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FTC Shuts Down Fraudulent Antispyware Company

Posted by timothy on from the click-here-to-remove-viruses dept.

spewey writes "The Federal Trade Commission has shut down MaxTheater, Inc., alleging the company participated in fraudulent practices with its Spyware Assassin site, which purportedly scanned user machines for spyware and reported infections, even though no scan was done and in most cases, the user machine was clean. The site then offered the user a $30 product to remove the spyware, which the commission reports 'didn't do a thing.'"

11 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. Down by maotx · · Score: 5, Informative

    with its Spyware Assassin site

    I'm getting a blank page with the title "New Page 1"
    Here is a google cache.

    --
    I'm a virgo and on Slashdot. Coincidence? Yes.
  2. Clean Machines? by multipartmixed · · Score: 5, Funny

    > in most cases, the user machine was clean.

    Yeah, right. Where the hell did they get clean windoze boxen from??

    --

    Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
    1. Re:Clean Machines? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      "windoze boxen"?

      You're thirteen, right?

  3. Interesting to note... by yuriismaster · · Score: 5, Insightful

    FTA:

    "[MaxTheatre's Media] represent that they have "scanned" or otherwise examined the consumer's computer and have detected that spyware already resides on it."

    I smell precedence!

    Almost every single pop-up ad proclaims to have found spyware on my machine, and not all of them are SpywareAssassin. Can we use this to take down other phony antispyware companies?

  4. Re:I'm Confused, Tell Me what to Think by Tyler+Eaves · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You're confused. The FTC is probably one of the most useful and generally non-sucky government agencies. It's like the various state attorney generals offices on a larger scale. Bascailly all they do is shut down scams and the like. You're thinking of the evil that is the F*C*C. No relation, other than both being government agencies.

    --
    TODO: Something witty here...
  5. Oh this is... fun! by The-Bus · · Score: 5, Funny
    Why not these?

    "The Federal Trade Commission has shut down 3DRealms alleging the company participated in fraudulent practices with its Duke Nukem Forever game, which purportedly rehashed the bawdy actionated adventures of Duke Nukem, even though no game was done and in most cases, the user looked at shoddily put together "screenshots" which seemed to promise an actual game. The site then offered the user a 3D game product, which the commission reports 'doesn't exist.'"
    ...

    "The Federal Trade Commission has shut down Microsoft, alleging the company participated in fraudulent practices with its Windows and Office software, which purportedly gave the illusion of an operating system and/or increased productivity at work, even though no improvement was done and in most cases, the user machine would stop working correctly after a day. The company's site then offered the user a $30 product to enhance security, which the commission reports 'didn't do a thing.' At this time, the only customer that had accepted such a product was the U.S. Air Force, which spent over $30,000,000 allegedly 'securing' its systems."
    ...

    And so on... Any others?
    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

    1. Re:Oh this is... fun! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      "The Federal Trade Commission has shut down Slashdot, alleging the site participated in fraudulent practices with its user comment forum, which purportedly gave the illusion being a font of insightful, and informative information, even though no valid information was ever conveyed and in most cases, users were posting at the site while giving their employers the false impression that they were working day after day. The site offered nothing in the way of journalistic content or insight employing its user base to do the dirty work of finding stories and then simply posting links and paragraph-long summaries of someone elses journalistic efforts and purporting this to be content while collecting add revenue. The site even went so far as to repeat some links multiple times with slightly different descriptions, to pass these off as new content, which the commission reports wasnt worth a thing.' At this time, the only user that had continuously fallen for this clever ruse was a citizen of the former Soviet Russia, who, in virtually discussion added valuable insights and contrasts to the way things were in his homeland in the good old days."

  6. No message? by caryw · · Score: 5, Funny

    The FTC should have put up an 0WN3D message explaining why the site was taken down, and what to do if you were defrauded by the company in the past.
    Much more informative than a blank page, and it's what the MPAA does for sites it takes down (ie. lokitorrent.com)

    Then again spywareassassin.com still resides at the same IP address (66.172.78.113) that it did before, so the order was probably to remove all content. Perhaps an A record change or domain transfer to an FTC controlled server (with informational message) is iminent.
    - Cary
    --Fairfax Underground: Where Fairfax County comes out to play

    1. Re:No message? by dosius · · Score: 5, Informative

      Look at the hosts surrounding 66.172.78.113...

      [%] resolved [66.172.78.105] to (www.xxxpersonals-london.co.uk)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.106] to (www.xxxpersonals-southwest.co.uk)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.107] to (www.hotadultcams.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.108] to (www.getitspot.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.109] to (www.crowgod.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.110] to (www.iber-hosting.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.111] to (www.topxxxdvdsites.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.112] to (www.toppornstarsites.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.113] to (www.spywareassassin.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.114] to (www.auctionprofit.net)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.115] to (www.advancedonlinemarketing.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.116] to (www.smutdollars.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.117] to (www.cheapestadultscripts.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.118] to (www.scifiworld.us)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.119] to (www.memscenter.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.120] to (www.equivista.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.121] to (www.orbz.org)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.122] to (www.myseries60.net)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.123] to (www.furaddicted.net)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.124] to (www.animalhackerz.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.125] to (www.crazedmodding.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.126] to (www.free-adult-cartoons-x.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.127] to (www.ovrimos.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.128] to (www.interracialdirectory.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.129] to (www.knoxvilleareapsychology.org)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.130] to (www.lucent-inferno.com)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.131] to (www.basd-action.net)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.132] to (www.can-online.org)
      [%] resolved [66.172.78.133] to (www.masspersonalinjurylawyer.com)

      Sense a pattern? That whole chunk of IP addresses seems to be owned by a shyster.

      Moll.

      --
      What you hear in the ear, preach from the rooftop Matthew 10.27b
  7. "Shut down" is not enough by sdo1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There needs to be SEVERE penalties to discourage others from picking up where this left off. I vote for jail time for the company executives AND those developers who knew exactly what they were doing (or in this case, weren't doing).

    The risk/reward ratio is still tilting too far toward reward for those who would defraud others using the internet.

    -S

    --
    --- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
  8. Spyware warrior lists numerous similar products by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    for adding to your hosts file (if you havent already)

    http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.h tm