Pushing Zango on MySpace

Summary: Chris Boyd asked the question yesterday, Teenagers used to push Zango on Myspace? It does indeed look like teenagers, and older MySpace users as well, are being used to push Zango and not making a dime for it.

By Suzi Turner for Spyware Confidential | July 10, 2006 -- 22:24 GMT (15:24 PDT)

Chris Boyd asked the question yesterday, Teenagers used to push Zango on Myspace? It does indeed look like teenagers, and older MySpace users as well, are being used to push Zango and not making a dime for it. But the Zango affiliates and Zango itself must be taking in lots of $$$. How is this happening? There are dozens of websites, like this one, MYSPACE VIDEOS, (click at your own risk) offering free videos for MySpace users to put on their web pages. The catch is, when you click to watch a video, you get a prompt to download Zango. The html code is available right there on the page so MySpace users can copy and paste it to their own pages. Embedded in that code is a link to Zango and an ID, which looks like an ID for that particular video with an affiliate ID embedded in it. Here's a portion of the code. I've broken the link for obvious reasons and removed a lot of characters from that ID.

src="http cds.zango.com/download.aspx? Id=bf265f33e036180a63a5920ded2045b3406ae13a2=.wmv

Easy way to push Zango and make some extra $$$, yes? That is, if you've no ethics or morals. I suspect the kids think it's ok -- free stuff for their sites, but do they really know what they are doing? Likely not. Do you think they will read the EULA? Not. Are many of them under 18, installing and unwittingly spreading Zango even thought the EULA says you have to be 18? And the box saying "By clicking Play Now I am at least 18 and I agree to the terms of the License Agreement above" is pre-checked! Screenshot here, from Chris's site. Once a user clicks Play Now, the download starts and they get Zango Search Assistant and Zango Toolbar. And the owner of the page where they got the html code for the video gets a payback. There is something terribly wrong with that picture.

Oh, and Chris Boyd found two MySpace profiles (screenshot) named "Zango":

Both created on the same day and at the same time, one pushed a toolbar and programs designed to "protect kids from predators".
The other? Well, imagine the scene...you see this profile floating round in Myspace, decide to visit it and...
...a popup launches from the Myspace page, prompting you to accept a licence to play a videofile.

It looks like Jimmy Daniels doesn't think this is cool, either. See his write up Zango (180 Solutions) Abusing MySpace Users.

Topic: Social Enterprise

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6 comments

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Paperghost

Paperghost is on the story, too. He's got a pretty good, richly illustrated, write-up over at Vital Security:

http://www.vitalsecurity.org/2006/07/teenagers-used-to-push-zango-on.html

gwrigg

11 July, 2006 08:51

Reply Vote

Whoops

My oops. Suzi already had the link in the body of her blog entry. D'oh!!

Well, just consider my comments a review to the effect that the Vital Security write-up is well worth a look. :-)

gwrigg
11 July, 2006 09:38

Reply Vote

Zango sock puppets infiltrate MySpace.

Something tells me that these "teenagers" are acutally Zango wage-slaves who are seeking to push Zango sh**warez on unsuspecting users. The lack of info and photos is rather suspicious.

Remember: In cyberspace... or MySpace..., no one can tell if that 16-year-old blonde cheerleader is really a fat, bald, 40 year old, virgin man living in mama's basement... or a sock puppet.

Mr. Roboto

11 July, 2006 11:18

Reply Vote

How big a problem is this really?

I did the obvious thing and googled for the string "zango.com" for the myspace.com site. I came out with 30 hits, of which many are not imbedded urls. Given the total number of myspace pages, I wouldn't call this much of an infestation. Is this really a problem?