Zango Shuts Down Operations

SEATTLE — Adware maker Zango has shut down its operations.

XBIZ emails and calls to Zango’s Seattle office went unanswered through late Tuesday after The Register reported that the company was forced to pull the plug on its business after it was left unable to pay off its debts.

The report further said that video search engine firm Blinkx purchased a portion of its assets from the company.

"The bank foreclosed on Zango and Blinkx purchased some technical assets from the bank, including some IP and hardware, which constituted about 10 percent of Zango's total assets," a Blinkx spokeswoman said.

Zango’s closure may mean the end of the adware business model. Claria, formally Gator; WhenU; and DirectRevenue all have closed up shop in recent years.

Zango started off as 180 Solutions in 2004, raising $40 million from Spectrum Equity Investors and growing to employ more than 230 workers at its peak.

The company has faced accusations of deceptive installation practices and problems in removing its software once installed led to a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission.

Zango settled the suit in November 2006, agreeing to pay a fine of $3 million without admitting guilt. The firm said that its problems were due to rogue affiliates.

The company currently is embroiled in a $750,000 lawsuit in California, where Epic Cash has asked a court to rule against the adware maker and AdultFriendFinder.

Zango and AdultFriendFinder are accused of "diverting traffic away from Epic Cash sites and converted Epic Cash’s business to their benefit,” by taking advantage of plaintiff’s marketing efforts, presumably when potential consumers are inputting certain keywords or searching for specific sites, which subsequently leads to Zango pop-up ads.

Ken Smith, Zango’s co-founder and former chief technology officer, said that Zango finished its life with a “fire sale” on his blog.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

X3 Expo Unveils 2026 All-Stars, Show Dates Set for Jan. 16-17

X3 Expo returns to the historic Hollywood Palladium on January 16–17, bringing together fans, creators and industry insiders for North America’s largest assembly of adult entertainment stars, alongside a dazzling lineup of attractions spotlighting the cutting edge of modern media and pleasure tech.

Trump Administration Issues Executive Order Against 'Debanking'

The White House on Thursday issued an executive order limiting financial institutions’ ability to restrict access to financial services for people or groups involved in lawful industries, a longtime goal of adult industry advocates and stakeholders.

Go.cam Launches Free Age Verification Solution, Anti-Fraud Features

Go.cam has announced that its age verification solution is now free with updated anti-fraud and identity protection features.

Florida AG Sues EU-Based Adult Companies for Failing to Age-Verify Users

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit Monday with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida against five EU-based adult companies for allegedly failing to require age verification before allowing access to adult content.

SkyPrivate Launches 'Telegram Pay-Per-Minute' Feature

SkyPrivate has launched a new pay-per-minute (PPM) private show option on Telegram.

Pineapple Support to Host 'Money and Mental Health' Online Event

Pineapple Support is hosting a free, online event to help performers balance financial wellbeing with mental health, Aug. 18-19.

Arcom Warns 5 Adult Sites Over Age Verification

French media regulator Arcom has sent enforcement notices to the operators of five adult websites that the agency says have failed to implement age verification as required under France’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

MojoHost Debuts NVIDIA Blackwell-Powered Hosting

MojoHost has announced the launch of NVIDIA Blackwell-powered hosting featuring RTX 6000 Pro MaxQ GPUs.

FSC: Identity Theft Targeting Adult Performers

The Free Speech Coalition has put out an alert warning of an individual found to be targeting adult performers for identity theft.

Assylum.com Implements New Age Verification System

Assylum.com has introduced an age verification system across its member sites.

Show More