Myspace Spyware?

Myspace has become the most popular website in the US, passing Yahoo! as the most visited site. It shouldn't be a suprise that the adware and spyware makers are targetting it now. Right now, there's two adware makers who are trying to get their products promoted through Myspace, Zango from 180Solutions and Dollarrevenue through Regifast.com. The Zango one adds adware to a Myspace page. The Dollarrevenue one actually asks for your Myspace name and password. Exactly what is done with your log in information is not disclosed.

The first case with Zango has been reported at many news sites already, including Slashdot. A bref description is that free videos could be added to a Myspace profile, but to watch the video, you had to install Zango. This has a few problems because the terms of use for Myspace doesn't allow you to add content that is "commercial activity". By putting the supposedly free videos on a Myspace page, it is promoting a commercial product, Zango. To watch the video, you have to install Zango, a commercial product. Check out this screen shot. Lots more info at Vital Security about this.

Another recent discovery has an adware group called Regifast.com using DollarRevenue as part of their adware bundle. When installing this, you are prompted for your Myspace account info, your name and password! There's no indication of what is done with your log in information. There are several notes in the fine print that they are not affiliated with Myspace, yet the impression given is that they are. More details are at Webhelper's site.