Microsoft sues malicious advertisers
Microsoft has filed civil suits against five people or groups it accuses of hiding malicious software in supposedly genuine advertising. It comes on the heels of a high-profile case involving the New York Times Web site.
The firm has come up with the somewhat ugly name of “malvertisements” to describe the activity. It accuses the various defendants of either embedding malware directly into the ads, or using them to redirect site users to bogus warnings that their machines are infected and offering to sell them security software, a tactic known as scareware.
While Microsoft is complaining that such activity is a threat to all Internet users, it’s specific legal complaints include that the defendants acted fraudulently when placing ads through Microsoft’s MSN network. This fraud included posing as legitimate businesses, and falsely claiming to follow Microsoft’s terms and conditions which prohibit the inclusion of malware in ads.
As well as the contract violation claim, Microsoft is also going after the defendants for trademark violation, fraud, and interfering with Microsoft’s dealings with its legitimate business partner. It’s also asking the court to stop the firms from breaching consumer protection and spyware laws in its home state of Washington as well as federal trademark laws.
As Microsoft hasn’t been able to identify the individuals behind the acts, it’s filed the suits in the business names used by the defendants, which presumably means some poor court clerk has to announce the case of “Microsoft vs qiweroqw.com.” The other defendants are known only as Soft Solutions, Direct Ad, ITmeter INC and ote2008.info.
The cases come in the same week as the New York Times apologized to site visitors after a bogus advert appeared on the site containing scareware. The advert has since been linked to a group of Ukrainian criminals operating through a compromised set of servers in the Bahamas.
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