The Dirty Tricks Of One Spyware Company Who Claims To Be Transparent

from the oh-so-transparent dept

Earlier this week, we wrote about a lawsuit between two spyware companies, after one got upset that the other was deleting its software when both were installed on the same computer. We pointed to another interview with someone from the accused spyware company, claiming his goal was “transparency, transparency, transparency” when it came to dealing with customers. Well, MSNBC has given a bit of real transparency to Direct Revenue, and the company might not like it so much. They’ve apparently changed their name many, many times to make it much harder for people to track them down. They’ve practiced all kinds of dirty and sneaky tricks from installing software without telling users, to gathering sensitive data, to hijacking affiliate fees. The company also just happened to raise a ton of VC money from some fairly well known VCs who should know better. What’s amusing is that so many VCs always claim they invest in the “people,” and here’s a situation where it’s clear the people have been less than honest countless times in the past, and still got funding. The VC weakly defends his investment by saying the company is “moving in the right direction,” which suggests he knows how sneaky and underhanded the company has been and still is — and still agreed to give them money. It certainly doesn’t reflect well at all on Insight Venture Partners’ reputation.


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Comments on “The Dirty Tricks Of One Spyware Company Who Claims To Be Transparent”

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3 Comments
Cliff s says:

No Subject Given

I have received telemarketers calls on my cell phone, I didn’t answer. My cell phone number has always been on the DO NOT CALL list.
There is also a regulation that telemarketers shall not call cell phones. Well, it is about as effective as the NO SPAM law for faxes.
There has not been one telemarketer fined since the law went into effect, even though certain telemarketers have been complained
about with thousands of entries to the FTC line.
The fear is not an urban legend it is very real. This company will sell it list the very day it is compiled to any one for any purpose.
If they say different they are lying, as this is the reason they are compiling the list.
Cliff s

Miguel Mena says:

Re: Telemarketing

The candidate in California’s 53rd Assembly District, Mike Gordon, owns a telemarketing company. He contracts with Democratic Party affliates. The first time they called I asked them not to call me again. They called me twice more, one time on a Sunday evening!
He also had a “campaign worker” going door-to-door with a copy of the voters registration list, I asked him also not to cantact me again. Two weeks later there he was, at my door interrupting my work again!

Miguel Mena says:

Re: Telemarketing

The candidate in California’s 53rd Assembly District, Mike Gordon, owns a telemarketing company. He contracts with Democratic Party affliates. The first time they called I asked them not to call me again. They called me twice more, one time on a Sunday evening!
He also had a “campaign worker” going door-to-door with a copy of the voters registration list, I asked him also not to contact me again. Two weeks later there he was, at my door interrupting my work again!

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