On 2 Aug 2012, at 17:31, Rob Weir wrote: > > Right. This is how it seems to work: > > 1) They buy advertisements on Google and Bing and spam social > networks, offering OpenOffice,Free Office and similar keywords. These > lure users into going to their page. > > 2) The pick URL's and brand the site in a way that makes it look official. > > 3) To download OpenOffice you need to use their special "downloader" > tool. The main purpose of the downloader tool is to install other > unrelated applications onto your system. It may or may not then > install OpenOffice. > > 4) These other applications are sponsored apps, meaning another > company is paying for these applications to be promoted. That is the > source of revenue for the websites that do this.
The other way the scam works, which has been a constant source of problems for OpenOffice.org, is that to proceed to the download the scammer requires a small payment - maybe $10 or $25. The download then proceeds (maybe even via the official download network!) and the transaction is forgotten. But in the small-print, the victim has "agreed" not to a one-time payment but rather to a regular "subscription". The scammer then "legitimately" collects regular payments until the victim spots them and attempts to stop them. Stopping them can also be very hard. The (long-term) solution to both kinds of scams is two-fold; encouraging and enabling users to complain to the trading standards offices involved, and the trademark holder intervening for abuse of the trademark. Only by establishing a reputation for spirited defence by the project can scammers be encouraged to go pick some other target. S. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
