ROGUE FACEBOOK APP CREATES MALIGN BUZZ

Sting in the tail

A Facebook application using misleading messages spread quickly over the weekend. The application itself did no harm beyond making a mess but may be part of an indirect attempt to attract surfers towards sites promoting scareware packages.

The application, Error Check System, posed as notification of errors in a Facebook user’s profile. Attempting to view these supposed errors allowed the application to activate. This, in turn, allowed the application to access to the affected user’s friends, who were then spammed with notifications, further spreading the social networking chain-letter.

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Accused Scareware Mongers Held in Contempt of Court

Fined $8,000 a day

A federal judge has fined a Belize-based company $8,000 for each day it continues to flout his order to halt a major internet operation alleged to have duped more than 1 million computer users into buying bogus malware protection.

US District Judge Richard D. Bennett wrote in a ruling late last week that Innovative Marketing is in civil contempt for failing to comply with a temporary restraining order to stop its scareware campaign and turn over financial records. The judge imposed the fines after Sam Jain, the company’s chief executive, and four other defendants failed to appear at a hearing.

The rulings come in a case filed by the US Federal Trade Commission. It outlines a scheme that’s breathtaking for the degree of treachery and sophistication the defendants are accused of sowing to plaster the net with ads designed to trick viewers into paying $100 to install malware masquerading as anti-virus protection. The ads, which appeared on high-traffic websites, pimped a variety of rogue titles including WinFixer, WinAntivirus, DriveCleaner and ErrorSafe.

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