Court Judgment Sets Legal Precedent; Gamers Rejoice As Antivirus Company Stands Up for Consumer Rights
DUBAI, UAE – 09th July 2015: Internet security expert Avira today announced it has won a court order in Europe against Freemium.com, a company funded by media giant ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG. The court judgment allows Avira’s antivirus software to continue to warn its customers of potentially unwanted application downloads that come bundled with popular games and toolbars published by Freemium.com and other download sites.
The court order sets a legal precedent for how Internet security companies like Avira can protect consumers from potential ad-ware injection, malware, and unintended downloads introduced by installer companies like Freemium.
One of Freemium’s major investors, ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, hosts a suite of gaming sites and download sites, as well as Axel Springer’s Computerbild.de download portal, which all use Freemium’s installer software to earn money on the downloads of products they offer. Avira’s antivirus software detects and flags unintended downloads with a safety warning, so Freemium filed a cease-and-desist letter against Avira GmbH claiming anti-competitive practices, and demanding that Avira should not be allowed to block the downloads.
The courts disagreed.
According to the terms of the legal judgment, Avira’s antivirus software is allowed to continue to provide a safety notice flagging these downloads as ‘potentially unwanted applications’ (PUA), in keeping with Avira’s security policies. Freemium was denied its request for a cease-and-desist and, as the losing party, was ordered to pay all court costs.
“This ruling establishes a major legal milestone in the fight against misleading consumers into unintentionally installing unwanted software onto their computers,” said Travis Witteveen, CEO of Avira GmbH. “Earlier this year we established clear guidelines defining unethical software behaviour, and defining what our security software will block. We believe in ‘freemium’ and advertising-supported business models, however they must remain transparent and ethical in their implementation.”
Links
Install Avira Internet Security to stop misleading downloads onto your computer: http://www.avira.com
Follow Avira’s blog: http://blog.avira.com/
Find community, support and tips on social media: https://www.facebook.com/avira and https://twitter.com/avira
About Avira
More than 100 million consumers and small businesses depend upon Avira’s security expertise and award-winning antivirus software, making the company the number-two market share leader globally. Avira is ranked #1 in technology innovation according to ABI Research; recommended by Consumer Reports for its free antivirus software; cited by OPSWAT as the #1 fastest-growing antivirus vendor in 2012 and the #2 largest vendor worldwide in 2011; and has received a nearly unbroken string of Virus Bulletin VB100 awards for the past decade.
Avira provides IT-security protection to computers, smartphones, servers and networks, delivered as both software and cloud-based services. Visit www.avira.com.
About emt Distribution
emt Distribution is one of the leading global value added distributors with a foot print spanning several continents with offices located in Australia, Austria, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, UK and UAE. The company has been part of the technology distribution landscape for over 15 years. The company’s portfolio consists of security, virtualisation, communication, and analytics solutions.
emt Distribution is well positioned to provide pre-and post-sales support with their team of experienced product specialists. Its team possesses leading industry qualifications, and is equipped with all relevant vendor certification to act as “Trusted Advisors” for channel partners and end-users.