Zango Spyware Lawsuit Dismissed

The putative class action lawsuit filed last year in federal court in Chicago against online media company Zango, a merger of 180solutions and Hot Bar, was dismissed with prejudice Sept. 6.

This legally ends the suit Logan Simios, et al. v. 180solutions Inc., which alleged that former company 180solutions' desktop advertising software is spyware. The dismissed case is not the result of a settlement and is not subject to appeal.

The case was filed Sept. 13, 2005. Today, the ad-supported software company claims 200,000 users downloading Zango, Bellevue, WA, to their desktop daily. It estimates overall users at 20 million.

Ken McGraw, Zango's executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer, said that the case's outcome is unsurprising and vindicates the company's fundamental position that its adware business model is legitimate.