AOL 9.0 branded 'badware'

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Anti-spyware initiative Stopbadware.org is currently investigating suggestions that AOL 9.0 installs additional software without notifying users.

The free version of AOL's software has been branded as 'badware' by the group because it adds certain components to users' browsers and taskbars without disclosing what is occurring, according to an investigative report compiled by the initiative's leaders Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society and Oxford University's Oxford Internet Institute.

Stopbadware.org also claims that AOL 9.0 installs additional and unnecessary software without telling users. It advises users not to install the version it tested until the issues have been resolved.

Despite the findings, Stopbadware.org recognises that the behaviour is not characteristically AOL's style.

"AOL is a trusted brand and has always been a leader in the fight against badware," said John Palfrey, co-director of StopBadware.org and executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School.

"Clearly, AOL does not belong in the same category as the malicious badware providers we have previously identified, but the free version of AOL 9.0 that we tested, in our view, does not live up to the company's rich legacy."

AOL has responded to findings and has vowed to take action.

"Upon providing AOL with an advanced copy of our report, we have been very impressed with its response to identify and rectify potential problems," added Palfrey.

Earlier this month, search giant Google signed up to do its bit in the fight against badware.

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