Washington and Microsoft sue fake anti-spyware vendors

The US State of Washington and Microsoft have instituted a number of legal actions against vendors of 'Scareware' under the Computer Spyware Act. Alleged security programs are increasingly bombarding innocent PC users with fake messages detailing putative threats or infections. Advertisement The aim of companies selling scareware programs is to persuade computer users to buy the full version of anti-virus, anti-spyware or similar software. The reported threats are not genuine, and the programs on offer won't provide the promised protection. Attorney general Rob McKenna and lawyers from Microsoft's Internet Safety Enforcement team are currently pursuing actions against Texan company Branch Software, which attempts to encourage sales of its "Registry Cleaner XP" software using targeted popups containing false information. "We won't tolerate the use of alarmist warnings or deceptive 'free scans' to trick consumers into buying software to fix a problem that doesn't even exist," McKenna said.

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News 3 years ago