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Feds Asked to Take Action Against Adware Creator
An anonymous reader writes "CNet is reporting that a consumer watchdog group has asked the Federal Trade Commission to take action against 180solutions and CJB.net for unfair and deceptive business practices. The Center for Democracy and Technology submitted over 150 pages of examples of 180s bad practices." From the article: "180Solutions deliberately and repeatedly duped Internet users into downloading intrusive advertising software, according to a Center for Democracy and Technology complaint (download PDF). The company continued these practices even after it pledged to better itself and after receiving warnings from spyware experts and privacy advocates, the group said."
...because they will say something like it was their "partners" that engaged in the deceptive practices. Then they will say that they will watch their partners more closely in the future.
--
What about the rest of them.
This has been another valuable and informative opinion from:
Catahoula!
The one and only time I've ever had a PC of mine hijacked was because of 180solutions under IE7 and XPSP2 a few months back... I browsed to a site related to them and a moment later I had several new icons next to my clock and plenty of pop up ads saying hello.
Never before and never since had I ever had this happen... and it did make me a believer that a system could be hijacked without the user doing anything more than navigating to an HTTP url.
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
That stuff is evil. I think we should just submit them to a public stoning or something like that. Not only would it be more fun - they might actually consider not doing it again!
Hexy - a strategy game for iPhone/iPod Touch
For the last two years, 180Solutions has been issuing press releases claiming that they are going to clean up their affiliates. Then an affiliate is caught installing trojans and sneaking onto computers without consent. Then 180Solutions issues a press release .....
And round and round we go.
If they spent 1/10 as much time actually controlling their affiliates as they do writing up press releases, maybe something might have been done.
Only on
good editing ScuttleMonkey, here is the missing link for PDF
What about Advergaming?
If you buy a software, install in your computer and it's showing you ads when you're using the software, it may even retrieve new ads from a remote location, are we supposed to put up with that?
Virtual Betting on Facebook for non-geeks.
and massively fine anyone who advtises with them. My mom has called me in tears because she could not use her computer due to popups etc. The only way to end this problem is to fine the advertisers.
Anyone remember those back in the happy early days of circa HTML 3 Internet? :-)
I recall them once being a rather clean host, and among the first more well-known ones offering free subdomains.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
180Solutions is always right on the line. They used to play really dirty, until it was illegal.
Then they did the arms-length thing: blame the affiliates, but encourage them to break the law.
I don't see how their behavior is any different from companies that mislead people as to what they are buying or signing (e.g. I'll give you a check for a dollar -- but it is also a contract that switches your long distance service to may carrier).
Some people are stupid. Our laws assume that people are responsible and that if they sign a contract, that is them willingly singing a contract.
I suspect the problem is that some people are so stupid that they aren't really responsible, and that is especially the case when it comes to computers running spyware.
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/when_to_
This will stop spyware dead in its tracks, just like how when the "spam king" got sued all spam ended. ...
they should teach 180solutions that No means "I dont want any 180solutions crap on my hdd" and that yes means "i dont know how much evil this adware can do to my computer" or just "suicide".
aw. and that insisting isnt nice. i cliked once that i dont want anything already GODDAMMIT.
I think the feds should be granted warrants to enter the 180's employee's homes and build furniture in them. This furniture would be covered with fleas, ticks and head lice and be generally annoying to the person who lived there and there family. They would also be painted in ugly colors and make noises anytime someone entered the home or used another piece of furniture. Additionally, the furniture and appliances would be built in such a way that it would be difficult or impossible to remove from the homes without causing damage.
Maybe we could send them some Sony DRM cd's too.
"The company (180Solutions) continued these practices even after it pledged to better itself and after receiving warnings from spyware experts and privacy advocates, the group said."
But, in typical relapse fashion, 180Solutions lived up to its name and did a full 180 on its pledge to better itself.
It says it now may check in to an undisclosed rehab center on the coast to help with its spyware addiction.
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
I got an invite to the ACLU, who's currently running this campaign is apparently buying mailing lists from the public radio station I support. Compiling lists of data from non-customers/members for abuse while blaming other people for the problem isn't exclusive to the spyware industry.
500GB of disk, 5TB of transfer, $5.95/mo
Ok... I don't really get spyware on my pcs... neither my wife or I go to porn sites (ok... in my youth I did... :/ ), I've made firefox the default browser on all my pcs, we have AVG free virus protection, Sygate Personal firewall... although, bugger... I just noticed they've discontinued that... will have to switch to ZoneAlarm now I suppose... humph. And we run Ad-Aware
and SpyBot Search and Destroy every now and again...
