Tag Archives: computer
What is Adware?
The word Adware is short for Advertising-Supported Software. This term describes any software which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertising material to a computer, after the software has been installed on it.
It is usually included with other software which one can download from the Internet – especially software that you can download for “free”. The price you pay is having the adware installed on your computer. When you run the program that you downloaded for “free” from the Internet, it will usually automatically cause adds to pop up on your screen thereafter.
Adware software is integrated into, or combined with, another program. The person or company who is making the free program available is usually paid for including adware in his program. This is one of the ways that some programmers make a living or cover the cost of writing “free” programs.
Sometimes Adware takes the form of spyware, keeping track of what you do on your computer, and which pages you visit on the web. This information is automatically sent over the Internet to the company which runs the adware. The data is then used in order to target you with specific advertisements, or is sometimes resold to other companies. This is can be done entirely without your knowledge. Should you, however, complain about this, you would most likely be referred to some fine print in the license agreement which you accepted when you installed the “free” program.
Some Adware can interfere with the functions of other programs running on your computer, in order to force you to visit a particular web site. If you find yourself being automatically sent to a certain website, you can be fairly certain that you have some form of adware running on your computer.
These days it can be hard to separate out “Adware” from “Spyware” and “Malware;” especially since many programs might do all of these things at the same time. For example, if you install “adware” knowingly or unknowingly on a computer, and agree to a tracking feature, the “adware” becomes “spyware” as it is now also keeping track of what you do and sending the information somewhere. If someone else visits or contacts your computer, this will also be recorded and his information is then passed on as well.
Some Adware is not classified as Spyware because, somewhere in the user agreement it says that “third-party software will be included that may collect and may report on computer use.” As the company has included this statement in the “Terms of Use,” it is now no longer Spyware but simply Adware, as they are not “secretly” collecting and tracking your information.
But really… how many people actually fully read the Terms of Use?
Another circumstance to take into account is the case when there are more than one person using the computer. In the case of a family computer, your kids might download a simple “free game,” and unaware of all the facts, automatically agree to have Adware installed. All you see is the kids playing a new game. You might even be happy as it didn’t cost you dime this time. However the “free game” is most likely not all that was downloaded.
A few names of well-known Adware programs are as follows:
- 180 Solutions
- 180SearchAssistant
- Zango
- Bonzi Buddy
- BlockChecker
- ClipGenie
- Comet Cursor
- Cydoor
- Direct Revenue
- Ebates MoneyMaker
- ErrorSafe
- Gator
- Hotbar
- Mirar Toolbar
- Smiley Central
- WeatherBug
This list is by no means complete and serves only to give some examples. There are also programs that detect and remove adware. These programs are designed specifically to detect spyware and adware. They and will not detect or remove viruses. Some of these products are available for free on the Internet. Anti-Adware or Anti-Spyware programs are not Antivirus programs. This is a different subject entirely. A virus is a malicious program which is spread from one computer to the other. It harms your computer, erases your data, keeps your system from running correctly, or does other damage.
A virus can also spy on you like spyware does – for example, by recording your credit card information and sending the data to someone else by email. But the terms adware or spyware usually refer to software which does only that spies on you, sends you advertisements, and steals your data; with or without your consent. Most Anti-virus programs also detect Adware and Spyware. But if you are very active online it is a good idea to have several different anti-adware and anti-spyware programs installed. Different programs detect different types of spyware and adware. By scanning your computer with more than one program, you can do a more thorough clean-up.
A Conundrum Called Adware! (Page 1 of 3)
We, as dedicated computer and software users, have traversed a long way from those bad days, when our computers used to get attacked by vicious sounding viruses, Trojans, spyware and malwares. We are still are under constant threat from attack by invisible viruses or spyware. As the word spyware became a household name, and when it started creating havoc on thousands of computer systems the world over, security experts and anti-virus software professionals started taking notice of the menace posed by these spyware modules.
