Spywarer Pop Up Company Sued

Published: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

SPYWARE POP-UP COMPANY SUED

New York's AG goes after Direct Revenue for installing malware on users' computers


Internet users plagued by unwanted and difficult to remove pop-ups and spyware were a little safer this week. Another pop-up advertising company is on the rack following notice of litigation from New York's attorney general Eliot Spitzer.

Accusing Direct Revenue LLC of secretly installing malicious programs on personal computers and sending ads through "spyware" that is already installed, the New York authorities claimed that Direct Revenue installed millions of pop-up ad programs that also monitor the Internet activity of users. Spitzer asked a state court to stop the practice.

"These applications are deceptive and unfair to consumers, bad for businesses that rely on efficient networks to do their jobs, and bad for online retailers that need consumers to trust and enjoy their online experience," Spitzer said. "We will continue to side with consumers in their fight for control of their desktops."

Spitzer had earlier sued another company on allegations of installing unwanted spyware and adware, a case which was ultimately settled with Los Angeles-based Intermix Media Inc., (see previous Online-Casinos.com reports) which also developed the popular social-networking site MySpace and is now part of News Corp.

Last year, the former chief executive of Intermix Media, Brad Greenspan, agreed to pay $750,000 in penalties after Spitzer accused the company of secretly installing adware and spyware on millions of home computers. Spitzer had accused Greenspan of directing employees to bundle adware with other free programs and to make the software difficult to remove.

Intermix Media also agreed to pay $7.5 million in penalties over three years.

In the latest civil lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court in New York, Spitzer claims Direct Revenue or its distributors offered free games, browsers or software without mentioning that they would come with VX2, Aurora, OfferOptimizer and other adware downloads.

After such "drive-by downloads," which he said his investigators got when visiting at least 21 Web sites, the company can track consumers' Web activity and deliver pop-up ads, Spitzer said.

Spitzer said the software thwarted consumers' removal attempts and sometimes reinstalled itself. The latest lawsuit also names Direct Revenue's former chief executive, Josh Abram. Spitzer said Abram told a distributor in an e-mail that "we have a very stealthy version of our adware product," adding that "these will not be caught."