SpyWare Investors

Investors Supporting Spyware
Benjamin Edelman - Spyware Research, Legislation, and Suits

Major investment firms help support the operations of large US-based spyware companies. This page gives a summary of such companies and the investment firms supporting them. See listing criteria.

Related Projects

180solutions & Affiliate Commissions

Advertisers Using WhenU

WhenU Violates Own Privacy Policy

Documentation of Gator Advertisements and Targeting

"Spyware": Research, Testing, Legislation, Suits

Other Research by Ben Edelman

Company (products)	Investment amount, firm (with link to SEC disclosures), date	Controversial product characteristics / my research / references
180solutions (Zango, n-Case)	$40 million - Spectrum Equity Investors - March 2004 Other investments: Cellular One, Loews Cineplex	installation through security holes claiming affiliate commissions covering web sites with competitors' sites
Claria / Gator (GAIN)	$58+ million - investment dates unknown U.S. Venture Partners - Other investments: Ask Jeeves, Cisco, Iomega, Sun Greylock - Other investments: DoubleClick, Evite, Filene's Basement, LinkedIn, Red Hat, Staples, Upromise Crosslink Capital - Other investments: Broderbund, CompUSA, Emachines, TiVo Garage Technology Ventures - Other investments: Digital Envoy, The Motley Fool Rosewood Stone Group - Other investments: Allaire, Concentric Network, Salon.com, The Well Investor AB - Other investments: Ericsson, Saab, Scania Technology Crossover Ventures - Other investments: Brightmail, c\|net, eBags, eHarmony, Expedia, Fandango, MyPoints, Netflix, Real - Also invested in spyware remover Webroot	confusing installations with lengthy, poorly-presented, one-sided licenses covering web sites with ads for competitors making false claims about business practices
DirectRevenue (OfferOptimizer, many aliases)	$20 million - Insight Venture Partners - April 2004 Other investments: Hitwise, Kanoodle $6.7 million - Technology Investment Capital Corp - August 2004 Interview re DirectRevenue practices	installation through security holes deleting competitors from users' disks covering web sites with competitors' sites Newsweek article: use of many aliases, claiming affiliate commissions advertiser list forthcoming
eXact Advertising (BargainBuddy, BullsEye)	$15 million - Technology Investment Capital Corp - November 2004	installation through security holes claiming affiliate commissions covering web sites with competitors' sites advertiser list forthcoming

These investments total more than $139 million.

Links labeled access SEC information about the specified investment firms. Although some investment firms share similar names, I believe the links point to disclosures from the firms investing in the specified companies. Where available, I also provide information about selected well-known investments by these firms.

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Criteria

The table above lists software companies meeting two criteria:

1) I consider their products spyware, due to tracking and/or collection of sensitive information (often, lists of web sites users visit) either without any notice and consent at all, or without meaningful, clear notice yielding informed consent; and

2) They have received major financial investments.

Send suggestions for addition.

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Disclosures

My interest in spyware originally arose in part from a prior consulting engagement in which I served as an expert to parties adverse to Claria in litigation. See Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Company, LLC, et al. v. the Gator Corporation. More recently, I have served as an expert or consultant to other parties adverse to spyware companies in litigation or contemplated litigation.

This page is my own work - created on my own, without approval by any client, without payment from any client.

Last Updated: February 9, 2005 - Sign up for notification of major updates and related work.