FreeMmusic Used As Spyware lure, FTC Says

Abstract

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued Odysseus Marketing, accusing the company of engaging in distributing spyware. Odysseus distributed an application called Kazanon, which supposedly allowed users to trade files anonymously, without fear of being identified by record companies. According to the FTC, users who downloaded the application also got a range of adware programs that fed advertisements to those users' computers and added items to the search results pages of popular search engines, including Google and Yahoo. The added items, which were indistinguishable from those supplied by the search engine, directed users to companies that paid Odysseus for the placement.Further, the software did not offer users a simple option to uninstall it. Walter Rines, owner of Odysseus, disputed all of the FTC's claims.
He noted that the user agreement informs consumers of what will be installed when they download the Kazanon program. He also said an uninstall tool is available and that his company's software did not remove any search results but merely added to the list. Rines also said the lawsuit was "moot" because his company stopped distributing adware several weeks ago.