The Federal Trade Commission settled a case with the sexually explicit website over its ads, which popped up with graphic content.

Sneaky pop-up ad company Zango settled with the Federal Trade Commission last November, paying $3 million in penalties and agreeing to stop duping users into downloading adware. But it appears the company is still up to its old tricks.

Adware distributor DirectRevenue owes the Federal Trade Commission $1.5 million in ill-gotten profits after settling charges they used unfair and deceptive methods to download adware on consumers’ computers, and made it difficult to remove. Critics of the settlement say that’s only a fraction of what the company made.

The settlement prohibits future downloads of DirectRevenue’s adware without consumers’ express consent, and requires the company to provide "a reasonable and effective" way for consumers to locate and remove the adware from their computers.

Cyril Paciullo, known as Patchou, lost his Most Valuable Professional standing from Microsoft after complaints that his popular program, Windows Live Messenger Plus, contained AdWare.

News of Claria’s move could build on reports of a Microsoft trademark application for a name similar to that of a technology owned by Claria may mean the Microsoft/Claria takeover talks could be taking place in the background.

In early 2006, an initiative backed by the two Internet portals will require developers to prove their software can be user-friendly and easy to uninstall before being certified as such by a new anti-spyware initiative.

The new owner of MySpace parent Intermix, News Corp, has seen the adware case brought by New York AG Eliot Spitzer settled for $8.25 million.

When adware can’t trick you into installing it, it often resorts to a secretive invasion. Find out how to defend yourself.

Everyday more and more computers are becoming infected with Spyware and Adware (advertising tracking). No matter where you go on the web, someone is trying to sneak something on your computer. From honest web sites placing simple logon cookies, to paid advertising tracking your movements on the web, to malicious software that is designed to record your keystrokes and discover your passwords, Spyware and Adware have together become the web’s number one problem.

According to today’s Mediapost’s Out to Launch, the publicity hounds/eBay fanatics at …

Dave Winer, who I’m not usually a huge fan of, has a wonderful summation of the arguments against Googles ham fisted attempt to resurrect Smart Tags – among many other great points he says it’s adware. I agree.

Developers offering downloads are paying the price for the malformed truths that have been put forth regarding downloads. While not a political campaign the smears are ever present in the adware arena.

Adware and spyware have become, next to viruses, some of the more nefarious types of software on the Internet. However, there has been very little word of adware affecting search engine results, until now.

Yahoo’s new beta stage toolbar contains a feature called Anti-Spy. This marks the first search engine toolbar to have a spyware remover integrated into it. As reported in a previous WebProNews article, Yahoo’s Anti-Spy beta is powered by PestPatrol, a third party software designed to combat spyware and other malicious programs.

You are probably familiar with the threat of computer viruses but did you know there’s actually a much more common danger that may already have infected your system? It’s called Spyware, and it has actually surpassed viruses as the #1 threat facing your computer today.