WebProNews

Offering free security software was a nice idea. Slipping adware into the product without telling people wasn't a nice idea.

The Federal Trade Commission said consumers were not notified that the Spyblast anti-spyware software they were installing was going to deliver popup ads on their computers, according to AP. Now, the FTC has ordered Advertising.com, purchased by AOL in 2004, to disclose that practice.

Further, Advertising.com must maintain records deemed necessary by the FTC in order to show they are complying with the settlement. Other terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.

The software was distributed in 2003, before the Baltimore-based company was purchased by AOL. Advertising.com, aka Teknosurf.com, had stopped distributing the software by that time, according to an AOL spokesperson cited in the article.

AOL's parent, Time Warner, has had a recent run of bad news. It recently agreed to settle lawsuits stemming from its acquisition of AOL, and will pay $2.4 billion USD. Time Warner stated it will set aside $3 billion to handle claims that the 2001 purchase of AOL deceived investors because AOL's revenues were inflated. Time Warner has not admitted any wrongdoing.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.