Adware
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Adware
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Adware or advertising-supported software is any
software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads
advertising material to a computer after the software is installed on it
or while the application is being used.
An example of mild adware
Application
Adware is software integrated into or bundled with a program. It is usually
seen by the
programmer as a way to recover programming development costs, and in some
cases it may allow the program to be provided to the user free of charge or at a
reduced price. The advertising income may allow or motivate the programmer to
continue to write, maintain and upgrade the software product.
Some adware is also shareware,
and so the word may be used as term of distinction to differentiate between
types of shareware software. What differentiates adware from other shareware is
that it is primarily advertising-supported. Users may also be given the option
to pay for a "registered" or "licensed" copy to do away with the advertisements.
Controversy
There are concerns about adware because it often takes the form of
spyware, in
which information about the user's activity is tracked, reported, and often
re-sold, often without the knowledge or consent of the user. Of even greater
concern is
malware, which may interfere with the function of other software
applications, in order to force users to visit a particular web site.
It is not uncommon for people to confuse "adware" with "spyware" and "malware",
especially since these concepts overlap. For example, if one user installs "adware"
on a computer, and consents to a tracking feature, the "adware" becomes "spyware"
when another user visits that computer, and interacts with and is tracked by the
"adware" without their consent.
Spyware has prompted an outcry from computer security and privacy advocates,
including the Electronic Privacy Information Center
[1]. Often, spyware applications send the user's browsing habits to an
adserving company, which then targets adverts at the user based on their
interests. Kazaa and eXeem are
popular programs which incorporate software of this type.
Adware programs other than spyware do not invisibly collect and upload this
activity record or personal information when the user of the computer has not
expected or approved of the transfer, but some vendors of adware maintain that
their application which does this is not also spyware, due to disclosure of
program activities: for example, a product vendor may indicate that since
somewhere in the product's Terms
of Use there is a clause that third-party software will be included that may
collect and may report on computer use, that this Terms of Use disclosure means
the product is just adware.
A number of software applications are available to help computer users search
for and modify adware programs to block the presentation of advertisements and
to remove spyware modules. To avoid a backlash, as with the advertising industry
in general, creators of adware must balance their attempts to generate revenue
with users' desire to be left alone.
Well-known adware programs
External links
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This guide is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
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