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gizaThis is no big surprise, but:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/05/ftc_spyware_lawsuits/
Actually, Wallace didn't "leave the company" so much as he went out of business because nobody would sell him bandwidth.
Also, Wallace was the primary person responsible for the Junk Fax Law, also known as 47 USC 227. That's right, before Thpammy got into spamming, he used to run a company called "Promo Enterprises" and send out junk faxes. He stole others' resources and refused to stop when businessed asked him to.
So, in short, the guy is a thief in 3 different ways over a period exceeding 10 years. I'd really like to see him land prison time someday.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/05/ftc_spyware_lawsuits/
Sanford 'Spamford' Wallace has been fined $4m and ordered to restrict the deceptive spyware practices of his company, Smartbot.Net, after losing a lawsuit brought by the US Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC alleged that Wallace's software takes advantage of well-known IE vulnerabilities to infiltrate PC and secretly change user's settings and hijack their search engines, before serving up a barrage of pop-up ads. The ads try to bully users into buying anti-spyware products, Spy Wiper or Spy Deleter, for $30 a throw. Worse still, the products fail to clean up systems, the FTC says.
A default judgment against Wallace and Smartbot.Net orders them to give up $4m of their ill-gotten gains. The order also bars Wallace and Smartbot.Net from downloading spyware onto consumers' computers or distributing software that changes users PC settings without their consent. Jared Lansky, an ad broker who disseminated ads containing Wallace’s spyware via OptinTrade, was fined $227,000 in the same judgement.
The case against Wallace represents the first federal prosecution of a spyware case, although individual states such as Utah have targeted alleged spyware operations. Wallace claims he is being targeted because of his past as a notorious bulk mailer. His firm Cyber Promotions sent millions of spam emails a day before lawsuits from AOL and Compuserve prompted Wallace to leave the company and "abandon spamming".
Actually, Wallace didn't "leave the company" so much as he went out of business because nobody would sell him bandwidth.
Also, Wallace was the primary person responsible for the Junk Fax Law, also known as 47 USC 227. That's right, before Thpammy got into spamming, he used to run a company called "Promo Enterprises" and send out junk faxes. He stole others' resources and refused to stop when businessed asked him to.
So, in short, the guy is a thief in 3 different ways over a period exceeding 10 years. I'd really like to see him land prison time someday.