Controversial adware firm Zango was sold last week, following a bank foreclosure after its failure to honor over $44 million worth of debts.

The company launched over a decade ago as 180solutions, after which it changed its moniker several times: 180solutions and Hotbar, before concluding its trajectory as Zango. Security firms — to which it often conveyed threatening letters, and the occasional lawsuit — gave it flak for installing potentially harmful ad programs onto users' computers without their awareness or permission, all while offering them advergames or other material available free elsewhere.

It also redistributed content to which it had no evident rights, eWeek noted.

In 2006, the Federal Trade Commission charged Zango with Deceptive Failure Adequately to Disclose Adware, Unfair Installation of Adware and Unfair Uninstall Practices. Zango later agreed to restructure its business practices and pay $3 million in reparations.

Its departure marks "the end of the controversial adware business model," the Register writes, noting that other such businesses — Claria (Gator), DirectRevenue and WhenU — long since ceased operations.

Former CTO Ken Smith dubbed Zango's timely departure a "fire sale" in a blog post titled "What Zango Got Right" — a list of the controversial ad firm's little-known merits. Such traits include "great culture" and "a unique and innovative business model."

"[If] like most people, you never worked at Zango, and your only acquaintance with Zango as a company was through the various things that got reported about us in the media, you may find most of what I say to be strange or even unbelievable. But […] what Zango did right was fairly impressive, and is worth talking about publically [sic]," he pontificated.