But just recently I've had to clean my father-in-law's pc, and a friends one too.
Now the father-in-law's one was pretty bad, popups would launch with IE, and there was a lot of CPU activity etc. that was not accounted for... nasty stuff... but a clean with Adaware, Spybot, using Add/Remove to kill anything that looked suspect, putting firefox on etc. and we have a clean computer.
The other computer though... my GOD! On startup it would immediately go to 100% CPU usage... and once you could finally get Task Manager up it was iexplore.exe that was doing the damage... a few minutes later when it'd actually respond to a kill process and the work of cleaning it could finally take place... well... hours later and using all tools I think it's clean now... but it required all of them to get it all... with HiJack This being the final saviour to remove the last of the damage...
And what were the biggest damage makers? The damn programs that these people downloaded that claimed they were 'Spyware cleaners'... but really were spyware themselves.
EVIL
FUCKERS
they prey on people who already have pcs loaded up with spyware... and put more on.
Of course the second of the two pcs was infected so damn badly (Spybot found over 3 thousand items) due to porn surfing... almost always the cause of these things.
I don't know how the makers of these programs live with themselves... there's nothing redeeming about what they do... AT ALL.
I love the link.
What amuses me most is the concept of the 'money-back guarantee'.
'If you're not happy with your money - we'll give you some money instead'.
Priceless.
Mod parent up! He's got the right idea!
Sincerely,
An Anonymous Stoner
Those specie currency lunatics sound like flat-earthers. They just can't get over the fact that "real life" is more complicated than their simple minds allow for.
Go into the homes of the 180solutions executives. Rewire all their consumer electronics, from their refrigerators to their Tivo boxes. Make it very difficult to figure out what has been changed, or how to change it back. Leave a note behind saying, "We saw how you were using your home electronics and thought we could help!"
Seriously, I see no difference between this scenario and what adware/spyware companies do with your PC. Even the EULA on adware-loaded software doesn't make it clear what's going to happen once this stuff gets unleashed on your hard drive.
Sure wish we could pit RIAA against 180.
Why is it that we can have organizations like the RIAA to protect industry interests, yet there is no one to protect the interests of consumers?
My solution to spyware:
Use Linux for anything I don't specifically know will do no damage. ie: most anything online is done through Linux. For any video games or webpages I specifically know to be safe, XP is fine.
"Oh, smashing, groovy, yay capitalism!" -- Austin Powers
The Liberty Dollar is as every bit a legal means of currency as the US Dollar. It's just not accepted everywhere. It's a private organization that has all of it's money backed up in hard silver ingots. I have ten of those certificates, ($200) and I could go in right now with those certificates and walk out with two-hundred dollars of silver ingots. In fact, I may have to buy some more, because the price of silver is going to jump up sometime sooner or later as the price of mining and refinery goes up.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
180 could do like Claria/Gator and sue everyone calling it spyware/adware. Then make back-door deals with the anti-spyware software developers to take them off the threat list. Sue, those who don't comply. Case dismissed!
"I forgot my mantra."
180solutions are scumbags, true.
What about 2o7.net? These bottom-feeders have been using a domain name that looks like an IP address for ages - and there's no legitimate reason for it, other than to confuse those who can't tell zero's from O's in their firewall reports. Even their hosts appear with stuff like 192.168.1.2o7.net.
Most folks out there would miss that in a firewall report if they didn't read it closely and wonder why an IP address appeared in the resolved names column.
What ever happened to the Internet Death Penalty? Boy, do we need it now!
The government has no business telling us (IMHO) what we can or cannot use for payment. The Liberty Dollar is backed by real tangible assets. The US Dollar is backed by promises and debts of other countries, etc, and to me, I can't rely upon a promise like that, given the history of governments. I know of ten stores here in Memphis that will accept the certificates or coins (couple tattoo parlorss, couple shops on Beale, and other small places around town.) I've asked what they think of this currency, and they say it's far better than the government's minted and worthless paper.
My thought? The government has no idea what "barter and trade" is all about.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
Instead of waiting for the FCC, why don't you do something yourself. Help in the fight against spyware by visiting the 180solutions website http://www.180solutions.com and pressing f5 a couple times./ 06/2140227</url> It needs to be said.
