[at-l] AOL

[Martin Fors]

I discovered this, today.  Rusty

 

August 28, 2006 (IDG News Service) <http://www.idg.net>  -- AOL LLC's free
Internet client software has earned the company a slap on the wrist from
StopBadware.org, a consortium set up to combat malicious software. In a
report set to be released Monday, the group advises users to steer clear of
the software because of its "badware behavior." 

The report
<http://stopbadware.org/reports/reportdisplay?reportname=aol082706>  blasts
the free version of AOL 9.0 because it "interferes with computer use," and
because of the way it meddles with components such as the Internet Explorer
browser and the Windows taskbar. The suite is also criticized for engaging
in "deceptive installation" and faulted because some components fail to
uninstall.

The main problem is that AOL doesn't properly inform users of what its
software will do to their PCs, said John Palfrey, StopBadware.org's
co-director. "We don't think that the disclosure is adequate and there are
certain mistakes in the way the software is architected in terms of leaving
some programs behind," he said. "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."

Because AOL has taken steps to address StopBadware.org's concerns, the group
has held off on officially rating AOL 9.0 as badware, Palfrey said.

Still, the report is not good news for AOL, and puts them in some less than
savory company. Software previously targeted in StopBadware.org reports
includes Kazaa, the Jessica Simpson Screensaver and the Starware News
Toolbar. StopBadware keeps an archive of reports on their site
<http://stopbadware.org/home/reports> .

Backed by tech companies such as Google Inc., Lenovo Group Ltd. and Sun
Microsystems Inc., StopBadware.org bills itself as a "Neighborhood Watch" of
the Internet. It is run out of two well-respected university departments:
Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, and University of Oxford's Internet Institute in the U.K.

Monday's report states that AOL is taking steps to address StopBadware.org's
concerns, and that the company has confirmed that there is a design flaw in
its uninstaller software.

An AOL spokesman said that it is "clearly ridiculous" to categorize his
company's software as badware. "No company has done more to fight malware
than AOL, and millions of users are protected by our software every day,"
said AOL's Andrew Weinstein in an email message. "We're reviewing the
suggestions made in the report, and we are taking steps to address them, as
they mostly involve minor UI issues."

AOL has been struggling through some major changes of late.

It has opened up its once-private network, offering the AOL 9.0 software for
free in a bid to attract new users and boost online advertising as its
traditional subscribers have fled. The company now has 17.7 million U.S.
subscribers, a drop of 3.1 million over the past year.

Last week, three AOL executives including CTO Maureen Govern left the
company in the wake of a scandal over AOL's public disclosure of more than 2
million search queries made by 650,000 AOL users.

AOL has also come under fire for licensing its free antivirus software,
called Active Virus Shield, with what anti-adware advocates view as
excessive advertising and data gathering provisions.

Since the search disclosure, AOL has taken steps to restore consumer trust,
said CEO Jon Miller in a recent e-mail to employees. "There is a tremendous
responsibility that goes along with our mission of serving consumers
online," he wrote. "We have to earn their trust each and every day and with
each and every action we take."