Adware company unfairly criticized?
180solutions has referred to their critics as anti-spyware zealots and seems to think the "zealots" have unfairly maligned them. In a recent interview with Spyware Informer, 180's public relations spokesperson Cory Magnus was asked about 180solutions' plan to become certified by TRUSTe’s Trusted Download Program with a reference to their role in COAST and its demise. In response to the question about the COAST episode, Magnus replied:
'To be clear about our COAST membership, we didn't "try to pull" anything off. We jumped through all of the necessary hoops and complied with the various criteria that COAST members asked us to abide by. After doing so, we were voted in (by the existing members) as an official member, only to see the organization dissolve right before our very eyes because of the fact that its members weren't able to take the ensuing zealot scrutiny.
Readers can refresh their memory about COAST and its fate here, here and here.
One might ask the question - is 180solutions correct in their perception of the COAST situation or were the "zealots" justified in their scrutiny? SpywareWarrior's Eric L. Howes has compiled a summary of news articles and events involving 180solutions after they were admitted to COAST.
Readers can make up their own minds about the answer and comment as desired.