[jaybat]

Anybody ever heard of Iwon? Big news portal/shopping place, mostly for me a big contest place (like $10K a day plus others).
They have a slot machine, progressive (somebody just got $17K a couple days ago) they call "The Prize Machine". They upgrade every once in a while, no big deal but this time there's other stuff with it and a notice that looked like they really wanted you to read it:
------------------
By clicking the "I Accept" button to the right, you are acknowledging that you are over 18 and have read, accept, and agree to the Prize Machine Game Official Rules and the iWon Software Product License Terms and Privacy Notice. PLEASE READ THESE CAREFULLY. They contain important information about how the Prize Machine, iWon Plus, and the iWon Search Assistant software works and about how we use anonymous information to provide users with special offers and enhanced search results when surfing the web. Thank you and enjoy playing the iWon Prize Machine.
---------
Fine and well for The Prize Machine but I took note at the Iwon Plus, Search Assistant, and especially "provide users with special offers and enhanced search results when surfing the web".
The put a new directory in my programs directory, ornum\aornum (don't know if it's relevent but Aornum is supposedly a gate to hell or something to the Greeks). Aornum.exe also showed up in my task manager - after a reboot, it's still there, so it's not just something they need to work their slot machine.
Anybody heard of ornum or aornum in the parasite sense?
I haven't uninstalled it yet, just for the heck of it I ran ad-aware - it took no notice but that may easily be because this is new (download became available with the last couple hours).
Maybe I'm not looking at a duck after all but it sure walks like one and talks like one.

[ecomcity]

iWon is a Linkshare Duper affiliate posing as a merchant collecting e-mail addresses to sell to multiple bidders and spam farms. Now the move to get more money with some questionable BHO adwarez download that is designed to CAPTURE and hold hostage their prize players browsers and systems. If they promote a "better shopping experience" and more targeted search results...they have gone to the darkside via the Gator route!

[jaybat]

"collecting e-mail addresses to sell to multiple bidders and spam farms."

After my post I looked at my prefs at Iwon - they pulled a Yahoo (or was it Lycos?). There were 20 checkboxes, all checked. Number 1, "we can send you email". Number 2-18 wer all the usual categories (autos, casinos, credit, etc) that they could send us third party email from. Then number 20, the biggue - that they could provide third parties with our personal information.

Well, I gotta uninstall this thing now, it's crashed me once trying to call home and gave me a big ugly new bar in my browser.

Even if they think people don't know about parasite-ware, if nothing else I'm surprised they'd install software named after an entrance to hell - no doubt they'll hear about that from some bible thumpers.

[ecomcity]

JayBat ..my assumptions must have been correct. Look for Adaware to label iWon.com as a full blown BHO virus to go along with their spammer of the year award. Nice move Linkshare to support obvious spammers and now parasites into your preferred merchant fold. Do you also push for fees your other merchant's to get involved in their Duper Affiliate marketing plans. Let's start getting haiko's scoop on eBates.com who just reeks of a spam frontend and BHO abuser.