Company fined $3m for adware use

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Zango has agreed to pay the US government $3m
An online advertising company is to pay $3m (£2m) for "unfairly and deceptively" downloading its software onto people's computers.
In a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the firm also agreed to now seek consent before installing software and to make removing it easier.

US-based Zango, the FTC said, installed adware more than 70 million times, causing 6.9 billion pop-up ads.

Zango's CEO said he "deeply regretted" any negative impact.


Zango, previously called 180 Solutions, is based in Washington and was described by the FTC as one of the world's largest distributors of adware - programs that, once installed, can bombard people's computers with adverts.

The FTC alleged the company used third parties to install its adware onto consumer's computers, hiding the programs in games, screensavers or browser updates being offered for free.

Once installed, the programs monitored internet use and offered pop-up ads based on the sites that had previously been visited.

The FTC claimed Zango deliberately made it difficult to identify, locate and remove the adware once it was installed.

The result, the FTC added, was that millions of consumers were receiving adverts without knowing why, and were being watched without their knowledge or consent without a means of stopping it.

full story: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6122046.stm