Philly Company Blamed of violating State’s Spyware and Email Act

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna has blamed Philadelphia-based software company 'Ascentive', known for its FinallyFast.com website, of breaking the State's Computer spyware Act, Consumer Protection Act and Commercial Electronic Mail Act for involving in fake marketing tactics, as per the news by techflash.com on January 4, 2010.

As compensation with the Washington State Attorney General's Office, Ascentive will compensate $78,000 as penalty and provide $17.90 refunds to several Washington State consumers who bought the firm's PC harmful products such as ActiveDefender, ActivePrivacy, ActiveSpeed, PC ScanandSweep, PC Speedscan Pro, RAMRocket, spyware Striker Pro etc.

At FinallyFast.com, computer users install software that tests their computer for any performance blockages and then provides solution to fix up things in exchange for some fee.

As per court documents, the Washington Attorney General's Office stated that till March 2009, Ascentive's free scan software came with adware and continuous pop-up warnings that exaggerated problems on the system.

Further, the company publicized its services by sending mails to consumers claiming the products were endorsed by Microsoft.

But, consumers said that the anti-spyware product bought from Ascentive didn't work as shown in pop-up ads and emails and that Ascentive charged fees without correctly informing them.

Assistant Attorney General Jake Bernstein said that the company was propagating scareware product that constantly discovered several problems in spite of the conditions of the system, under which it is being scanned, as per the news by pcworld.com on January 5, 2010.

Bernstein stated that according to them Ascentive used misleading ads to entice consumers into purchasing its software, as per the news by seattlepi.com on January 4, 2011.

Remarkably, Bernstein's office possesses a list of complaints against the firm, wherein the consumers have badly criticized the firm.

McKenna while declaring his judgment on the case stated that in today's Internet backdrop, some firms have started tricking to boost profits. However, consumer protection laws ask for integrity to ensure consumers know what they are purchasing and to create a level playing field for competing retailers. The settlement made it evident the demarcation between aggressive marketing and deception, as per the news by techflash.com on January 4, 2011.

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» SPAMfighter News - 1/13/2011