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Three Companies Shut Down For Spyware Bundling

Posted by Zonk on from the more-in-the-vein-of-sony dept.

SenseOfHumor writes "A U.S. Court has shut down three companies for secretly bundling spyware. The assets of Enternet Media Inc. and Conspy & Co. Inc., based in California, and Iwebtunes, based in Ohio, have been frozen pending further court action, the FTC said. The court also ordered all three firms to halt downloads of the software." From the article: "According to a complaint filed in district court in Los Angeles, Enternet and Conspy bundled their malicious software with music files, song lyrics and cellular telephone ring tones offered free on a range of Web sites. The software was also disguised as a security upgrade for Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer Web browser."

11 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. Dear Sony... by Picass0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I had my way, Sony would be held accountable in a similiar manner. While these companies installed spyware, Sony actually installed a backdoor. Sony's actions are a violation of a far greater magnitude.

    1. Re:Dear Sony... by StonedRat · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Sony have more money though. Money == Power.

      --
      "Religion is the most malevolent of all mind viruses." - Arthur C. Clarke.
    2. Re:Dear Sony... by kmahan · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You seem to be forgetting that Sony has a lot more money to buy off people in the Congress. So they have "friends" like Orrin Hatch to look out for them.

      --
      Invalid Checksum. Retrying.
  2. And their botnets dismantled or ? by external400kdiskette · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Couldn't they just shift their online resouces and reincorporate offshore otherwise ... it's not like their resouces cant be moved or something.

  3. 'bout time... by Mister+White · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now, let's go ahead and shut down GAIN and all these 'websearch' places, and we'll be doing something. I see the auto-installing IE websearch bars and the "internet optimizer" wares to be some of the most vicious of all spyware. It's beyond intrusive, and downright annoying. Who wants to continually "uninstall" all of these?

    --
    "Crime fighters fight crime. Fire fighters fight fire. What do freedom fighters fight?" -George Carlin
  4. 180solutions not mentioned by mcguyver · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There is work left to be done!

  5. Does this mean ... by DikSeaCup · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I won't have to constantly warn the users I support *not* to click on any pop up that says "Your system is unsecure! Click here to secure your system!"

    --
    I talk about stuff.
  6. Re:So when will Sony BMG be shut down? by AstroDrabb · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Answer: never. The main difference between Sony BMG and these three companies is that these three companies are/were very small. Once you get enough captital to bribe members of the government with, you basically become untouchable.

    I guess this episode should become a lesson in all MBA classes. If your company is small then keep your head low and do good business. Once the company becomes big enough, _then_ you get to do the nasty things.

    --
    If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land,
    it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. -James Madison
  7. Re:So when will Sony BMG be shut down? by qmVSE*w!7e,QF(, · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm no fan of Sony's actions, but there's another big difference here: Sony at least has the excuse of attempting to do something that is legal, i.e., protect its intellectual property. That doesn't make Sony's rootkit acceptable, but it can at least claim a pure motive. Not so when you're telling grandma that she's getting a security fix just to give her spyware instead.

    --
    The Power to Serve
  8. Re:Spyware by TwoTailedFox · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Unless you count the money gained by Ad revenue. Or people actually handing $$$ over for Viagra, from a spam email.

    --
    ~The TwoTailedFox posts again....
  9. They will just reincorporate,perhaps international by SRA8 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Sadly, these guys will just probably just re-incorporate and continue this nasty business. Reincorporation is simple and can be done quickly. They may even do it internationally to make legal efforts against them costly and time consuming. By the time they are shut down again, they will have run with the money. Sad but quite likely.