Advertising.com settles adware charges.

Advertising.com., Inc., now a subsidiary of America Online, Inc., has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges that it violated federal law by offering free security software but failing to disclose adequately that adware was bundled with that software. The settlement will require that the company clearly and prominently disclose adware bundled with software advertised to enhance security or privacy.

Advertising.com offered SpyBlast, a free security program to protect against hackers, but consumers who downloaded SpyBlast also downloaded a form of software that followed their electronic comings and goings and forcefed them pop-up ads. The FTC complaint …