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Zango is a software brand name for 180 Solutions. It is generally considered to be a maker of adware,Official Response from 180solutions to Porter's Questions whose website offers free ad-supported games, videos and software for download such as Zango Messenger. Zango's consumer website avers that the company is "committed to creating a content economy." Zango has sponsored content with such high-profile partners as Warner Bros. This content ranges from Internet soap operas to video shorts like Medical Island. Zango is listed as a "Potentially Unwanted Product" by McAfee, and can be removed by most leading anti-virus software.Adware-ZangoSA McAfee 01/29/2006 Hotbar and 180solutions will merge and the combined company will be called Zango.Hotbar and 180solutions Merge; Combined Company To Be Called Zango 180solutions acquires Hotbar.

180 Solutions

180 Solutions is a company that produces adware applications such as Zango and Seekmo. Formerly, they also produced the 180 Search Assistant (also known as 180sa) and ncase. Their programs are often accused of being spyware.

Early History (prior to 2002)

When founded in 1999, 180 Solutions was known as epipo. It was one of the first "pay-to-surf" companies, following in the footsteps of All Advantage. This business model paid users a minimal amount to surf the Internet while running an application that showed banner ads. Users could also make money by referring others who would use this application.

After enjoying brief success, the pay-to-surf business model declined with the bursting of the Internet bubble in 2001, and 180 Solutions adjusted their technologies in several ways:

  • To show popup ads rather than banner ads.
  • To not have any visible GUI.
  • To be bundled with other potentially valuable applications.

2002 - 2005

From 2002 through 2005, 180 Solutions' applications (ncase and 180sa) were distributed via various affiliates. While these affiliates were legally required (by 180 contract and other laws) to obtain the permission of the user prior to install, many did not; this resulted in millions of illegal non-consensual installs. Many other affiliates notified users only via the end user licence agreement EULA; this resulted in millions more of technically legal but still essentially non-consensual installs.

180 Solutions' software shows popup ads while the user is surfing the Internet. This software was often, but not always, bundled with other pieces of free software which the user intentionally installed. Since permission to install the 180 Solutions adware was at best hidden in a EULA, most users were unaware of the fact that they were installing adware.

In some cases 180 Solutions' software was not bundled with any other software, but installed as a standalone install. Using this method, an ActiveX prompt simply asked the user to install the software so that they could receive "comparison shopping advertisements".

180 Solutions contends that the value of the bundled software or the comparison shopping advertisements makes up for the inconvenience of the popup ads. The value of this trade-off is contested by critics of the adware business model.

In 2004 Benjamin Edelman of Harvard University analysed the network behaviour of 180solutions applications and discovered they redirected commissions to itself that were properly due to affiliates, and additionally caused merchants to pay commissions when affected users clicked on merchant sites directly.The Effect of 180solutions on Affiliate Commissions and Merchants Benjamin Edelman October 20, 2004

During this time, 180 Solutions' applications were often difficult to uninstall, requiring the user to download an additional 'uninstall' application made by 180 Solutions or to use a spyware or adware removal tool. In 2005, the software uninstall was standardized to use the Windows 'add/remove programs' feature.

In 2005, 180 Solutions implemented a number of initiatives that were intended to show that the company was serious about controlling the distribution of its software to eliminate non-consensual installs:

  • March: Acquired one of their distribution partners, a Canadian company called CDT (dba LoudCash). This gave them direct visibility into and greater control of many of the formerly "third party" distributors.
  • June: Claimed to have renotified its 20 million user customer base and implemented a program that notifies all users within 72 hours of install and re-notifies all users every 90 days thereafter.
  • August: Filed suit against seven individuals alleged to have illegally distributed its software using a botnet.
  • November: Announced an ongoing partnership with the FBI in breaking up a botnet ring in the Netherlands.
  • December: Ended distribution of the 180 Search Assistant and closed LoudCash (a remnant from the CDT acquisition). They claim that this removes the financial incentive for fraudulent installs.

Recent history (2006 and later)

On January 23rd, 2006, a public advocacy group filed two official complaints with the Federal Trade Commission. The Center for Democracy and Technology complaints charge 180 Solutions with engaging in unfair and deceptive business practices, deliberately duping Internet users into downloading intrusive advertising software.CDT Files Complaints Against Major Adware Distributor January 27, 2006

Despite the initiatives of 2005, 180 Solutions recently admitted that it is possible for malicious users to hack their install routines and thus cause fraudulent installs.Mea Culpa 180Solutions 5:33 PM, Feb 23, 2006 They claim that the percentage of fraudulent installs has dropped from over 10% to under 1%. Critics claim that the business model is untenable because fraud against 180 (which therefore harms unknowning users via nonconsensual installs) can never be completely removed.[http://www.benedelman.org/news/022006-1.html Nonconsensual 180 Installations Continue, Despite 180's "S3" ScreenBenjamin Edelman February 24, 2006

Mergers and acquisitions

180solutions has acquired Hotbar for an undisclosed amount of money.180solutions acquires Hotbar.http://www.zango.com/Destination/Corporate/ReadArticle.aspx?id=50 ] 180solutions will be renamed after its consumer brand: Zango. About 20 people have been laid off from Hotbar's Israeli and New York offices, 180solutions will retain 83. According to Zango VP, York Baur; the combined companies will offer 100,000 pieces of free content and the combined user base will be greater than 30,000,000 users and that around 150,000 people are signing up for their services and applications every day.

According to the 180solutions press release, Hotbar and 180solutions will merge and the combined company will be called Zango.Hotbar and 180solutions Merge; Combined Company To Be Called Zango

Hotbar

Hotbar (also known as HbTools) is a program produced by Hotbar.com, Inc. It is a plugin for Microsoft programs Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office Outlook and Outlook Express, which adds a toolbar and the option of extra skins. It also allows the user to add emoticons to emails created in Outlook or Outlook Express or check the weather report. Once installed, Hotbar may also show an advertising banner in Microsoft MSN Messenger, offering free emoticons; this banner redirects to Hotbar main page. In addition upon installation the user will get Weather forecast application.

Controversy

Hotbar is an example of adware due to its banner advertising and use of popup windows, and also an example of spyware as it monitors the webpages the user visits. Hotbar will silently download and execute code from its server, without the user knowing. Hotbar does disclose these aspects of its behavior in its Terms of Use. The user's browsing habits are sent to the Hotbar servers (adopt.hotbar.com, tooltips.hotbar.com and dynamic.hotbar.com) with a unique user ID which allows a user's browsing habits to be tracked over an extended period of time.

Hotbar can be detected and removed by several anti-spyware and anti-virus programs, including Microsoft Defender, SpyBot, and Norton Antivirus. However, some utilities do not remove Hotbar completely and leave keys behind in the Windows Registry.

Removing Hotbar from your computer system is not normally achievable without first downloading one of several Hotbar removal tools * then re-starting your computer.

Attempts to remove Hotbar using anti-virus, Spyware, and adware scanners are known to block the program's use, but rarely remove the key installations files which are write protected.

Hotbar Purchased

180solutions has acquired Hotbar for an undisclosed amount of money *. 180solutions will be renamed after its consumer brand: Zango. About 20 people have been laid off from Hotbar's Israeli and New York offices, 180solutions will retain 83. According to Zango VP, York Baur; the combined companies will offer 100,000 pieces of free content and the combined user base will be greater than 30,000,000 users and that around 150,000 people are signing up for their services and applications every day.

References

External links

See also

Advertising | Adware | Spyware | Companies based in Washington | Software companies

Zango | Hotbar

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Zango".

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