March 17th, 2005
Spyware assassin arrested
From the “it’s about time” department, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shut down a rogue antispyware company. The company, named MaxTheater, was responsible for Spyware Assassin, a utility that had been listed on Spyware Warrior’s rogue antispyware product list since July of last year. The FTC will be holding an official hearing next Tuesday, but the activities of MaxTheater were bad enough that it was ordered to halt all business activities related to Spam Assassin. Considering the sleaziness of spyware companies, it’s a shame that we also have to deal with these fraudulent dirtbags infiltrating the ranks of antispyware companies. At ZDNet Downloads, we’ve had to test every antispyware utility thoroughly, kicking loose the ones that generated false positives and used scare tactics to try and make a sale.
