Major Advertisers Caught In Spyware Net

theodp writes "BW reports on Fortune 500 companies' use of adware - Sprint for its PCS phones, major banks peddling Visa cards, Sony and retailers including Circuit City. And Mercedes-Benz before the company, fielding complaints, put on the brakes. So far, law enforcement has mostly targeted the transmitters, but NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is threatening to hold accountable household-name advertisers that use adware networks. No longer, says Spitzer, can companies play dumb."

Comments

YES

[Anonymous Coward]

Elliot Spitzer is a bad mother fucker.

Re:BW?

[Anonymous Coward]

I often wonder about this at night ... lying sleepless in my bed:

Why slashdot instead of the much more common and meaningful dotslash? What does /. mean or stand for, anyway?

And don't tell me stands for news for nerds. stuff that matters. not good enough!

Eliot Spitzer == Superhero?

[adam31]

I feel like he should walk around with a mask and fluorescent yellow-and-orange spandex and wear a cape with a Red E emblazoned within a square... That guy is like the last real American hero.

Although, I doubt he could actually bring successful legal action against the 'household-name advertisers'... hopefully the threat is enough to choke off the money flow. Who cares about all the spigots when you can shut down the water main?