ShopAtHomeSelect strikes again
ShopAtHomeSelect made the news last week for getting kicked out of affiliate network Commission Junction. See my previous post for the details. Now there's more news about SAHS and their unsavory practices. Wayne Porter of FaceTime blogs about it. Wayne refers to a write up by Chris Boyd (aka Paperghost) at SpywareGuide.com about a massive adware installation including the likes of Shop at Home Select, Sidefind, Your Site Bar, Powerscan, Bullseye Networks and Internet Optimizer. There are a lot of details and links to screenshots in the article. In this case, the kicker is that desktop icons are installed by the adware that lead to pages appearing to be supplied by advertising network Azoogle. Azoogle claims to be adware free, but in this installation at least, that doesn't seem to be the case.
In the meantime, journalist Brian Livingston, who wrote last week about Commission Junction's action against ShopAtHomeSelect, says Commission Junction has hired web detectives, a company named Cyveillance. to scour the web for affiliates using bad practices. But it seems that Cyveillance doesn't have a stellar reputation either.
What a mess! We have massive adware installations mixed with ad networks claiming to be adware free and a major affiliate network hiring web detectives with a questionable reputation. Last week we had an adware company, Claria, documented showing ads though pop-ups delivered though exploits with 6 companies involved and no one wanting to claim responsibility, and a legal expert crying witchhunt because the practices are being exposed.
It's no wonder that consumers are fearful of e-commerce and spending less time on the Internet.