If You Can't BEAT 'EM, SUE 'EM!

"Microsoft has filed what are believed to be the first lawsuits designed to stop the growing practice of malvertising

"The company has filed five suits against unnamed individuals who it has accused of posting malicious and deceptive code through ads on its MSN advertising network.

"The suits allege that individuals using the business names Soft Solutions, Direct Ad, qiweroqw.com, ITmeter INC, and ote2008.info used malvertisements to distribute the malicious software or present deceptive websites that peddled scareware to unsuspecting online users.

"Associate general counsel Tim Cranton said that although Microsoft doesn't know the names of the specific individuals involved, by filing the civil suits in a US court it hoped to uncover the individuals responsible and prevent them from continuing to deploy malvertising.

"`We hope that today's filings will help deter malvertising in the future,` Cranton said in a blog post. The documents were filed in King County Superior Court in Seattle, Washington."

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