In a novel ruling, it's not the Adware guys made to pay the price but the advertisers:

Priceline.com, Travelocity.com and Cingular Wireless have settled over charges that they used secret adware Internet software programs as marketing tools, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Monday.

This is the first time marketers have been held responsible for ads displayed through adware, the software that automatically displays promotional material, Cuomo's office said in a statement.

More on this here at CNET. Going after the advertisers is a pretty interesting tactic, but it seems to be having an impact. How much, we'll have to wait and see...