Like other unwanted software, software from 180solutions often
gets installed on users' PCs in ways that do not obtain users' informed consent.
180 installations use at least four distinct methods:
1. Installation through security holes. I have posted
two videos (1, 2)
showing 180 software installed through security holes on users' PCs. I have
prepared dozens of similar videos over a period of many months. Other researchers
have also documented 180 software being installed through security holes in
Internet Explorer. (1, 2,
3)
When 180 software is installed on users' PCs through security holes, users
are not told that software is being installed on their PCs, and users are
not asked for (nor do they provide) any approval or consent.
2.
Drive-by downloads. Some 180solutions software arrives on users' PCs via
drive-by downloads (also known as ActiveX pop-ups). Under this installation
method, a user receives a pop-up offering to install
certain software while the user is browsing an unrelated web site.
The drive-by popup is particularly misleading because
it uses a format identical to the format that provides plug-ins actually needed
to view a web page (e.g. the Macromedia Flash Player). In addition, executable
code of the 180 software (perhaps) to be installed is copied to a user's computer
before the user is told what is taking place, or offered an opportunity to deny
consent.
On most computers, the user does receive a single confirmation
screen, like that shown at right, before software installation occurs. However,
the 180 drive-bys that I have seen neither show nor reference any license agreement
whatsoever, whether before or after installation. Furthermore, 180's drive-bys
describe themselves only as "180search Assistant" without any mention
of 180's pop-up ads, of any license agreement, or of any redirection of or interference
with affiliate commissions.
3. Installation via "bundle" distribution partners.
180 software is often installed by "distribution partners" who
bundle 180 software with their programs. A full analysis of 180's distribution,
and their varied provision of license agreements, is beyond the scope of this
document. However, in my examination of programs that bundle 180 software,
many fail to disclose this bundling to users in a meaningful way that typical
users will see, notice, and understand.
Consider the installation process for
Kiwi Alpha, a P2P filesharing program.
Kiwi's front page (www.kiwialpha.com) mentions no bundled software. The first
step of Kiwi's installer mentions no bundled software (left
screen-shot below). The second step of Kiwi's installer offers a scroll box
captioned "end user license agreement," enclosing 54 pages of text (e.g.
requiring 53 presses of the page-down key to view the entire document) (see center
screen-shot below). Software from 180 is mentioned in this document, namely
in pages 16 through 33 (right screen-shot below), without
even the use of bold-face or all-capital type to alert users to the discussion
of a different program beyond that in the first 15 pages.
Importantly,
no other text in the Kiwi Alpha installer references 180 (or other bundled software)
in any way. Note also that Kiwi is not some "old" or "outdated"
program using long-replaced 180 installation methods: c|net
download.com reports that Kiwi was added to its index on July 2, 2004, and
files in the Kiwi installation package bear date stamps as recent as July 2004.
180solutions
agrees that its software is sometimes installed on users' PCs without obtaining
users' consent. See its July
2004 lawsuit against two of its partners who had allegedly distributed 180's
software in this way.
4. Installation at a user's request. Even if users specifically seek
out 180 Zango software from the zango.com web site,
users do not generally see a license agreement for Zango. The zango.com
web site includes links to a license agreement, but the installation process
neither shows users the license, nor draws users' attention to the license
specifically (i.e. with wording of the form "after viewing [this license],"
where brackets indicate a hyperlink). (Video available on request.)
In addition, when users request 180 software from certain of 180's closest
distribution partners, 180 still shows no license agreement. 180's disclosures
are also substantially deficient -- using euphemisms like "show web sites"
rather than openly stating that 180 shows pop-up advertisements. Finally,
some of 180's partners are targeted at children. Details.
180
installation shortcomings are well-known. Others have previously pointed out
these and other problems with 180solutions installation methods. See e.g. a recent
ClickZ article: "180 Solutions ... software ended up on my hard drive
after just one (accidental) click .... If 180 Solutions really wants to go legit
... it should stop such practices immediately."
180solutions
staff know about these installation problems. 180solutions staff have previously
admitted the general possibility of 180 software being installed in a bundle with
other software, without users being told what is happening. See Seattle
Post-Intelligencer article, reporting that 180's director of marketing admits
that "n-Case could get bundled with other free software programs without
the company's knowledge [which] could lead to the n-Case software fastening to
individual's computers without their knowledge."
License
Agreement
Even if users do manage to obtain and view the 180solutions
license agreement (notwithstanding that, for example, the license agreement
is not mentioned or linked from 180's drive-by installers), the license agreement
does not fully disclose all of 180's practices. The license does explain that
180 software "may collect information about you and the websites you visit."
But the license does not mention that 180 software may redirect affiliate commissions
payable as a result of the sites from which users make purchases. Indeed, the
words "affiliate" and "commission" appear nowhere in the license
agreement.
Uninstaller Problems
180
software does not always include an uninstaller. Contrary to Windows standards,
180 software does not always include an uninstall program. Instead, users must
visit 180's site and download a separate uninstall program -- rather than uninstalling
180 via an entry in Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs like other software. (Screenshot.)
180's uninstaller is convoluted and incomplete. Even when 180 software
does include an uninstaller (for example, with the version of Zango I recently
installed on a PC in my lab), the uninstall is far from perfect. For one, the
uninstall process is complicated -- requiring, in my testing, five different button-presses
before uninstall was complete, including pressing a button that appears off-screen
on computers running at 800x600 resolution. (Video available upon request.) In
addition, 180's uninstaller does not remove all 180 software: In my testing, a
Zango DLL is left behind in the "C:\Program Files\Zango" directory,
perhaps along with other files elsewhere. Furthermore, DoxDeskreports that the n-CASE
uninstall "does not remove the installer control, so if you had the nCase/Inst
variant, any web page will be able to re-install nCase without any prompting."
Recruiting
Installation Partners via Unsolicited Commercial Email
180 staff members aggressively promote bundling partnerships via unsolicited
commercial email to software developers and sometimes even to mailing lists.
See e.g. a
2003 email from 180 staff to a gnome mailing list suggesting that gnome
bundle software from 180. (The 180 staff person was apparently unaware that
gnome is a linux desktop suite -- so 180's Windows-only software cannot be installed
on or bundled with gnome. The 180 staff person was apparently further unaware
that gnome is open source software, that gnome needs no revenue to survive,
and that there is no obvious corporate entity to receive the $0.07 that 180
offered to provide for each user who installs 180 software.) See also other
similar messages from 180: 1,
2,
3, 4,
5,
6.
180solutions also recruits advertisers by unsolicited commercial email. References:
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9, 10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15, 16,
17,
18,
19, 20,
21,
22, 23,
24,
25
(reporting three copies received), 26
(reporting four copies). Some recipients report (1,
2)
that 180solutions obtained their email addreesses by scraping their web sites,
and one recipient reports receiving as many as four unsolicited messages from
180 in a single day.
2.
Drive-by downloads. Some 180solutions software arrives on users' PCs via
drive-by downloads (also known as ActiveX pop-ups). Under this installation
method, a user receives a pop-up offering to install
certain software while the user is browsing an unrelated web site. 
