Direct Revenue Gets Their Own Nail.exe

I mentioned earlier that Direct Revenue was in a class action suit. Suzi Turner contacted me to let me know of an interesting update at the ZDNET Spyware Confidential blog. It appears to reflect some rather troubling news for Direct Revenue as the judge has decided the case will proceed. It seems the parking meter is running out on some “adware” companies.

From ZDNET’s Spyware Confidential Blog Suzi relays the comments from David Fish the lawyer handling the suit.

The judge is permitting our lawsuit claims for trespass, negligence, consumer fraud, and computer tampering to go forward against DirectRevenue and BetterInternet. (but not DirectRevenue’s holding company since it is allegedly just a holding company). The judge also is permitting our trespass claim to go forward against two advertisers- one of which is an “ad-server” and the other is one whose pop-up ads were sent via DirectRevenue.

A few interesting comments from the judge: “many companies and computer users consider pop-up advertisements and Spyware an Internet scourge” (p. 17) and that the allegations in the lawsuit “reflect the frustration of many computer users” (p. 18).

In ruling that the lawsuit could proceed, the court recognized that trespass to personal property “has reemerged as a cause of action in Internet advertising” (p. 16). The court ruled that a trespass claim “may be asserted by an individual computer user who alleges unauthorized electronic contact with his computer system that causes harm, such as Spyware” (p. 16)

In response to an argument that individual advertisements can be easily closed, so they cannot cause a legal injury, the court ruled that this “ignores the reality of computer and Internet use, and plaintiff’s allegation that part of the injury is the cumulative harm caused by the volume and frequency of the advertisements. The fact that a computer user has the ability to close each pop-up advertisement as it appears does not necessarily mitigate the damages alleged by plaintiff, which include wasted time, computer security breaches, lost productivity, and additional burdens on the computer’s memory and display capabilities.” (p. 21).

Click here for the complete details (PDF File).

Note to Reaver: The Anvil is Ready For Iron.

About Wayne Porter

Wayne Porter is one of the original founders of ReveNews.com, and served as the CEO and founder of XBlock Systems a specialized research firm on greynets and malware research before being acquired by unified communications security leader, Factime Security Labs. His work includes serving as a panlist at the Federal Trade Commission to shape legislation on software and the creation of two patent-pending technologies for corporate networks. Wayne is a frequent speaker at e-commerce & business events including CJU, ASW and RSA and frequently cited in the press. He has been designated a Microsoft Security MVP three times and is recognized on Google’s Responsible Security Disclosure page- in addition to receiving the first Summit Legend Award. Wayne currently works as a Security Consultant on Social Media and operates a consultancy on digital worlds. His hobbies include reading science fiction, playing chess, fishing, writing, collecting shiny digital gadgets, playing racquetball and studying memetic engineering. He maintains a personal weblog at WaynePorter.com detailing his explorations in security, web 2.0, and virtual worlds.
You can follow Wayne on Twitter: @wporter.

Website: http://www.wayneporter.com