What a load of bull. I am speaking as someone who has to deal with friends/relatives that have been infected with Gain's MALWARE (that's what it is, plain and simple).
Maybe they clicked on some EULA with 50 pages of fine print somewhere, but I've not found a single person who believes that they agreed to allow gain or any other corporation from installing this crap on their computer. Gator also makes it difficult for the average user to get rid of their software and nowhere does it clearly state what it will do to their PC. Nobody agreed to have their PC crashed, the internet experienced ruined or anything else that Gator and its ilk do.

Nobody wants this. Nobody. Not a single person on the face of the planet wants this virus foisted on their PC. They got it from drive-by downloads that exploit security vulnerabilities, or from other unethical if not downright illegal activities (EULAs, pop-up boxes, bundled with other software). I have never seen an instance where any meaningful, informed consent was given - for one simple reason - nobody would install your software if you acted ethically and got informed consent. You don't have customers, you have users that have been duped or deceived by your unethical business practices into installing your malicious software.

The whole point of an anti-spyware application is to locate and remove malicious software installed on the user's PC without their informed consent. If it doesn't do this, it isn't an anti-spyware app, its just another form of deception.

Spyware, adware, whatever - its all malicious software that crashes PCs, destroys privacy, makes it difficult or impossible to use the Internet, and creates numerous other problems. It is all installed through various practices all of which are unethical or illegal to various degrees. It is all difficult to remove - including gator/gain.
I don't care what the law says, spyware/adware companies are crooks plain and simple.


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