It appears to be a routine browsing error, but instead of "Page not found," the message warns, "You are under investigation."
"The material you have been viewing has triggered inquiries into your Internet records," it continues. "Click Here to stop this investigation."
This is what Robin Hood Software refers to as the "hard sell." The company makes a "security application" called Evidence Eliminator that purports to hide every trace of your illicit Internet activities, and its fear-inducing spam has flooded the Internet.
The ads – which pop up from porn sites, stick out in Usenet newsgroups dedicated to girly pics and stealing software, and also scare you in your e-mail inbox – say that they've found out your dirty little secrets, and that the appropriate authorities have been notified.
Some of the ads even display seemingly secret information about a computer, such as its drive contents and IP address.
"Your hard drive is on the Internet," says one. "Everyone can see. What are all those PICTURES?" Another ad reminds people that "the world situation has reached a crisis," and ISPs are allowing authorities to search their records. "Police raids have already started today," it warns. Your goose is roasted, in other words, unless you buy the $150 software.
Of course, very little of what the ads say is true. The message doesn't perform any actual "scan," no investigation has been triggered and it has no way of knowing what's on a specific machine.
But the ads look sufficiently authentic to people who have something to fear (and something to hide) that many are duped, said Keith Little, a computer consultant in Manson, Washington, who has criticized Robin Hood's actions on discussion sites.
"I hate to say it, but our fellow humans are not all very bright," Little said. "Barnum was right – even though I'm not a cynic and I don't dislike people, it just is true that a significant proportion of humanity is going to be frightened by such messages and will purchase this. I participate fairly regularly on (hacker discussion sites), and I have seen posts from people who commented that they've bought it."
Robin Hood's ads are clearly deceptive, according to Jennifer Mandigo, a staff attorney at the Federal Trade Commission, and may be actionable.
"Their product can be 100 percent legitimate," she said, "but if the marketer is lying to get you to buy it, then that's a violation of our act." Mandigo said that no action has been taken against the company, but "that doesn't mean there's nothing in the works."
And she added that it did not matter that the company was not based in the United States, because "if they're doing business in the U.S., then they've made themselves subject to our laws."
Robin Hood has suggested that some of its ads are being produced by the company's affiliates, who get a cut of sales of the software. Mandigo said that if it can be proven that the affiliates acted with the blessing of the company, Robin Hood would still be held responsible.
Eric Lee Green, a computer programmer who has long been on the case of Robin Hood Software, thinks he has proof that Robin Hood encourages its affiliates to engage in questionable marketing activities.
For example, one message that Green has uncovered from the company tells affiliates to use "faked links, push links" and "pop-ups."
The company suggests that affiliates carry out these steps to maximize "impact": "Insert several sex/porn-related keywords in the HTML source, click the link and see what happens. Basically you can determine what keywords your surfer sees when he arrives at our site to be 'investigated.' If you have any keywords you want us to cover which are not already being picked-up, please advise?"
Green has also received an e-mail message from a person who said that Evidence Eliminator ads "destroyed" a friend's marriage.
The e-mail says that, on seeing the warning of a pending investigation, the fellow's wife, "who isn't very experienced with the world of the Internet, went off her TREE at him and went into a state of PANIC!"
But Robin Hood Software says the message is a "bizarre and rather sad fantasy story."
For his public warnings on the software, Little has earned himself a spot on Robin Hood's "Dis-Information page," which takes to task everyone who has publicly questioned the company's tactics.
The page says Little's claims are baseless, and that he's only attacking Evidence Eliminator to get publicity for his own website.
Wired News' requests to Robin Hood Software were met with little response: One e-mail from Robin Hood suggested its website was a good place for information; a follow-up request pressing the firm for details of its marketing practices went unanswered.
But on its site, the company insists that its ads are not spam.
