Text 18017, 97 rader
Skriven 2007-05-19 09:42:08 av mike (1:379/45)
Ärende: Report - AV companies hiding credit card charges
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From: mike <mike@barkto.com>


http://weblog.infoworld.com/zeroday/archives/2007/05/report_av_compa.html

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In a new report issued on the WindowsSecrets.com resource site, researchers
with the group have uncovered what they claim to be a dirty secret of the
consumer anti-virus market.

According to the site's editors, recent tests carried out by WindowsSecrets
staffers found that well-known consumer anti-virus providers including
Symantec, McAfee and Microsoft are making it hard for end users to realize that
they may be recurrently charged for subscriptions and updates to their
anti-malware products.

In the report published on May 18, WindowsSecrets contributor Scott Dunn
-- who is also a contributing editor with PC World Magazine -- contends
that the AV vendors deliberately hide terms of their product subscription
programs in the fine print of their Web sites, and fail to warn users before
charging their credit card accounts for periodic updates.

After one of the site's readers highlighted the issue in Symantec's Norton
Internet Security product line, Dunn said he dug a little deeper and found that
the situation exists across the industry.

"The unfortunate truth is that the practice of enrolling customers in automatic
renewal for antivirus and other security products is not limited to Symantec.
Indeed, it has become an industry standard," Dunn writes. "Microsoft Windows
Live OneCare, Symantec, McAfee, and ZoneAlarm all enroll customers into the
companies' automatic subscription-renewal programs with the purchase of a
subscription-based product. In most cases, customers aren't given a choice to
opt out, and only find out about the annual renewals when they receive an
e-mail notice or see a charge on their credit card."

"For some users, automatic renewal is a boon, since it saves the annual chore
of manually renewing subscriptions to new virus definitions," Dunn said.
"Others view the policy with suspicion, especially since these policies are
often not made clear at the outset. Moreover, the amount charged for the
renewal each year can change, depending on the going rate for the subscription
at the time of the renewal."

After buying products from all the listed vendors, Dunn found that Microsoft's
Windows Live OneCare had the "most-hidden automatic subscription-renewal
policy" and was "the most difficult to learn how to cancel."

In the midst of Microsoft's 6,708-word user licensing document the company
warns that it "may automatically renew your service and charge you for any
renewal term," but it offers little else in the way of related details.

In the section of the Windows Live OneCare agreement where a customer enters
their credit card information and may review the terms of transaction before
confirming their purchase, users must click through to another page where they
are informed: "This is an annual subscription that will be automatically
charged to your credit card every year at the then current price unless you
cancel your account or select an alternative plan."

Dunn rates McAfee as second worst for hiding its subscription pricing policies
deep in its 3,280-word end user licensing agreement, with Symantec getting
better reviews for being more upfront with its potential for automatic renewal
charges and for making it easier for customers to opt-out.

ZoneAlarm was the most forthcoming vendor tested by WindowsSecrets, providing a
check box on its purchasing agreement that reads: "Automatically renew my
subscription upon expiration."

According to Brian Livingston, editorial director of Seattle-based
WindowsSecrets, the policy of burying future subscription charges on the part
of AV vendors is nothing short of "consumer fraud."

"We support the idea of people renewing their AV every year, but just because
you're a software company that doesn't give you right to hide the fact that you
want to charge people's credit cards again and again without telling them about
it first," said Livingston, who is also a former contributor to InfoWorld.
"This seems like a basic consumer protection issue in that consumers should be
fully informed before giving that type of approval, and have the ability to
turn services off easily on the order form."

Livingston said that when contacted about the issue, Microsoft officials said
they follow the same practice in every country that allows it, including the
U.S.

The expert contends that end users or some industry body must lean on the AV
companies to make their subscription policies more transparent.

"Companies simply wouldn't be allowed to get away with this type behavior of in
any other line of business, but clearly the software industry thinks it can
repeatedly charge people under the pretense that they need AV protection,"
Livingston said. "The point is, if customers were reminded every twelve months
that it was time to renew their AV, they could make educated decisions about
whether they wanted to renew what they've been using, or change products."
===

 /m

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