Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest Class Action Settlement News!
Ascentive Reaches $9.6M Class Action Settlement Over “Scareware”
By Kimberly Mirando
Software vendor Ascentive has agreed to pay $9.6 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing it of using pop-ups and other online ads to scare consumers into purchasing unneeded software to fix “fabricated and/or overstated computer problems.”
The Ascentive settlement will resolve a class action lawsuit, entitled Ledet v. Ascentive, that alleges the software vendor used “scareware” to trick consumers into thinking their computers were infected with spyware.
Lead Plaintiff Douglass Ledet filed a class action lawsuit against Ascentive in January 2011, alleging that Ascentive “falsely identifies computer problems and characterizes them as ‘severe’ in an attempt to scare consumers into purchasing its software.”
Ledet claimed Ascentive advertises that its software will diagnose computer problems, but instead secretly installs an application that sends pop-up ads warning users they have spyware and recommending that consumers purchase the software for $29.95 to rid their computers of spyware and other problems.
As if that isn’t bad enough, Ledet says in the class action lawsuit, Ascentive doesn’t actually sell the software to consumers, but licenses it to users for one year and renews their subscriptions without adequate notice.
Ascentive denies the allegations, but has agreed to the class action lawsuit settlement to avoid ongoing litigation. The settlement covers all individuals in the United States who purchased Ascentive’s software, in addition to a subclass of all individuals whose subscriptions for products or services by Ascentive were renewed without authorization.
Keep checking TopClassActions.com for details on how to file a claim for the Ascentive False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit Settlement when the information becomes available.
The case is Douglas Ledet v. Ascentive, LLC, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Updated March 19th, 2012
All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
Suing for unpaid wages in California: Recover unpaid overtime, back pay and more
April 2, 2026 | Legal News
5 thoughts onAscentive Reaches $9.6M Class Action Settlement Over “Scareware”
The billing at Ascentive is a complete rip-off. I used the service and was not impressed. So, I cancelled the service. After which time, Ascentive continued to charge me. So, I called again and finally the fee stopped.
Months later, I am being billed again a recurring fee. I phoned and asked why I was being billed when the account was cancelled. The woman on the phone said my account was automatically renewed. I asked on whose authority. She said it’s automatically done by a computer. Clearly, Ascentive’s billing policies are totally incompetent, unethical, and fraudulent.
Totally embittering waste of time.
I bought every disk they had. I think it was 4 or 5 total all for different things. It was years ago but I remember the pop ups. I spent close to if not more than $200 with them
Ascentive will probably be the focus of more lawsuits since their software plants RAT (Remote Access Tool) in it’s software to cause all kinds of havoc with a computer. I call them Remote Access Trojans….it’s basically taking control of your PC which should be a federal offense. Since they do not “own” your PC.