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Weblog:   Microsoft To Become a Big-Time Spyware Vendor?
Subject:   think positive thoughts
Date:   2005-07-06 00:26:50
From:   jwenting
If a reputable company like Microsoft with an active stance against spyware gains control over Claria/Gator they may be in a unique position to remove one of the largest spyware systems from the net.
I've nothing against adware per se, and probably neither do most people.
What people have problems with is the adware phoning home with (potentially) privacy sensitive information taken from their systems. But adware has no fundamental need to do so, it's an extra revenue stream for the adware company that by tapping into that stream becomes a spyware company.


By changing the behaviour of the adware from scrounging peoples' computers for things like browser histories to simply displaying ads that are targeted to the likely userbase of the application (similar to bannerads on websites including this one) there's no more need to spy on your users.


Of course we'd all like to see an end to the massive amounts of advertising people are constantly subjected to but unless you're willing to pay a fair price for the products and services you receive the people delivering those products and services will have to use other means of generating an income for themselves and selling advertising is an age old way of doing that.


P.S. on the page I got to post this there were 7 ads for different products and services, only one of them for something delivered by the owner of this site...
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  • think positive thoughts
    2005-07-07 01:55:16  ReggieB [Reply | View]

    Yes, the worst part of Adaware is the "phoning home" aspect, and in particular the diffuculty of distinguishing sending back marketing information from sending back keystrokes and information that can be used maliciously. The methods Adaware uses for this is very difficult to secure - unless you do the sensible thing and block it all.

    However, my experience of how adaware's "simply displaying ads" process works is that it is intrusive, annoying and another easy way for people to click on links they shouldn't. The common example being a pop up saying Adaware was detected, and click on a link to get a fix (which is itself more adaware if not worse).

    Advertising is an annoyance that I can put up with in the appropriate places (such as margins of web pages), but popping it up without prompting and redirecting my home page is not appropriate. It is akin to an advertiser waking me in my bed and thrusting an advert in my face.

    The only way to manage adaware is to remove and/or block it all. Adaware is the opposite of money - even when its good its bad.
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