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AntiSpyware Group Targets AOL Release As Dangerous

By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

April 8, 2005

AOL/America Online • AOL Pays $3 Million, Promises to Clean Up Cancellation Process • AOL Settles Florida Fraud Charges • AntiSpyware Group Targets AOL Release As Dangerous • AOL Heads Roll Over Data Leak • AOL Now Free ... Sort Of • AOL Takes More Hits In Press, On Internet • AOL's Problems Worsen as Consumer Complaints Mount • AOL Embarrassed by CNBC Report On Its Business Practices • E-Mail Taxation Without Representation • AOL, Yahoo Planning Postage Charges for Email • AOL Settles With NY, Agrees to Clean Up Cancellation Process • Ohio Settles Lawsuit With AOL • AOL Abandons Broadband • Ohio Latest to Sue AOL • AOL Loses 2 Million Clients, Faces Subpoenas • Class Action Accuses AOL of Double-Billing Scheme • AOL Offers to Settle Federal Charges --- Consumer Complaints • Cancellation Difficulties • Double-billing • "Free" Hours • Unauthorized Charges • Shop-Direct Complaints • Tech Support

The bad news for America Online just keeps on coming. This time a prominent anti-spyware organization has proclaimed AOL's latest free software release as dangerous to users, saying it installs many features and programs without user knowledge or permission.

StopBadware.org, which bills itself as an online "neighborhood watch campaign" that tests programs for potential dangers to users, released a report on August 28th that claimed AOL 9.0 was "badware," as it installed numerous components on a user's machine without their knowledge or consent.

"We currently recommend that users do not install the version of AOL software that we tested," the organization said, "unless the user is comfortable with the level of risk we identify or until the application is updated consistent with the recommendations in this report."

Among StopBadware.org's findings:

• Installing AOL 9.0 also adds a number of programs to a user's computer without properly disclosing they have been installed, and rendering them impossible to detect unless the user checks their "Add/Remove Programs" list for new additions to their software suite.

• AOL adds a number of icons and toolbars to the user's main desktop toolbar, as well as Microsoft Internet Explorer, without disclosing to the user that the additions are being made, or granting the user the opportunity to remove any of these additions.

• AOL 9.0 leaves two AOL software processes running even after all the software is uninstalled from the user's machine.

John Palfrey, StopBadware.org's co-director, told InfoWorld that the primary problem is AOL's lack of disclosure regarding its software installs.

"When there are large programs, some of which stay around after you've thought you've uninstalled them, they need to be disclosed to the user," he said.

StopBadware.org is a joint project between Harvard Law School and Oxford University. The project enjoys the support of tech titans such as Google, Lenovo, and Sun Microsystems.

The project has targeted and tested many applications that install spyware on users' computers, including the Kazaa peer-to-peer file sharing system, and MediaPipe, the application that powers the infamous Movieland pop-up ads which are nearly impossible to uninstall.

AOL responded to the report by saying it was investigating the software for flaws. One flaw in the uninstaller enabled programs to remain on a user's machine even after an uninstall, the company said.

The report could hardly have come at a worse time for AOL. The Dulles, VA-based titan is already reeling from the release of private search data on over 600,000 AOL subscribers. The debacle led to the firing or resignation of three high-ranking company execs, including the chief technology officer.

AOL had been pushing for a reinvention of itself as a free Internet portal supported by advertising dollars, similar to Google and Yahoo's own offerings.

The company has been hemorrhaging dial-up subscribers, who are migrating en masse to lower-cost broadband Internet offerings from other companies. This has led to numerous complaints about the company's deceptive marketing practices and exhaustive attempts to retain customers.

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