Eric Howes, a Microsoft MVP, author of IE-SPYAD & AGNIS List and Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites posted in http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11723816~mode=flat that Aluria has partnered with WhenU.
He posted:
“Hi All:
You might have heard about the recent arrangement between Aluria (makers of Spyware Eliminator, a version of which is bundled with AOL 9.0) and WhenU, one of the more well-known distributors of adware. See here for the press release:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-27-2004/0002312862&EDATE
Aluria agreed to de-list WhenU from the defintions it uses for Spyware Eliminator. Suzi at Spyware Warrior has blogged about this:
And there’s a news story on the same subject here at DSLR/BBR:
It’s Adware, Not Spyware!
But I just discovered that the situation is much worse than I originally thought. What we have here is more than a case of a little mutual back scratching with cross-promotion and links. See:
www.whenu.com/whenu_solution.html
From that page:
said by WhenU:
WhenU is committed to protecting consumers’ privacy and consumer PCs against dangerous spyware. This is why WhenU has teamed up with Aluria Software, a leading provider of anti-spyware tools, to provide WhenU consumers with UControl.
UControl is the first product in the online advertising industry that provides a comprehensive scan of your computer and removes unwanted spyware programs, while continuing to provide the deals, offers and value consumers have come to expect from WhenU contextual products.
See also:
Anti-Spyware Portal www.whenu.com/take_control.html
Free Scan www.whenu.com/scan_pc.html
In other words, WhenU is now in the anti-spyware business now with Aluria. And a major anti-spyware vendor has now agreed to de-list an adware vendor and start working the same vendor to market its anti-spyware product.
I am stunned and amazed.“
Related topic: Aluria Software Gone Bad
“Due to this development, Aluria is no longer a part of ASAP nor this website, I would like to have any other ASAP list on your own forums removed as well concerning Aluria’s involvement. I would also like to suggest blacklisting Aluria from all future corespondance in the Anti-Spyware community and make sure we get the word out that their programs can no longer be trusted. “ – Tom Coyote