FixWinReg Indicted for Breach of Consumer Security

According to reports in the October 10, 2007 edition of Consumeraffairs, Rob McKenna, Washington's State Attorney General, has arrived at an agreement with FixWinReg, one of the three California-located Internet associate publicists charged of breaching the consumer protection and spyware regulations of the state.

FixWinReg employed a Windows attribute called Net Send to exhibit warnings billed as vital safety messages. As per court papers, these were manipulated to resemble internal OS messages. These notices alleged that there were mistakes in the Windows registry that could cause loss of information or contamination unless fixed at once.

The fake alerts asked users to transfer free downloadable version of a program that would inform them about critical errors on computers without any registry troubles. The alert also alleged that a full edition of program could fix all errors if users paid $30 to download it.

According to October 10, 2007 report issued by Consumeraffairs, Katherine Tassi, Assistant Attorney General, who headed the probe, stated that these free versions continuously discovered 'critical errors." To facilitate elimination of errors, users were told to purchase the complete edition of the program.

The State Attorney General of Washington, Rob McKenna, litigated the owner of FixWinReg, Nguyenphuoc, and other suspects in February this year, charging that the advertizements transgressed state laws of spyware and corrupt business activities. The charge sought fines of $2,000 for every contravention. Even so, civil complaints are expected against NJC Softwares LCC, Manuel Corona, Secure Links Networks' LLC and CEO, Jr., of Brea, and Rudy O. Corella, company officer, Lake Elsinore.

Nguyenphuoc will shell out $25,000 towards attorneys' charges and fees. He will fork out an extra $75,000 as civil fines if he doesn't abide by the settlement that forbids him from employing Net Send bulletins to push services or products and perpetrating other deceptions.

Talking about the responsibility of cyber firms towards user security, McKenna said that online publicists must abide by the same rules that are enforceable on firms that advertize their products via television, radio, or print media. They must be honest about every claim relating to an item's price or working. Persuading a user to download software program by deceptively professing the software to be essential for security reasons is wrong and unlawful.

» SPAMfighter News - 10/25/2007