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Spyware is software that is
usually secretly installed on your system without permission. It
tracks your system usage activity and reports it online to
another party. Usually the information collected is not private
information, but information such as your Web viewing habits and
so forth. Still, you did not authorize this activity, and you
don't want spyware!
Spyware can also "hijack" your system, causing annoying and
unwanted popup messages even when you never open your browser.
It can also change your default home page and add links to your
favorites and desktop.
There are numerous spyware removal utilities such as AdAware and
Spybot, and while these are reasonably effective tools at
removing spyware they don't always work. Contact us to clean
your system of all traces of spyware!
Here is a quick FAQ on spyware:
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 "mother
ship". 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.
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