AOL slammed for 'badware' release

Stopbadware.org, the website created by Harvard Law School and Oxford University to name and shame allegedly dangerous software, has added the free version of AOL's latest software to its blacklist.

"We find that AOL 9.0 (free version) is currently badware because it installs additional software without telling the user," the organisation said.

"It forces the user to take certain actions, it adds various components to Internet Explorer and the taskbar without disclosure, it may automatically update without the user's consent, and it fails to uninstall completely."

Stopbadware.org recommends users not to install the version of AOL software in question. But the organisation does admit that this latest addition is a departure from the norm.

John Palfrey, executive director of the Berkman Center, and one of StopBadware.org's principles, said: "AOL has a long and storied history of being a leader in the fight against badware, and plainly does not belong in the same category as the all-too-prevalent, garden variety badware providers.

"But the free version of AOL 9.0 that we tested, in our view, does not live up to the company's rich legacy."

"AOL is a trusted brand in the internet service space. What we are calling on AOL to do today is to honour that trust by telling users exactly what they're putting on their computers, give users an easy way to opt out of having so many programs installed and running after download, and ensure that users can uninstall all the applications they don't want on their computers."

According to Stopbadware, AOL has already made a response to the allegations and admitted that a design flaw in the uninstaller mistakenly leaves executables running, even after a restart.

The company says it is working on a fix and, in the meantime, that the executables do nothing even though they are running.