I know very few people, other than lawyers, that get excited about corporate court cases. But, I want to share with you a recent decision that I believe is cause for every computer user to celebrate.
This week, a United States District Court judge ruled in Malwarebytes’ favor, dismissing a lawsuit brought against us by Enigma Software Group USA LLC (“Enigma”). Essentially, they sued us because we classified two of their software programs as Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs).
Sounds mundane, but the reality is that this is not only a critical win for Malwarebytes, but for all security providers who will continue to have legal protection to do what is right for their users. This decision affirms our right to enable users by giving them a choice on what belongs on their machines and what doesn’t.
Those of you that follow this blog know that for years, we have taken an aggressive stance against PUPs. We continue to monitor all known software against Malwarebytes’ PUP criteria to give our users the choice to select which programs you want to keep or remove from your computer. We strongly believe that you should be allowed to make this choice, and we will continue to defend your right to do so.
This company was founded on a real problem I experienced and a dream that everyone at Malwarebytes still affirms: that computer users have a right to choose what’s on their computers. As PUPs became more prevalent and problematic, we began offering protection against them too, a choice that is now backed by the United States District Court.
If you are interested in the brief news release we shared today, it can be found here.
A copy of the US District Court Clerk’s filing (Case 5:17-cv-02915-EJD Document 105) can be found online here.