<br>
I don't care if I go to prison for saying this. <url>http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/01
Shots: A Populist Parable
Where are these tactical nukes when you need them? I'm sure they'd stop after their head offices get turned into a pile of molten slag..
You're daft. You need to study economics. Simply put, if you buy 1 Oz .999 fine silver for $10 it will always be 1 Oz. If you put $10 into this guy's program, and it gets you the right to 1 Oz today, what do you think you get if the dollar drops (which is what this scheme is supposed to be proof against)? You get less silver because Mr NotHaus bases his value on (tada) the dollar. It's all geared to make him money at your expense.
Want to put money into silver? Go buy a bunch of worn Walking Liberty Halves or Silver Dollars. If the dollar spirals out of control your silver coins (no matter who made them) will have value, but you'll have got a heck of a lot more of them for your money.
You won't get me to accept those over-priced silver rounds except at the current exchange rate for silver.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
How about a nice clear statement -
A list of other OS options and apps - If you are having problems try them.
Get a generation of users far away from the underlying problem.
Scream out:
Its the OS stupid.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Those specie currency lunatics sound like flat-earthers. They just can't get over the fact that "real life" is more complicated than their simple minds allow for.
This is a truism when applied to many many people.
If my grammar and spelling are off, I am [distracted/tired/careless] (take your pick)
I love the final quote in that article;
"They're a pretty coin, and they're backed by silver. It's a commodity that's going up in value, unlike the U.S. dollar."
Oooo it's PURTY!!!
And going up in value? WTF? Silver is BARELY starting to recover from being at it's LOWEST value in nearly 600 YEARS (under $4 in 2002)!!
As of today, 1 oz of silver is worth $9.02. And these SCHMUCKS pay $20 for one coin. Yeah.. that's a really good investment there, buddy.
No unauthorized use. Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.
Advertising works. (Ask the folks at Absolute). Do you really mind a properly sized static ad? I don't. And sometimes they are of interest. I used Opera with ads when it worked that way...and Eudora. With Opera you could even say what kind of ads you wanted. Fair enough. And Google has really cashed in on getting low-key ads into context.
But sleazoid schemes like this defy all logic. Ads don't work when they are coming at people as an assault. They are killing broadcast radio's appeal as well. Morons!
As I said, what astounds me are the vendors who want to promote this way. Hmmmm. Maybe it works sort of by accident. As desperate people try to kill the popoups they sometimes activate the link by mistake. I guess sometimes they like what they see...
Anyway, I hope the Feds mop the floor with these buttmunchers.
"No fear. No envy. No meanness." Liam Clancy
For your awful tags.
?? Are you serious? Man, it wouldn't even work in UBB where it would have to be [url].
Oy vay. That's the problem with geek chic. Too little geek, too much chic.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
...is about to turn 180 degrees.
Not only that, but his digital dollars are like Enron stock. If all hell breaks loose and we suffer a depression, where do you think you'll find Mr. NotHaus? With all those reserves in the Bahamas, I betcha. Yet, people still continue to believe they can get something for nothing.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I could go in right now with those certificates and walk out with two-hundred dollars of silver ingots.
If I'm reading this scam correctly, you would (assuming it isn't outright theft) walk out with 10 oz of silver. Go to a silver market and find that you will only get about 90 of the dirty green notes for the silver you paid 200 of the dirty green notes for.
Good thing those dirty green notes are worthless, otherwise you might feel bad about your loss.
But - I hear you say - When silver takes off/ the dollar crashes, you'll be sitting pretty. Well, yes and no.
Again, assuming that the whole scam here is that they are fleecing you for the 11 dollars, not that they will cut and run when they have milked all they can, lets watch what happens when silver is $30/oz.
Well, then you have made $100 (green) Not as good as the $220 (green) you would have made if you had just bought silver instead of this scam, but hey- you are above water. Congratulations. Find a smelter, because the "currency" value of your silver will lose you money.
Right now, folks stupid enough to accept these coasters are doing it 1-1 with the green dollars. You have to assume that this will continue even if they achieve their face value. The local bar is not going to support a floating exchange for a few odd customers, and the "Mint" producing these gems will either close (making sure that only a few odd customers will ever have them) or "revalue" them at $100 (green) per $20 (silver) (again, making sure that only a few odd customers will ever have them)
If you want to invest in silver, do yourself a favor and buy it at market value. You'll get a lot more.
and must not allow them to gain access to any kind of electronics for life... oh and yes massive fine... i mean by percentage not by actual $$ , sometimes fines become obsolete for some people or companies like $300 Million fine given to $100 Blillion revenue a year earning Samsung electronics company. of course his family should be protected and their information must not be outsourced. i almost thought i was writing about rapist. am i? yes it is, lemme check, yes. oups no, it is about spammers and malware creator. hmm i can't tell the difference of it too clearly.