Strangely, all these spywares were designed and propagated by the so called software majors! However, with the passage of time, the word spyware became a dirty word among computer users, which needed to be avoided at any cost! As a result, everyone started to think that spyware is a piece of software that closely monitors your activities on computers and reports them back to its maker. In fact, all software users were neatly outflanked by these smart operators, who surreptitiously planted their evil creations in the computer systems. It was a peculiar situation, when people simply abhorred the word spyware, and they got irritated when it was suggested to them that their computer systems were being spied upon by these spyware modules. As a result, it was so convenient to label these software items, as something that is very dirty. And, it was a good way to make sure that everyone listened to this fact!
But, the situation is entirely different today; if you notice, there are a lot of public relation exercises that keep coming at you, non-stop for twenty-four hours a day. Many software majors claim that they are not making spyware anymore, but they make highly innovative adware! Paradoxically, these firms also claim that adware is actually very good for your computer system! As all computer users were just sighing relief, thinking that they had decisively won the moral war against spyware, they were in for a real surprise! Many software majors wanted to push computer users all over the world, with a clever strategy that was devised with a novel idea in mind (maybe ulterior?).
Though, these software majors stopped creating spyware altogether, they found another smart way to outflank computer users! It was very ingenious as well! And it had to be! It is so true that someone could plant legal software right into your computer, with your own consent, to monitor your online activities and browsing habits! And the amazing thing with these software modules was that there was absolutely no need to send those vital bits of information back to the software company! The program that was installed on your computer system did everything by itself!
These smart software items were designed to perform the same thing that was performed by spyware. However, there was no need for any spying with these software modules. The creators of these software programs were intelligent enough to call them adware and their monster creation was promoted by floating a huge publicity campaign. All of this was done to separate out adware from spyware!
A Conundrum Called Adware! (Page 1 of 3)
We, as dedicated computer and software users, have traversed a long way from those bad days, when our computers used to get attacked by vicious sounding viruses, Trojans, spyware and malwares. We are still are under constant threat from attack by invisible viruses or spyware. As the word spyware became a household name, and when it started creating havoc on thousands of computer systems the world over, security experts and anti-virus software professionals started taking notice of the menace posed by these spyware modules.
Strangely, all these spywares were designed and propagated by the so called software majors! However, with the passage of time, the word spyware became a dirty word among computer users, which needed to be avoided at any cost! As a result, everyone started to think that spyware is a piece of software that closely monitors your activities on computers and reports them back to its maker. In fact, all software users were neatly outflanked by these smart operators, who surreptitiously planted their evil creations in the computer systems. It was a peculiar situation, when people simply abhorred the word spyware, and they got irritated when it was suggested to them that their computer systems were being spied upon by these spyware modules. As a result, it was so convenient to label these software items, as something that is very dirty. And, it was a good way to make sure that everyone listened to this fact!
But, the situation is entirely different today; if you notice, there are a lot of public relation exercises that keep coming at you, non-stop for twenty-four hours a day. Many software majors claim that they are not making spyware anymore, but they make highly innovative adware! Paradoxically, these firms also claim that adware is actually very good for your computer system! As all computer users were just sighing relief, thinking that they had decisively won the moral war against spyware, they were in for a real surprise! Many software majors wanted to push computer users all over the world, with a clever strategy that was devised with a novel idea in mind (maybe ulterior?).
Though, these software majors stopped creating spyware altogether, they found another smart way to outflank computer users! It was very ingenious as well! And it had to be! It is so true that someone could plant legal software right into your computer, with your own consent, to monitor your online activities and browsing habits! And the amazing thing with these software modules was that there was absolutely no need to send those vital bits of information back to the software company! The program that was installed on your computer system did everything by itself!
These smart software items were designed to perform the same thing that was performed by spyware. However, there was no need for any spying with these software modules. The creators of these software programs were intelligent enough to call them adware and their monster creation was promoted by floating a huge publicity campaign. All of this was done to separate out adware from spyware!