Adware, Is It Safe To Download, Computers, Adware Downloads, 31

Real People. Real Information.

Computers and The Internet

Anesta Web

Adware - Are Downloads Safe

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Real People. Real Information.

Anesta Web

Taking You Where You Want To Go

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Computer Home

by: S. Housley

dware, Should I be Afraid?

Developers offering downloads are paying
the price for the malformed truths that
   have been put forth regarding downloads.
    While not a political campaign the smears
      are ever present in the adware arena.

Years ago developers saw they could
monetize freeware that was becoming
expensive to host. Developers began
working with Ad Networks such as

the former Aureate and Conducent, who imbeddedadvertisements in
the software. The software in many cases phoned home retrieving
ads. In other cases adverts were imbedded directly into the down-
load only being removed when the software was registered. Many

Adware or advertising-supported software is any software application in which advertisements are displayed while the program is running. These applications include additional code that displays the ads in pop-up windows or through a bar that appears on a computer screen. Adware helps recover program development costs, and helps to hold down the price of making the application for the user, often making it free of charge. As a result of the AdWare revenue programmers were motivated to write maintain, and upgrade valuable ad-enabled software. Adware was a great consumer trade off, so were did it all go wrong?

well known software companies, including Netscape distributed ad supported versions, which allowed users to use the software for free. Developers were compensated either by install or the number of ads served. Advertisers welcomed new revenue streams to reach potential customers.

Unbeknownst to the developers a handful of ad
serving companies were logging and profiling the
surfing habits of those who had downloaded the
ad-enabled software. After downloading free

software, the new adware companies delivered pop-up and pop-under ads based on the consumers surfing interests. Adware has been criticized for including code that tracks a user's surfing habits, email address and personal information, which are passed to third parties, without the user's authorization or knowledge. This was the downfall of the ad serving technology and ad-enabled software.

In many cases consumers rightfully believe they have been and are being spied on, which prompted an outcry from privacy advocates. Adware is not a virus and may not be detected by anti-virus scanning programs. It does not spread the same way as most viruses spread. Many users do not know they are downloading a free program along with adware onto their computer. The lack of disclosure tarnished reputations of many well known, but misfortunate developers and software companies. The collapse of a number of venture backed ad-serving companies including Aureate and Conducent.

Fast forward to today. Few applications are now ad enabled. Those
that are generally follow strict disclosure guidelines. Some
developers opt to insert static (not changing) ads for other
applications in their product line, into free versions, but these
ads do not change and there is no record of what ads are clicked. Freeware can therefore be used free of charge and there is no evaluation time period as with shareware. Freeware is also often a basic or stripped down version of the shareware version. Developers make money off ads or those who want to upgrade from the free version. There are also developers who provide freeware out of principle, occasionally asking for a donation. The majority of freeware that employs the use of imbedded advertisements are provided in the true spirit of adware without the intent to track users, but just to be safe consumers should read the fine print.

About The Author
Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites by Sharon can be found at http://www.rss-specifications.com, http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com and http://www.small-business-software.net - sharon@notepage.net