[tschrock]

;( There is a nifty little scam going on where unsuspecting consumers install MediaPass software on their computer hoping to download music and video files. Except when they agree to install the software, they are also agreeing to allow MoviePass to use their computer's hard drive and internet connection bandwidth for their purposes. Oh, and they also make you agree that they can sell your personal information to their affiliates - of course.

With that aside, when you install the MoviePass software, you are installing a free trial. Again, in that nasty little terms of service agreement you agree that if you do not cancel your trial BEFORE it expires, that you will pay them $29.99 a month for their service. Once the trial expires, a box will start popping up on your screen, increasing in frequency over time, asking you for your billing information.

If you remove the software and just forget about it, you are caught in yet another clause in their TOS that states that if you do not immediately provide your billing information, they will bill you for an entire year of service (a $359.88 tab) and then turn you over to a collection agency.

The only way to stop this cycle (easily) is to cancel your subscription immediately unless you intent to subscribe to their services. To do this you MUST call their toll-free number.

After all of that I have to say it is pretty crappy that this scam is actually working on people. If you have any influence over the general public (or at least your local LAN), let people know about this shady operation.

Most importantly, DO NOT remove the MoviePass software before you call to cancel the account they have open for you (yes, if you have the MoviePass pop-ups, they have an account for you). They will require a number from their software to deactivate your account. Once you have killed your account, you can remove their software to stop those annoying pop-ups.

We have sent a press release to our local media outlets and made it available on our homepage. If you want more info on MoviePass or the MediaPipe software, visit www.moviepass.tv.

[jmmijo]

Interesting, thanks for this tidbit of info, however, I wonder what would happen if you send them bogus information for the trial software or do they require a CC up front ?!?

I currently subscribe to Comcast and they have the On Demand service which is quite nice along with their DVR box I must say

Who needs anything other then this or the equivilent Tivo service from a Satellite service...

[tschrock]

Good question. From what I can tell, the Movie Pass people just intimidate you into paying. Some people have told me they called and gave their personal information. WHATEVER you do, if you have this on your computer, DO NOT give them any additional personal information!!!

It seems like a big DUH, but I had a customer do that very thing yesterday.

[tschrock]

I was researching the latest variant to remove MoviePass for one of my customers. I went to their website and read the terms of service (I had looked at them a few months ago) and they changed! They took down their toll-free number and created a subscription cancellation page.

They didn't even make it a link, so you have to copy and paste it into your browser window. Then if you have a clean system it tells you access is denied, and asks you to reinstall MoviePass!

If you have an infected system, it lets you in.

Whatever you do, do not reinstall MoviePass. You don't have to pay these people a dime. Remove Moviepass and then report these jerks to the FTC!!! This is such a SCAM!

[Relic]

There ain't no free lunch.

Far too many people click the "I Agree" button before reading what they are agreeing to. Is that a scam? Well, not if you read their terms of service, which you are "supposed" to do before agreeing to it.

Yeah, it's shadey, but that doesn't make it illegal. Obviously, stupidity isn't illegal, people are being sucked in to this. ;(

[tschrock]

The people behind MoviePass have bottled up their software under a new name - popcorn.net. Popcorn.net is just as hard to remove as moviepass, but luckily all of the file names are almost identical. They dropped the mediaPipe name and replaced it with the more generic Download Manager.

[jmmijo]

So I wonder of the the anti-spyware apps have taken notice of this one yet ?!?

[Cormac]

Update:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/16/washington_movie_spyware_lawsuit/

[felix]

Hopefully they get 6 months in federal PMITA prison, though I doubt it.

If you have a spyware authour as your biach in prison, do they continually popup and remind you that you could have virii or infections, or that you could be running faster?