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Many of us do not especially care to be marketed to. Unfortunately, some advertisers feel that everyone does want to be marketed to so they provide "adware" to help with that process. Not only can ads be an annoyance, when they are being generated inside your computer they steal its processing resources and they can cause it to crash.
A number of companies offer free products in exchange for the right to market to you, usually with adware installed on your computer. The manner in which this marketing is handled is often a source of contention. All too often, a computer will wind up harboring a number of programs related to advertising without the user being aware they were there.
- Some companies tell it like it is, right up front.
- Some companies hide the truth and install adware on your computer without your knowledge or consent. They may bury the facts in a long-winded user agreement, knowing that most people will not read it.
- Some companies install their software by brute force when you visit an affiliated Website (the "drive-by download").
A number of Websites offer free system scans. Before you take them up on their offer, just remember that this is an unknown product being promoted by a Website that may have a vested interest its results. While many of these on-line scans are legitimate, some are biased and some may actually install spyware.
We would prefer to visit the site of a well-known player in field of combating Internet scourges, on our terms, when we choose to visit. Norton, McAffee, Zone Labs, and other respected companies offer free virus and Malware scans. These are legitimate, and you must go to them to run them. These are in no way related to the scan offers that come to you via advertising or pop-ups.
At least one of the outfits providing free scans has apparently re-defined the meaning of adware, thus allowing one of the larger adware companies to slip through their scans undetected. Picture the scenario below. Then see if you don't see the basis for a conflict of interest.
- Aluria publishes Spyware Eliminator. This is a well-regarded product that scans for both spyware and adware.
- Aluria has developed a set of standards that define what they feel is an acceptable use of adware. They exclude from their scans any products that comply with their standards.
- WhenU is an Internet marketing giant. WhenU offers a number of free programs, each with adware. Spyware Eliminator will not identify or remove WhenU's adware because WhenU meets Aluria's adware standards.
Aluria has made what we believe are unreasonable assumptions. First of all, they assume that advertising is acceptable, as long as it is done properly. Second, Aluria has defined "properly". And third, they exclude certain adware from their scans if it meets their standards of acceptablilty.
- The free scanner provided with AOL version 9 is from Aluria.
There are two ways to take care of every problem. Either you can face the problem and correct it, or you can re-define the problem so you don't have to deal with it. Aluria seems to have done the latter. Is this not a case of the fox guarding the hen house?
Many years ago the Government revised the definition of ice cream. This permitted the ice cream producers to keep up their profits while offering a lower grade product. Today's premium ice cream is yesterday's standard fare, but at a higher price.
Both Aluria and WhenU remind their detractors that WhenU's products are easily removed through the Windows control panel and thus there is really no problem. Of course, many of the people who run into adware and spyware problems do not know how to deal with them, which is why they rely on companies like Aluria.
If you wish to study this situation further, please visit some of the links below or do a Google search on WhenU and Aluria. You will find some real eye openers out there. Please note that some of the links below may move or disappear over time.
Some of the hits you find with your search engine may take you not to an article but to a site offering to search the Web for you, perhaps to find anti-spyware products. Some of those sites "offer" drive-by downloads, so be careful!
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