The Berkman Center's StopBadware.org Press Release, Report Release and Federal Trade Commission Complaint]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Andy Oram <[email protected]>
Date: December 7, 2006 1:34:44 PM EST
To: Declan McCullagh <[email protected]>, Dave Farber  
<[email protected]>
Subject: [Fwd: The Berkman Center's StopBadware.org Press Release,  
Report Release and Federal Trade Commission Complaint]

This might interest readers of your lists, given its discussion of
modern security risks of casual downloading.

Andy

From: Rebecca Tabasky <[email protected]>
Date: December 7, 2006 12:31:11 PM EST
To: [email protected]
Subject: The Berkman Center's StopBadware.org Press Release, Report  
Release and Federal Trade Commission Complaint
Reply-To: [email protected], Rebecca Tabasky  
<[email protected]>


Hello,

Please see the below press release announcing StopBadware.org's  
complaint against and report on FastMP3Search.com.   Should you have  
any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at 617-495-7547 or  
call Rob Haralson at 202-463-0013 x204.

All the best,
Becca

________________________________________________________________________ 
______

For Immediate Release: December 7, 2006

Contact: Rob Haralson for StopBadware.org (202) 463-0013 x204,  
[email protected] and

David McGuire for CDT (202) 637-9800, [email protected]



StopBadware.org and CDT File Formal Complaint with FTC

Against Spyware Operator

FastMP3Search.com complaint coincides with release of StopBadware.org  
report



  Cambridge, MA and Washington, DC - 12/7/2006 - StopBadware.org, the  
consumer protection initiative developed to combat badware, along  
with the Center for Democracy & Technology, today announced they have  
filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)  
against FastMP3Search.com.ar for distributing badware to unsuspecting  
Internet users through its web-based software download. The complaint  
seeks immediate action against its owners and operators to prevent a  
wide range of harm to Internet users caused by the software plug-in  
distributed on the FastMP3Search.com.ar web site.

Today, StopBadware.org also released a report naming the  
FastMP3Search.com.ar Plugin to its “Badware List,” coinciding with  
the FTC complaint. This report is the most recent in a series  
released by Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet &  
Society and Oxford University's Oxford Internet Institute as a part  
of an ongoing effort to battle harmful and deceptive programs such as  
spyware.

"In the past year, we've come across dozens of malicious programs  
available on hundreds of web sites, and without question, the  
FastMP3Search.com.ar Plugin tops our list of the worst actors," said  
John Palfrey, co-director of StopBadware.org and executive director  
of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.  
"The reason why we are issuing such a critical report on the  
FastMP3Search.com.ar Plugin and filing this complaint with the FTC is  
because they've combined so many bad things in a single bundle. It's  
a parade of horribles. Most notably, the application disables a  
user's firewall automatically without informing the user. We  
recommend that users do not download the FastMP3Search.com.ar Plugin,  
and we urge the FTC to take action to protect consumers from this bad  
application.”

Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the Center for Democracy &  
Technology, agreed. "Scams like FastMP3Search.com do immeasurable  
damage, not just to their own unsuspecting 'customers' but to the  
Internet as a whole. Beyond the quantifiable harm they inflict on  
their victims, these scam artists strike at the heart of the consumer  
confidence that sustains the Internet as a vibrant tool for  
communication and commerce," Schwartz said. "Every time the FTC goes  
after one of these scammers, it sends an important message to those  
who seek to turn a profit by exploiting unsuspecting Internet users."

The complaint and the StopBadware.org report both describe how the  
FastMP3Search.com.ar Plugin self-executes the installation of adware  
and Trojan horse applications, installs additional undisclosed  
software, disables the Windows Firewall, sabotages valid web  
addresses for legitimate security companies, changes homepage  
settings, and severely impairs computer speed and performance, in  
each case without the knowledge or consent of the user.

StopBadware.org’s testing also shows that the FastMP3Search.com.ar  
Plugin is virtually impossible for the average user to uninstall.

“The FTC complaint and our report are part of an ongoing effort to  
identify bad code on the Internet, so that Internet users won’t have  
to retreat to digital walled gardens,” said Jonathan Zittrain,  
StopBadware.org co-director and professor of Internet Governance and  
Regulation at Oxford University. “The operators of this website have  
covered their tracks, and not being able to identify the correct  
persons responsible, or even the website’s true country of origin,  
makes it more difficult to exert community pressure to get them to  
change their ways. By filing a formal complaint with the FTC, we hope  
to bring additional effort to bear against rogue sites and software.  
The growth of the Internet depends on user confidence. We hope the  
Commission, through its authority to challenge practices affecting  
commerce that are deceptive and unfair, will investigate the owners  
and operators of FastMP3Search.com.ar and take appropriate action.”

Launched in January 2006, StopBadware.org's user-driven online  
community serves as a central resource to help educate people about  
badware and spotlight those companies who embed these programs into  
downloadable software applications. Internet users can visit  
StopBadware.org to check whether programs they want to download are  
infected with badware and alert others to programs they have  
encountered that include malicious software such as spyware,  
incessant pop-up ads, or other obtrusive programs.

StopBadware.org is the largest consumer protection initiative  
defining and combating bad code and sites and is led by Harvard Law  
School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society and Oxford  
University's Oxford Internet Institute. Consumer Reports WebWatch  
serves as an unpaid special advisor. The initiative is supported by  
high-tech companies, including Google, Lenovo, and Sun Microsystems.  
For more information, visit http://www.stopbadware.org.

The Center for Democracy and Technology works to promote democratic  
values and constitutional liberties in the digital age. With  
expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical  
solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in global  
communications technologies. CDT is edicated to building consensus  
among all parties interested in the future of the Internet and other  
new communications media. For more information, visit http:// 
www.cdt.org.

The FTC Complaint was prepared with the assistance of the Berkman  
Center’s Clinical Program in Cyberlaw. For more information, visit  
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/clinical.

A copy of the formal complaint can be viewed at:
http://stopbadware.org/pdfs/fastmp3_ftc_complaint.pdf


A copy of the StopBadware.org report on FastMP3Search.com can be  
viewed at:
http://stopbadware.org/reports/reportdisplay?reportname=fastmp3search



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