Avira Wins Court Order to Stop Freemium.com From Misleading Consumers with Ad-Ware and Unwanted Downloads

 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.”