| Spyware
is Internet jargon
for Advertising
Supported software
(Adware). It is a
way for shareware
authors to make
money from a
product, other than
by selling it to the
users. There are
several large media
companies that offer
them to place banner
ads in their
products in exchange
for a portion of the
revenue from banner
sales. This way, you
don't have to pay
for the software and
the developers are
still getting paid.
If you find the
banners annoying,
there is usually an
option to remove
them, by paying the
regular licensing
fee.
Why is it
called "Spyware" ?
While this may be a
great concept, the
downside is that the
advertising
companies also
install additional
tracking software on
your system, which
is continuously
"calling home",
using your Internet
connection and
reports statistical
data to the
"mothership". While
according to the
privacy policies of
the companies, there
will be no sensitive
or identifying data
collected from your
system and you shall
remain anonymous, it
still remains the
fact, that you have
a "live" server
sitting on your PC
that is sending
information about
you and your surfing
habits to a remote
location.....
Are all Adware
products "Spyware"?
No, but the majority
are. There are also
products that do
display advertising
but do not install
any tracking
mechanism on your
system. These
products are not
indexed in our
database.
Is Spyware
illegal?
Even though the name
may indicate so,
Spyware is not an
illegal type of
software in any way.
However there are
certain issues that
a privacy oriented
user may object to
and therefore prefer
not to use the
product. This
usually involves the
tracking and sending
of data and
statistics via a
server installed on
the user's PC and
the use of your
Internet connection
in the background.
What's the
hype about?
While legitimate
adware companies
will disclose the
nature of data that
is collected and
transmitted in their
privacy statement, there is
almost no way for
the user to actually
control what data is
being sent. The fact
is that the
technology is in
theory capable of
sending much more
than just banner
statistics - and
this is why many
people feel
uncomfortable with
the idea.
On the other
hand...
Millions of people
are using
advertising
supported "spyware"
products and could
not care less about
the privacy hype...,
in fact some
"Spyware" programs
are among the most
popular downloads on
the Internet.
Real
spyware...
There are also many
PC surveillance
tools that allow a
user to monitor all
kinds of activity on
a computer, ranging
from keystroke
capture, snapshots,
email logging, chat
logging and just
about everything
else. These tools
are often designed
for parents,
businesses and
similar
environments, but
can be easily abused
if they are
installed on your
computer without
your knowledge.
These tools are
perfectly legal in
most places, but,
just like an
ordinary tape
recorder, if they
are abused, they can
seriously violate
your privacy. |
