Adware maker sues Zone Labs

180solutions claims that its products are wrongly labelled as 'spyware'

Adware maker 180solutions has filed a lawsuit against Zone Labs, a subsidiary of Check Point, over the way Zone Labs rates 180solutions' products as 'spyware'. The company is seeking unspecified monetary damages. 

180solutions alleges that Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware application wrongly labels its software as 'high risk spyware' thereby prompting end users to remove it.

180solutions develops Zango Search Assistant and 180search Assistant. The software entices users to install the product by promising access to games and premium content, but also presents them with pop-up advertisements.

Zone Labs is accused of falsely claiming that the applications monitor users' keystrokes and mouse movements.

Based on that conclusion Zone Labs claims that the software violates users' privacy. It labels the applications 'high risk spyware' and recommends that users remove the software.

"It's a very sloppy classification," said Sean Sundwall, a spokesman for 180solutions. The vendor went on to say that Zone Labs is wrongly flagging software as spyware in an effort to further sales of its anti-spyware suite.

"It is in Zone Labs' interest to design the ZoneAlarm product to frighten consumers into believing that spyware resides on their computers, even if it does not," the complaint stated.

Zone Labs is not the only spyware removal application that tags and removes 180solutions' software. Computer Associates' eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware flags the Zango software as adware because it does not properly disclose that it serves advertisements. 

CA also alleges that some of 180solutions' advertisements are misleading and that the software connects to the internet to download updates without warning or consulting the user. It does not claim that the software records keystrokes or mouse movements.

180solutions said that it disagrees with CA's description and is talking with the vendor. Sundwall, however, stressed that it does not see litigation as a part of its strategy.

The company has been trying to rid itself of the spyware label in recent months. Problems were mainly caused by a distribution model that paid partners a fee of up to 50 cents per installed application.

This caused some website operators to misrepresent the true nature of the software, according to 180solutions.

Botnet operators would also install the tool on computers they controlled without the user's consent.

As part of its image overhaul, 180solutions earlier this year filed civil lawsuits against a group of seven former distributors.

One of the accused was later linked to a group of Dutch botnet operators who were arrested earlier this year. The civil lawsuit was then dropped to allow the criminal proceedings to move forward.

Some critics claim that 180solutions only filed the lawsuits as part of a public relations strategy.

While Sundwall admitted that the case was in part aimed to deter future abuse, the company also found that filing a case against foreigners was harder than initially expected.