Did you know that Lavasoft, the company responsible for development and distribution of the once very popular Ad-Aware, was acquired by a Canadian consortium in January this year? Well, I must admit, it was news to me.
Now, in a twist of irony, it appears that the new owners were once the target of Lavasoft’s wrath. In 2007 Lavasoft accused them of selling free versions of Ad-Aware through cyber-squatting sites – but it doesn’t end there.
According to the report, the consortium of online entrepreneurs purchased Lavasoft under the banner of an investment fund named Solaria, and the Solaria directors have now been linked to a whole bunch of sites renowned for poor ethics, porn, spyware, fraud and other downright illegal activities.
You can read through the full report HERE.
This is no reflection on the Ad-Aware software itself but if the charges hold any truth, then it sure raises some serious questions about the moral fiber and possible motives of the new owners. In my opinion, the fact that the author goes into great detail and would be open to a heavy law suit if the report were not factual tends to lend some serious credence to the accusations.
That’s a very good read, Jim. Not only are the current owners of Lavasoft a little shady, but it makes me question Lavasoft’s reputation as a whole if they would sell their company to a group with this history without investigating first.
That’s a very good read
Yes mate, I thought so too. The author has obviously researched the subject very thoroughly.
it makes me question Lavasoft’s reputation as a whole if they would sell their company to a group with this history without investigating first.
Agree, but then…money does talk!! It may well be that Lavasoft were offered a price that was just too good to refuse – the phrase would be very apt too, seeing how it was used in the Godfather movie. 🙂
Who can we trust now? Sad story.
I un-installed Ad-Aware at the end of last year, partly because it semed to be getting a bit cumbersome, but mainly becaue I was being bombarded with emailed offers. It was getting ti “Ashampoo” levels.