Microsoft and Washington’s Attorney General Rob McKenna have filed suit against two Texas businesses that scare people into buying a Registry Cleaner XP service for $39.95. The action has been filed under the Computer Spyware Act. The Branch Software and Alpha Red messages resemble system warnings. McKenna is hoping that the lawsuit will make the “spyware purveyors” to cease the practice and pay customer restitution.

McKenna says the action “has yanked the fear factor dial out of the hands of businesses that use scareware as a marketing tool and have spun it toward them.”

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