Movieland - Early Consumer Complaints

Early Consumer Complaints

Movieland.com began operations sometime in the fall of 2005 or earlier. Consumer complaints began soon thereafter. Most consumers claimed they had never signed up for the free trial, never used the service, and never even heard of Movieland until they got their first pop-up demand for payment. Some said they found the software on their computers after downloading a screensaver or other free utility. The company denied that it installed its software by stealthy means.

Media coverage as early as January 2006 recounted consumer complaints and mentioned that several anti-spyware companies were buying Google advertisements boasting their product's ability to "Remove Movieland Now". In a report updated February 20, 2008, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School calls Movieland's MediaPipe component "badware" because "it does not fully disclose what it is installing, does not completely remove all components and 'obligations' during the uninstall process, and modifies other software without disclosure." Richard Stiennon of IT-Harvest referred to Movieland as a form of "Ransomware" due to its behaviour. As of July 2008, the MediaPipe report is still cited by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.