As a part of settlement terms with the office of the New York Attorney General, antivirus vendors Symantec and McAfee would be paying a US$750,000 to the office in penalties and costs. The two companies - who have agreed to settle allegations of automatically charging software subscription renewal fees, without customers' permission - will be making a $375,000 apiece payment to the attorney general's office.

In addition to the monetary penalty, Symantec and McAfee have agreed to another clause of the settlement agreement certified by New York's attorney general, whereby the companies would bring about greater transparency with regard to their consumer subscription terms and renewal policies.

The charges levied on Symantec and McAfee by the attorney general's office came after the investigators found that the country's two top vendors of computer security software had "failed to adequately disclose" to consumers that their subscriptions would be automatically renewed, for which consumers would be charged.

Commenting on the allegedly 'hidden' subscription renewal policy of Symantec and McAfee, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said: "Companies cannot play hide the ball when it comes to the fees consumers are being charged. Consumers have a right to know what they are paying, especially when they are unwittingly agreeing to renewal fees that will not appear on their credit card bill for months."