Two of the nation’s largest security software companies have agreed to clearly detail the terms of subscription renewals and pay penalties totaling $750,000 in a settlement with New York’s attorney general.
Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo had accused Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc. of renewing customers’ software subscriptions without their knowledge.
The California-based companies produce software to protect computers from an assortment of viruses and spyware.
Symantec said in a statement Wednesday that it has worked to improve the auto-renewal subscription process to “make it more transparent and visible.”
McAfee spokesman Mark Cochran said that his company has been working to clarify and improve its auto-renewal subscription process.
He said future enhancements will make it easier for customers to opt-out of the service.
(Source: WCBSTV)
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2 Responses
Very, very true. I got an e-mail, not saying that ‘it was time to renew’ but that ‘by the way, you’ve been renewed.’ Even though it took less than 15 minutes for them to unsubscribe me, it took around a week until the money was refunded, and I had to borrow money to make sure some checks wouldn’t bounce (I’m a bochur, I don’t have that money at any given time). I don’t think it was on purpose, though.
Of course, the question now is, do the consumers get any of the $750G?
This sounds like another shakedown by the Spacieme himself. Must be something to do with his Sicilian roots…. Oh no! Was that racist?