BEIJING, July 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. ("Qihoo 360" or the "Company") (NYSE: QIHU), the leading Internet company in China as measured by active user base, today issued a statement refuting allegations from Anonymous Analytics.
In addition to the false allegations that Qihoo 360 has previously addressed, the report issued on July 2, 2012 by Anonymous Analytics, alleges that data provided by a comScore from February through April 2012 "proves definitively that Qihoo has been lying to investors about its traffic volume." Qihoo 360 strongly rejects this and all other allegations in the report.
1) The hao.360.cn and www.hao123.com traffic data quoted in the article is inaccurate and misleading. The data was derived from "panel method" and rely on sampling information only. The accuracy of such method highly depends on the sample size and distribution. Sampling data has many limitations and biases. comScore's panel was rarely installed among Chinese Internet users in the past because it ran into conflict with most Internet security solutions in China. As such the panels tended to have a disproportionally small installation base among hao.360.cn users because substantially all of such users use 360 security solutions.
2) The sampling method significantly undercounting Qihoo 360's traffic data. Qihoo 360 and comScore have been working together over the past few months to improve the penetration rate of comScore's panel among security product users, mainly by making the panel more user-friendly. Over the course of last few months, comScore has offered several revised versions of the panel software to accommodate such changes. While comScore has made meaningful progress, the panel's sample distribution is still highly biased.
3) Qihoo 360 voluntarily added comScore tag to its websites to help comScore adjust and improve its statistic model on panel data. In recent months, the tag data has shown similar traffic volume and trends compared to the Company's internal tracking and other third party sources. During this period, an European third-party anti-virus software mistakenly identified the tag as a Trojan and we temporarily remove the tag from hao.360.cn to ensure user experience till the issue was resolved.
4) A spokesperson for comScore commented "comScore have been working and is still working with Qihoo 360 and other publishers in China for Unified Digital Measurement (UDM). At this point, comScore has not released any UDM data for Qihoo Sites. We do not comment on publisher's unpublished data or any work in progress"
"We will continue to work with comScore to enhance tag data tracking and use that to adjust and improve panel data collecting methodology and statistic model, and eventually to provide accurate and reliable third party traffic data to investors and public in the near future." commented Mr. Xiangdong Qi, President of Qihoo 360.
About Qihoo 360
Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (NYSE: QIHU) is a leading Internet company in China. The Company is also the number one provider of Internet and mobile security products in China as measured by its user base, according to iResearch. Qihoo 360 also provides users with secure access points to the Internet via its market leading web browsers and application stores. The Company has built one of the largest open Internet platforms in China. Qihoo 360 monetizes its massive user base primarily through online advertising and through Internet value-added services on its open platforms.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by terminology such as "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates" and similar statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about Qihoo 360 and the industry. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the Company's ability to continue to innovate and provide attractive products and services to attract and retain users; the Company's ability to keep up with rapid changes in technologies and Internet-enabled devices; the Company's ability to leverage its user base to attract customers for our revenue-generating services; and the Company's dependence on online advertising for a substantial portion of our revenues; and the Company's ability to compete effectively. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of the press release, and Qihoo 360 undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although Qihoo 360 believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties faced by Qihoo 360 is included in Qihoo 360's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F dated April 19, 2012.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd.
In China:
Tel: +86 10-5878-1574
E-mail: ir@360.cn
In the U.S.:
The Piacente Group, Inc.
Brandi Floberg or Lee Roth
Tel: (212) 481-2050
E-mail: qihu@tpg-ir.com
