Ben Edelman: Critiquing C-NetMedia's Anti-Spyware Offerings and Advertising Practices
Not every "anti-spyware" program is what it claims to be. Some truly have users' interests at heart -- identifying and removing bona fide risks to privacy, security, stability, or performance. Others resort to a variety of tricks to confuse users about what they're getting and why they purportedly need it.
This article reports the results of my examination of anti-spyware software from C-NetMedia. I show:
- Deceptive advertising, deceptive product names, and deceptive web site designs falsely suggest affiliation with security industry leaders.
- The use of many disjoint product names prevents consumers from easily learning more about C-Net, its reputation, and its practices.
- High-pressure sales tactics, including false positives, overstate the urgency of paying for an upgraded version.
Much more here.
posted by Fergie @ 2/13/2008 09:35:00 PM
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