1 long term: every program must come with a list of files (and config entries) and their purpose and if an UNINSTALL is requested all files and config entries must be reversed/removed (no self repairing stuff) 2 somebody needs to come up with a Linux LiveCD that has an antivirus/ "funkware" program with a: ntfs read write b: a way to dump the reghive *hijack the windows files if its needed since the system would have a licsense anyway heck it doesn't need to have anything fancy x.org and a barebones WM would work (for the gui folks)
Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
For details on 180 solutions tricks go to http://www.benedelman.org. It has screenshots of 180 solutions in action...pretty detailed and interesting to read. I'm especially amused by this recent bit of jousting going on between 180 solutions and Ben Edelman. Here Ben accuses 180 solutions of targetting kids as well as being deceptive. 180 solutions responded and here are Ben's latest additions to the arguments. This is a great (and sad) example of how people choose to define the law when it's not explicitly defined.
They should track ip adresses where the adware is installed and find the user and pay them money... for hirassing and mentally turning the victim to a immortal being and wasting our time...about $30M each person fu ck i n r a pi sts! s h it th at as sholes th ey should be executed by public open torture and shooting.
How totally fucking gullible are you?
First and foremost, it is not legal tender. Period. If the organization claims otherwise, they are committing a criminal offense.
Secondly, if this company--note how they are a company whereas the US Federal Reserve is not--legitimately wanted to introduce this currency, and you were willing to accept it, they would give it as change in the normal course of their business, AND exchange it at par, no questions asked, with real US currency at any time. They do neither.
Are Liberty Dollars a sound investment decision? Oh, heck no. In no concievable circumstance. You'd be better putting your money in bottles of honey or Magic cards. But if folks want to esteem them above their worth as a metal because they look pretty, it gives them a sense of security in tumultuous times, or because they like the frisson they get from rebelling from Uncle Sam in a teeny tiny way, hey, they're not hurting anybody. Of course, if my father hit his head one morning, woke up, and decided "I'm going to cash out my savings account and turn it into Liberty Dollars" I'd be a little upset.
Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.
You're improving, Rimmer. Last time, you wrote that 400 times, did a silly little dance, and then fainted.
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
Okay a couple things I want to say:
1.) 180 Solutions has now resorted to FLAT OUT HACKING to get their shit on your computer. I use Firefox 99% of the time. Today, while reading Slashdot (in Firefox) my computer mysteriously rebooted. When it came back up (for a few minutes) I noticed that I now had 180 solutions crap all over my fracking computer. Attempts to clean it caused my computer to reboot again and again and again. I wound up having to do a System Restore to a few hours earlier. These FUCKERS WILL PAY!
2.) While I am a big fan of ALTERNATE Operating Systems, having the GENERAL PUBLIC switch to them would not solve the problem, for long. The reason Linux, Unix and MacOS don't have this problem is because there isn't a big enough user base to make figuring out how to infect these systems PROFITABLE. If you had a massive move of people to these OS's then they Spyware people would just move too.
3.) Someone asked why there is an RIAA to protect CORPORATE INTERESTS but nothing to protect CONSUMER INTERESTS. Well there are several reasons: 1.) They have BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, 2.) They work together (probably the most important) to form these groups like the RIAA, 3.) We (the voters) keep electing these low-life son-of-a-bitches that PROTECT CORPORATE AMERICA while SCREWING CONSUMERS and 4.) American's (the consumers) have become complacent and won't TAKE A STAND against CORPORATE AMERICA to PROTECT OUR RIGHTS.
If people would spend half as much time BITCHING ONLINE (Like I am doing right now) and more time FORMING A GROUP then we might have enough power to CHANGE THINGS.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richard Colbert
Web: http://www.venuspcservice.com/
ICQ: 14466429
YIM: cmptrgeeknshermantx
MSN: pcheaven2k at hotmail dot com
I don't think the government has any interest in protecting our privacy. They pay lip service at press conferences, but nothing seems to change. An example, for all the Canadians voting in the federal election today...if you received one of those cards in the mail that says you are registered to vote, that means your name and address, along with other personal information, is on the federal voters list. This list isn't just for the government...it's distributed to each candidate for each party running in that election. That's right, your name, your address, and your personal information is in the hands of the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, and even the Marijuana Party if you've filed a Canadian tax return in the past 10 years or so and didn't check the tiny little box excluding the CCRA from sharing your information. Once it's in the hands of the public, it can go anywhere (be stolen from the campaign office, or even sold to help finance the campaign). There are laws against the redistribution of this information, but the laws in place are essentially unenforceable, and punishing an offender after the damage has been done does nothing to protect our privacy. So you'll pardon me if I have little faith in the governments interest in protecting us.
