Music seekers should be cautious when visiting the
FastMP3Search.com.ar Web site, according to the Center for
Democracy and Technology and StopBadware.org. The antispyware
watchdogs say the MP3 search site contains programs that behave
like spyware.
"After testing a random sampling of the site's content, we have
determined … content on this Web site is bundled with several
components that reportedly behave as a Trojan horse. Installation
of this Trojan horse is not disclosed to the user," StopBadware.org
said on its
Web site.
StopBadware.org recommended Web surfers steer clear of the site.
Meanwhile, the organization has teamed up with the Center for
Democracy and Technology -- home of the Anti-Spyware Coalition --
in asking the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to act against
the site. According to published reports, the groups will file a
joint complaint with the FTC Thursday.
StopBadware.org is an alliance of tech vendors, consumer groups
and other entities that formed in January to fight the rising tide
of spyware.
The group publishes the names of companies it considers the
worst offenders, showing how they make money through unethical
marketing practices and fraud. Members include search engine giant
Google Inc., PC maker Lenovo, Sun Microsystems Inc., Consumer
Reports' WebWatch project, the Berkman Center for Internet &
Society at Harvard Law School and the Oxford Internet Institute in
England.
The Center for Democracy and Technology teamed up with several
tech firms and security organizations last year to form the
Anti-Spyware Coalition. One of its first tasks was to hammer
out guidelines to determine which programs should be labeled as
spyware.