Symantec and McAfee slapped with fines over auto-renewal practices

The New York Attorney General’s office has slapped Symantec and McAfee with $375,000 in fines over charges they automatically renewed customer’s subscriptions without their consent.

Both companies also agreed to make clear disclosures of renewal fees when customers sign up. Automatic renewals are nothing new, and anti-virus software vendors like Symantec and McAfee say it was for their customer’s safety as auto-renewals prevent them from the risks associated with having out of date anti-virus software on their computers. However, they worked with the New York AG’s office for 2 years to improve their practices.