| Spyware is Internet jargon for
Advertising Supported software (actually is 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 (linked from our
database), 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.
Visit SpyChecker.com
to see if you have adware on your pc. |
