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If you want to join the class-action suit, go to the law firm's Web site and fill out a form.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Bonzi company sued on behalf of all users who got fake 'error' popups


Dec. 11, 2002


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard

   The company behind an annoying Internet popup-window scam has been sued on behalf of all victimized Internet users. If you've been scammed, you can join this class-action lawsuit.
   The popup windows cited in the suit look like genuine Windows error messages but are fake. The "error messages" try to fool computer users into thinking their Windows PCs are doing something wrong. Clicking a button in the popup scam ad takes the user to a Web site run by the company that has been sued, Bonzi.com Software Inc.
   I've seen the ads myself dozens of times, and I've received e-mails from scores of readers asking whether the "error messages" are real. Some users told me they became so worried that they disconnected their computers from the Internet.
   The suit, filed in the state of Washington, claims that Bonzi.com Software "deceptively and fraudulently commandeered millions of Internet users to Bonziís commercial websites through dissemination of tens-of-millions of fraudulent Internet advertising banners that impersonated computer error messages."
   The law firm that launched the suit, Lukins & Annis P.S., says "Bonzi tricked millions of Internet users into interrupting the work they were performing to respond to the fraudulent error message, only to unexpectedly find both computer and computer user thus hijacked to defendantsí commercial web site."
   Three popup windows were cited in the lawsuit. The scam messages say: "Your Computer is Currently Broadcasting an Internet IP Address," "Your Internet Connection Is Not Optimized" and "Your Current Connection May Be Capable of Faster Speeds...."
   If you want to join the class-action suit, go to the law firm's Web site and fill out a form. Go to www.lukins.com/bonzi/.
   The Bonzi scam uses the "FUI" technique to fool innocent and trusting computer users. "FUI," which means "fake user interface," is always based on the standard Windows look. Windows does not block fake error messages.
   Sites that carry pop-up scam ads sometimes claim that they are not responsible for the advertising on their sites. When I saw a Bonzi pop-up on a site run by a respected computer journalist a few weeks ago, I asked the writer to remove the ad but was told that he had no control over advertising content. This is nonsense, of course.
   If you come across sites that display deceptive or tasteless ads, complain to the people who run the site and then remove the site from your list of favorites or bookmarks. Ask you friends and coworkers to help by doing the same thing, too.