Adware and Spyware
Category: The Internet
by Dennis Faas, infopackets editor
http://www.infopackets.com
"Increase your download speed with software X!"
At some point,
you've probably come across a program that claims to download programs
faster:
Download Accelerator (Speedbit), Marketscore (previously Netsetter), and
GetRight (Headlight Software) are just a few popular titles. But did
you know that these programs do more harm than good?
How download speed is effected by a download accelerator
When a file is being downloaded, it is sent to your computer using a
single connection: you are connected to the web site, and the web site is
sending you a file. A download accelerator works by increasing the
number of connections to a web site so that the same file can be downloaded
faster.
Are you being watched?
The truth is that almost all download accelerator programs contain some
sort of
Adware
or
Spyware. Adware is software that sends
advertisements to your computer through a banner window or pop up
advertisement. Spyware is intrusive software that keeps track of
information about you, and has the ability to collect your name and email
address via the Windows Registry in order to send unsolicited emails.
How nice!
Read the Fine Print
Most accelerators offer some sort of "essential" feature, such as the
ability to resume a download. The "essential feature" is usually what
interests most users to install the download speed enhancing software in the
first place. As
with most software obtained from the Internet, download accelerators come
with an End User License Agreement (EULA) which is displayed during the
installation process. Most of us are so accustomed to skipping through
the install procedure that we miss out on the tidbit about the Adware and
Spyware which will be installed on our systems in addition to the main
program. Some programs such as MarketScore come hard-coded with Adware
and Spyware and cannot be uninstalled separately.
Uninstalling couldn't be easier... or not!
In general, the nature of most download accelerators must modify the
Windows Registry so that multiple connections can be opened in order to
increase download speed; as well, it modifies how your computer interacts
with the world wide web so it has the ability to send advertisements to your
machine. In MANY cases, a download accelerator does not uninstall
cleanly and can leave many web applications (such as Internet browsers)
unworkable.
More Adware and Spyware programs
Unfortunately, more and more programs are being produced to promote Adware
and Spyware. Why? Simply because it pays the developer who wrote
the program.
Programs which are FREE usually come at some price. If you want to check whether or not a
program you have installed contains Adware or Spyware, I recommend visiting
Spychecker. It contains a database full of Spyware and Adware
programs:
http://www.spychecker.com/
Free Spyware Removal Software:
http://www.spybot.de (Spybot)
http://www.lavasoftusa.com
(Ad-aware)
More about the Windows Registry
http://www.infopackets.com/articles/systemregistry.htm
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