Washington State exercising new Anti-Spyware law

Rob McKenna is a good friend of the Security community here in Washington. Go get 'em!

 --Washington AG Alleges Spyware Act Violations
(16 & 14 August 2006)
Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna has filed a lawsuit against Movieland.com parent company Digital Enterprises alleging violations of the state's Computer Spyware and Consumer Protection Acts.

People sign up for a free, three-day trial of the company's software that allows them to download movie clips.  After the three days, they are inundated with pop-up demands for payment, generated by software that has been placed on their computers without their knowing consent.

The pop-ups, which appear hourly or even more frequently, read "Click
'Continue' to purchase your license and stop these reminders."   The
pop-ups remain on the screen for 40 seconds and cannot be closed during that time. McKenna also said that computer owners are not obligated to honor contracts entered into by others using their computers.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/16/washington_movie_spyware_lawsuit/print.html
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/081406-washington-sues-movie-download-service.html