180solutions from the inside

Washington Post reporter Brian Krebs blogged about his visit to 180solutions' headquarters in Seattle.   Krebs talks about a discussion regarding 180's reported attempts to crack down on rogue distributors.  The lawsuits 180 filed against 7 such distributors have been withdrawn because the defendants live outside the US and refused to come here. Apparently the FBI is investigating the 7 individuals and others inside and outside the US suspected of committing "far more serious crimes than installing spyware and adware with their botnets".   More details of Krebs' visit with 180solutions can be found in his write-up.

This recent press release reports that 180solutions is the second fastest growing private company in the Seattle area, with net revenue increasing from $1 million in 2001 to $19 million in 2004.  Hmmm..  that's a lot of installations and it would be most interesting to know how many of them were non-consensual installs, forced on users' computers by exploits and deception.