Fergie's Tech Blog

Spyware Still Cheating Merchants and Legitimate Affiliates

The Guru of All Things Spyware and Adware, Ben Edelman, writes on his blog:

Spyware vendors are trying to clean up their images. For example, Zango settled a FTC investigation, then last week sued PC Tools for detecting and removing Zango software. Meanwhile, Integrated Search Technologies (makers of a variety of software previously widely installed without consent) introduced a new "Vomba" client that even received "provisional" TRUSTe Trusted Download certification.

But these programs' core designs are unchanged: They still track user behavior, still send browsing to their central servers, and still show pop-up ads -- behaviors users rightly disfavor due to serious effects on privacy and productivity.

Putting aside users' well-known dislike for pop-ups, these programs also continue to interfere with standard online advertising systems. In particular, these programs show ads that overcharge affiliate merchants -- especially by claiming commission on organic traffic merchants would have received anyway. This article presents six specific examples, followed by analysis and strategies for enforcement.

posted by Fergie @ 5/21/2007 11:52:00 AM