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August 29, 2006
The software watchdog group StopBadware.org, run
by the
Berkman Center for Internet & Society of
Harvard Law School and the
Oxford Internet Institute, has opened a dialogue with
AOL about concerns over the presence of badware, also known
as
malware, in the now-free AOL 9.0 software. Badware refers to
software applications that try to download additional software
with very little or no explanation. StopBadware.org decided to
investigate after their users have sent in complaints regarding
the operation of the software.
According to the "open inquiry" on
StopBadware.org, the preliminary tests conclude that AOL 9.0
installs software and
Internet Explorer extensions without the consent of the
user, requires users to take certain actions, and it doesn't
completely uninstall itself. The page then warns readers not to
use the AOL software unless they're prepared to handle the risks
involved.
The report clarifies its charges; for example it
lists "RealPlayer, QuickTime, AOL You've Got Pictures
Screensaver, Pure Networks Port Magic, and Viewpoint Media
Player" as the software that is installed without
notification. Additionally, the AOL toolbar, a bookmark to
AOL.com, as well as extra icons are added to Internet Explorer
without consent. The report continues by noting that AOL coerces
users into upgrading the software by a popup window that does
not allow refusal, as well as automatically upgrades the
software without allowing that option to be disabled.
AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein claims that these
problems are going to be addressed in an upgrade available next
month. In the meantime, Weinstein claims that the problems are
not malicious. "No one has done more to protect users from
malware than AOL," Weinstein said. John Palfrey agrees that the
findings of AOL are not the worst he's seen, but they should
disclose more information about the software to users. When AOL
was issued with an advance copy of the report, StopBadware.org
was "very impressed" with their response, and that they look
forward to working with AOL.
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