those FUI ads to install Linux on all those poor fools' Windoze machines?"
Ah yes, that way millions of people could say "WTF? Why don't any of my games work?!"
It was a ugly dialog box thingy that didn't really match the rest of my interface. It said that I had to "click to cancel" a theme change in OSX- so I clicked it and fortunately they were not lying 'cause everything stayed the same.
I'm so glad OS X gave me a chance to cancel that, I don't know what I'd do if I had to deal with an interface that ugly!! (Thank You Apple)
I clicked on the http://www.bonzi.com link and I get a popup that states:
Internet Alert
Your Computer is Currently Transmitting An Internet IP Address. With This Address, Someone Can Begin Attackign Your Computer.
Download Internet Alert To Protect Yourself Now!
haha classic. I've seen this one before but in light of the settlement I think its even funnier that I Just got that.
======== In the future, everything will be artificial. ========
Interestingly, bonzi.com has been returning connection refused all day. This is usually one of the net's busiest sites." ;-)
So what do people do when they read this, they click it to see if its true - that was just a ploy to get us to slashdot the site wasnt it
Slashdot - The one stop shop for procrastination