Stasis is death. Embrace change.
I remember back in the days when AOL was cool and we all...well most of us used punters and all that crap CJB.net was a godsend. It was the difference between
g /some/one/shorten/this/url/index.htm
www.angelfire.com/moonbeam/wtf/12672/usa/east/omf
and
whatever.cjb.net (redirect)
I guess when times got tough they went down the wrong road instead of finding ways to add value to their service. Its too bad because this is an excellent example of a do good company that went the wrong way, hopefully Google never has to do the same...if they havent already.
I thought this was a pretty amusing article:
Search Marketing Company 180solutions Ranks Seventh On the 2005 Inc. 500 (press release on 180solutions.com web site)
Either Inc. didn't do their research on companies in their top 10, or they truly don't care how the money is made, only that it is made.
String 'em up by the balls. Then they'll be 180.
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
Maybe everyone should remember the sites they visited when they got JACKED. Its a big chore but maybe putting up those sites will also force the hands of those companies to take action. One that I came across awhile back was from NEXTEL and SPRINT. Just a thought.
If the complainant wants to send me a photo of 180 Solutions's CEO, I'd be more than happy to take care of the situation myself, and will even pay for my own ski mask & baseball bat. These pricks got me once, and I had to shower twenty times a day, I felt so dirty & violated.
You must not have read (nor even asked for) the packet that these people will ship you. I have. That silver won't devalue. Those certificates are stamped for "this person paid $$$ for 1 oz .999 fine silver" No mater what YOUR economy does/drops, that person's economy GUARANTEES me that exact same weight. That's why I have the certificates. Redeem for 1oz silver, fuck what the US Economy does. I'll still get my 10 oz worth of silver with the ten certificates I have, and it won't matter one bit because when silver jumps up, I sell the silver, flat-out. His money's guaranteed (unless someone steals all that silver),) the US's isn't. Deal. Learn the full details about the program before knocking it, please.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
Liberty Dollars are a sound investment. Don't get the coins, get the certificates. "This person paid $$$ for 1 Oz .999 fine silver." And they can be redeemed. Watch as silver prices start rising eventually. Sell. Profit!!!! Not conceivably profitable, maybe, depends on how much the silver gains.
As for the AC at the bottom of my post, he must be a total tool. NOBODY HAS TO ACCEPT US CURRENCY IF THEY DON'T FUCKING WANT TO. They can accept blowjobs, someone getting killed, or other shit, as "PAYMENT FOR SERVICES RENDERED." Fucktard.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
Send them a detailed map of the power supply in their PC and advise them to piss on it.
ich bin der musikant
mit taschenrechner in der hand
kraftwerk
Allegedly due to the invention of digital cameras. Less film sold = less demand for silver.
The DoJ completely changed msft's behavior by getting msft to promise to behave better. Right?
Considering how well that worked, why should 180 be treated any differently?
Yes!
I love you.
Except that if the US dollar actually did collapse and America fell into the kind of chaos that would require a barter system, then your pal who has that vault full of silver ingots would pack it all up into a van and disappear before you could cash them in.
Sucker.
His money's guaranteed only so long as he's around to guarantee it. What happens if his little scam runs afowl and he loses his assets? You lose, too.
Best to buy your own silver and if the dollar loses significant value you can still barter in silver coins, which will certainly hold value and you don't have to trust some slick smitty to back it up for you.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
The cilents should also be sued.
I'm thinking of this as of someone hiring a hitman.
Sure, the hitman did the actual killing, but the guy who hired him is also responsible.
If their clients are also held responsible, it might put a dent in their source of income.
Dude, the website doesnt work.
Want to offer a copy of the program publicly somewhere? or a torrent? or just hack it by rebranding it and re-release it on tucows.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
Spyware Archive has more info on 180 Solutions. Should be a very interesting trial and hopefully they end up in jail forced to write uninstallers that actually WORK!