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When Spyware becomes Stealware. 180 Search Assistant and its ilk must be stopped
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By spocko, Section Live Gripes
Posted on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 11:56:38 AM PDT
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Imagine calling directory service. "I'd like the number for Kaiser's Breast Cancer support group." Instead of giving you the number you want at Kaiser, the operator directs you to Yes, They're Fake!
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I just spent the better part of the day removing a program that I did not want and did not install. This program hijacked my browser and threw up web pages in front of the web pages I was searching for. The unwanted web pages obstructed my chosen pages and interfered with me filling out forms for items I wanted to purchase from the chosen pages.
It stole my time and revenue from the sites I was searching for when it hijacked my browser.
The designers of this "stealware" program are clearly aware of its unwanted nature, yet are coy on their web page about its origins and intentions. Their programmers stay one step ahead of the spyware and adware removal programs by using fake uninstall routines. They constantly change the names of the files and programs to evade easy matching algorithms. They attach to host programs and keep reinstalling themselves after they have been uninstalled. A big thank you goes to Matthew Doucette for an extensive page on removing this beast of a program Uninstall 180 Search Assistant. The creators are not 17 year old hackers, but a collection of thieves who raked in 20 million in sales last year.
Ed has been griping about misleading EULAs for years. Here is a case of a program that throws a brick through your computer monitor and says, "You asked for it when you went to that website!" or "You know that program that you downloaded to show smilies? You said yes to that and didn't read the part where we install a browser hijacker, so technically you gave consent. Sucker! Oh and we paid money to join a group called COAST, (Coalition of Anti Spyware Technology) so we must not be Spyware, right? 180solutions and Zango are Spywear"
Yes there can be technical remedies to stop this, but they have not caught up with the latest programming tricks of these people. They are using the spammer and virus maker tricks to stay ahead of adware and spyware removal programs. But unlike spammers and virus makers they try to be a legit business. Therefore they can be found, sued and forced to cease and desist for blocking interstate commerce. It's one thing when a 17 year old in Sweden makes me spend 8 hours cleaning my computer. I can't find him, he has no assets and he isn't going to legitimate businesses and saying, "If you include my virus with your software it will siphon money from your competitors and we'll split the take."
I'd say this calls for a lawsuit, and I know that by the time it has been filed they will have morphed into something else (they already have several times). Maybe they need to be shut down quicker. Perhaps filing a criminal complaint is in order?
If a restraining order is filed with the FTC there already is precedent FTC gets injunction against `pop-up spam scam' and it is pretty relevant. I'm not sure how these things work, but I think that someone who has lost revenue because of the hijacked browsers needs to be the one to file suit. As a user I could be part of the suit, but I don't think I have any clout in terms of the FTC paying attention and acting on a request. The FTC doesn't care about the poor computer users wasting billions of hours, but stop someone from making money?! Look out!
I'm guessing that within the IT community this problem will grow within their user base until someone can create a strong enough case for pointy haired bosses to say, "What? I'm losing money because of these jokers? I'm calling our lawyers! This is an outrage! "
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