Posted by Virus Bulletin on Oct 26, 2007
Notorious company forced out of business by legal actions.
After numerous lawsuits and fines, adware and spyware maker Direct Revenue is no more. The firm behind a swathe of intrusive and malicious software products has ceased trading thanks to cases brought by New York State and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) challenging its devious business practices and resulting in hefty fines.
The firm, which has frequently hit the headlines with its dodgy deals and legal problems, settled the FTC's demands in February after agreeing to cease engaging in drive-by downloads and other deceptive practices, and to pay up $1.5 million of its ill-gotten gains. Although the fine was criticised at the time for being too small, the case seems to have been enough to put a stop to the business.
The firm's website now carries a brief farewell statement and uninstall instructions for some of its adware products. Comment on the demise is at Sunbelt here and at Sophos here.
Posted on 26 October 2007 by Virus Bulletin
