MySpace users beware, it appears that spyware/adware companies are stooping to even new lows and creating false profiles with the intention of pushing adware. Zango, the company behind Hotbar and the Zango Search Assistant, is the culprit.. Zango was formed by the merger of Hotbar and 180Solutions a short while ago, and apparently now has had their software pushed to people via MySpace profiles in popups and maybe even false advertising:
One of the MySpace profiles pushed a toolbar and programs designed to "protect kids from predators," Boyd wrote in a blog entry over the weekend. The other popped up an extra window prompting the visitor to accept a licence to play a video file, he wrote.
Zango immediately has come out and state that the profiles were created by a "company developer" and that they were "a mistake". Regardless, the pages did exist, and it shows a concept that unfortunately may become quite common. One of them has been deleted, and the other may soon follow. But with spyware being such a big business, I doubt it will stay gone for good.