• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, February 21, 2006

Adware company 180solutions once again this week found itself on the defensive after researcher Ben Edelman published an account of rogue installations of the company's software.

Edelman's post, which appeared Monday, showed how a distributor took control of his computer and installed 180solutions' ad-serving software without his consent via an exploit in Internet Explorer.

The post comes at a time when consumer groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology, as well as regulatory authorities like the Federal Trade Commission, have run out of patience with some adware purveyors.

Last month, the Center for Democracy and Technology filed a complaint against 180solutions with the Federal Trade Commission, asking that body to take legal action against the company. And, earlier this month, FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said the agency is mulling the prospect of outing the brands that use adware to market their products and services, in hopes of choking off the money that ultimately pays for all those pop-ups.

While adware isn't unlawful, distributing it without consent is. 180solutions and other adware companies maintain that they shouldn't be held responsible for the actions of third parties, who find ways to spread ad-serving software to consumers.

In his post, Edelman stated that he was declining to reveal the identity of the distributor to 180solutions, because he had "run out of patience for being outside quality control staff for 180solutions."

Regardless, late Monday night, within 24 hours of Edelman's post, 180solutions issued a press release stating that it had discovered the identity of the publisher. "[T]he company, through its own policing mechanisms, was able to track down the nefarious actor responsible and shut him down," stated the company.

Still, 180solutions, and other adware companies that hope to stay in business, must find less reactive strategies for stopping drive-by installations.