Wash. State Resolves First Spyware Lawsuit
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OLYMPIA, Wash.— Washington state will receive a $1 million settlement from New York-based Secure Computer, resolving the state’s first computer spyware lawsuit, Attorney General Rob McKenna announced yesterday.
More than 1,140 Washington residents who bought the Spyware Cleaner software or in some cases, Popup Padlock, are eligible for refunds under the agreement filed in federal court last week.
Under the consent decree signed in Seattle by U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez, Secure Computer and the company’s president, Paul Burke, agreed to pay $200,000 in civil penalties, $75,000 in restitution for consumers, and $725,000 in state attorneys’ fees and costs. There was no admission or finding of wrongdoing under the agreement.
“It sends a strong message to Internet businesses that they must promote their products ethically and legally,” Mr. McKenna said in a news release. “We won’t tolerate deceptive marketing such as ‘scareware’ that preys on consumers’ fears about spyware and online threats.”
The state brought the charges in January, accusing Secure Computer, of White Plains, N.Y., of using mass, misleading emails and pop-up advertisements to sell software that didn’t work.
