Gator Forces Site To Remove 'Spyware' Label 927
lurker412 writes "CNet News is reporting that Gator has forced PC Pitstop to remove Web pages that call Gator's software 'spyware.' The correct term, according to Gator, is 'adware.' The article states: 'If we find anyone publicly calling us spyware, we correct it and take action if necessary,' said Scott Eagle, Gator's senior vice president of marketing. So be careful what you say in your comments..."
Notified? (Score:5, Interesting)
Also, I hope Gator reads this, so they know how much we hate them. But maybe I should thank them for generating extra business for me to remove their program from clients' computers.
Don't like what you hear? Tell Gator (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: Use of Q.E.D. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:alternative names.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:alternative names.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Spamware is probably the most appropriate term for this ilk.
Re:alternative names.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Sleazy Tactics (In my Opinion) (Score:5, Interesting)
In an effort to improve its corporate reputation, adware company Gator has launched a legal offensive to divorce its name from the hated term "spyware"--and so far its strategy is paying off.
Ok - the basis for my opinion:
Gator's lawsuit is based on libel law. For a statement to be libelous, generally, it must meet the following requirements:
Now, defenses to libel include:
- Truth; and
- Opinion.
Allegedly libelous statements are not actionable if they are mere statements of opinion. Statements that cause damage (no matter how much damage!) are not actionable if the statement is true. Now here's the sleazy part: Gator is taking it upon itself to provide a definition of "spyware," claiming its software does not meet that definition, and suing for libel. Implicit in the the claim is that the statement that Gator software is "spyware" is the claim that the label "spyware" is false because it does not meet the definition of the term that Gator provided.Did you catch that? Your statement is false because it does not match the definition of the term that Gator likes. Never mind the possibility that the term was coined by others and may have a meaning that matches what the software actually does. Gator does not like the way a negative term is being applied to its software so it will try to change the definition of the term.
This tactic is often used in advertising. Perfect example is when telephone companies claim their rates are lower than rates of a competitor and in the fine print you find out that their definition of a competitor's rate is the rate that competitor charges at the crack of noon on the highest call volume day of the year to a point exactly opposite you on the planet with the CEO of the company personally connecting the call for you. I know my example exaggerates (maybe not that much!) but what the hell, it's an example.
Whether or not the law warrants this type of suit, I personally think it is a sleazy business tactic to try to improve your company's image by using lawsuits to silence critics. There are laws (anti-SLAPP laws - SLAPP stands for Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) that are designed to let judges throw out libel suits designed to silence critics.
Last time I checked, the commonly accepted definition of "spyware" fit the Gator program perfectly. I understand it to be software that collects information about you (with or without your permission) in the background. If Gator doesn't like the way it's products are labeled or perceived, I think it should advertise or maybe change its business model, but definitely not sue to silence critics expressing their opinions.
1 site down, 21,900 more to go (Score:3, Interesting)
Gator is a menace to the internet, and I'm talking about measureable economic damage. One of my employer's clients (I'm in the network security business) found that 18% of their internet bandwidth was being sucked up by Gator. We sold them a solution, of course.
Blocking Gator's spyware is big business. Corporate customers are eager for solutions, and lots of companies are selling them. The term "spyware" is not going to go away as long as Gator's evil behaviour continues to create a big market for spyware removal and blocking software.
Gator can threaten to sue people of course, but since they are clearly the ones engaged in criminal behaviour, not the anti-spyware firms, I really don't believe Gator can come out on top in the long term.
So there.
Doug Moen.
Re:Me first (Score:4, Interesting)
I spent 2.5 days last Christmas trying to remove all the crap that Gator and it's buddy the ad-downloader put on my in-laws system. The family that "agreed" to install this "legitimate" software had a difficult time understanding what it did even after I explained it to them several times. Their hard drive was full, and half of it was from adware that Gator downloaded. The system was so slow as to be almost unusable.
One person on our team of 6 tech support people at work was a full-time Gator uninstaller last year until we upgraded to virus protection which blocked it. That's how bad it was.
Gator may not be spying, but it is a malicious intruder, a trojan horse that pours out a malitia of bogus advertisement software under the guise of "helping" people by providing their personal information to any web page that asks for it (a pretty sobering thought by itself). I'd call it mal-ware after the word, "Malicious".
Like SCO, Gator masquerades as something that it's not - a legitimate company with a legitimate product. It is therefore very difficult to do anything about it legally. Somebody, somewhere is supporting this company. Maybe we can petition them to stop?
Re:Gator is trash and spyware (Score:2, Interesting)
Plus on some systems Java just won't work right no matter how much I threaten Firebird with pointy sticks and red hot irons.
Re:Me first (Score:1, Interesting)
It amazes me that we now live in a country where companies will in good concince sue you for telling the truth,
Re:Me first (Score:4, Interesting)
Spyware Spyware Spyware!! Spy-spy-spy-ware! SPYWARE!
Daniel
Re:Me first (Score:3, Interesting)
The only drawback is loading applications - but in most cases this can be accomplished easily on OEM boxes (the type of boxes most niave users buy) with a few CDs now-a-days...
I think you make a good point about the spyware driving people away from computer use; however, I would not characterize the spyware folks as 'techno-elite' by any stretch of the imagination.
As for being out of a job - I don't think we have much to worry about - the world has come to depend on computers, no matter how difficult some jerks make it for the rest of us to use and enjoy them.