Cupertino, Calif. (Aug. 4, 2004) — Symantec, a global provider of information security software and services, has found itself on the wrong end of a lawsuit filed by a San Diego-based software concern, charging Symantec unfairly categorized its proprietary product as “spyware.”
According to CNET, TrekEight, the manufacturer and marketer of Spyware Nuker — a product that it said identifies and removes spyware on computer hard drives — claims Symantec's Web site and its flagship Norton AntiVirus software has repeatedly identified TrekEight's software as a potentially damaging piece of "adware."
As a result of Symantec's actions, TrekEight said it has lost distributors, while its own distributors have lost the ability to advertise on Google.
"Because of Symantec's false statements, TrekEight has suffered significant losses in sales and damage to its reputation," the company said in the complaint. "The computer programming code which comprises Spyware Nuker is incapable of performing the functions typically associated with spyware and adware."
Symantec said the company had not seen a copy of TrekEight's lawsuit and could not comment.
— WebCPA staff
