Microsoft has announced a partnership with Washington State today, to pursue legal action to discourage developers of “scareware” programs. These trick the user into believing there is a ‘critical’ malfunction on their computer which they can only fix by buying the program. The fictitious errors of course disappear when the software is installed, and the worst thing that happens to a “customer” is a waste of money. But in some cases these programs install spyware, Trojans and other malware on the system, forcing even more “bargains” down the user’s throat, and using their machine to further distribute the scare.

The main target of the partnership is one James Reed McCreary, and his company Branch Software, which is responsible for developing Registry Cleaner XP, a piece of false maintenance software that distributes itself through misleading popups on the user’s system which claims that their machines are “damaged and corrupted” and need to be repaired by buying and running McCreary’s software. Registry Cleaner XP always finds and “fixes” the same 43 fictitious errors on the victims’ computers, charging them $39.95 for much ado about nothing.

The lawsuit, along with five others whose defendants are listed as “John Doe” due to their unknown identities, is being filed under Washington's Computer Spyware Act, by which it is illegal to misrepresent the extent to which software is required for computer security or privacy. The law allows for actual damages or statutory damages of $100,000 per violation, whichever is greater.

Washington State attorney general stated that he “won’t tolerate the use of alarmist warnings or deceptive 'free scans' to trick consumers into buying software to fix a problem that doesn’t even exist. We've repeatedly proven that Internet companies that prey on consumers' anxieties are within our reach."