What is "adware"?
Whenever I go on-site to a customer's workplace, one of the most frequently-asked-about trends is adware or spyware (two terms which are often lumped together incorrectly): What exactly is it? Is it safe? Is it going to break my computer? Is it spying on me? All of these are legitimate questions, and if you are asking them, then you're one step ahead of those who haven't. If you haven't asked at least one of these questions, you should. Go ahead, I'll wait…
OK, now I can open everyone's eyes to the same information. The following articles should clear up some misunderstandings about how programs are installed in Windows, why adware/spyware is even built, and how to remove a good portion of it from your system. We'll focus on one particular suite of adware programs which has been both the most popular and the least liked, as the parent company's business practices have often been reviewed more than the quality of their program. Gator.
Most computer users who've been connected to the internet have heard of Gator, a seemingly helpful program designed to help users keep track of the myriad passwords they use on different websites. It does this by watching webpages you visit, looking for any "forms", then watching for key field names on those forms, such as Name, Address, E-Mail Address, and Password. Once it sees that you've entered a Name and Password on a form, it offers to store that data for you for easier recall later. It stores the web address, or URL, of the page, the User Name and Password and any other recurring data you need to enter. The next time you visit that webpage, Gator inputs the data automatically, so you don't have to remember it ever again! It seems like a nice piece of programming; it fills a basic need for users in a very robust way. Thoughtfully, you can even password-protect your Gator password data so others can't hop onto your computer and go where you go with your personal information, unimpeded.
When Gator was first released, it did all of the above well. It did it with a minimum of fuss, and with minimal impact on the systems it was installed on. However, over the years it has become bloated with extras many people don't need or want (this is called "feature creep"), and has gone from being a truly free software package to one which has developed an advertiser-supported scheme.
Gator — which has just renamed itself to "Claria" — is an advertising company that makes money primarily through banner ads and popups placed inside the software it distributes for free, as a way to get people to view its ads. Gator/Claria calls this "in-context behavioral advertising," but the common name for their software products is "adware." Gator/Claria was one of the very first companies in the adware business. Today, they are one of the most successful adware companies, and have gained much credibility in the advertising industry.
On the plus side, adware (from any company — not just Gator/Claria) can be OK: you get "free" software which usually works well, and the vendor makes some money off ads it sells to other companies, similar to a newspaper selling ad space in it's publication. These ads usually start out randomly, or with loose categorization. As you cruise around the internet, the software sits in the background and keeps track of the sites you visit. It broadcasts this information "home" at unknown intervals, and gets ads which are more pertinent to your apparent interests.
As a negative, this "phone-home" approach can cause numerous technical problems. It can consume small amounts of bandwidth on a high-speed internet line (like a DSL or cable connection), but when used on a computer using dialup service, it may slow down your surfing considerably. Speaking of slowdowns, running the adware programs in the background on a 3GHz computer you purchased today shouldn't make too much of a performance hit, but what if you're unknowingly running ten or more of these types of programs? How will they impact an older 800MHz PC? And downloading the constantly changing ads doesn't help.
There's also a privacy issue; as you are giving Gator/Claria the right to keep your personal info, how much of that is the company selling to other advertising companies? Is there a link to using adware and receiving tons of spam email? Or telemarketing calls?
Lots of adware programs makes use of "phone-home" components to update their embedded ads, and these components could be used for snooping. That's why this kind of software is often labeled "spyware." However, not all adware is spyware, and not all "phone-home" components are used for snooping, but the potential for misuse is there.
Another negative arises in the installation of more than one adware-type program on your Windows PC. Many of these programs are "ganged" together; in order to get the benefits of one, you must agree to install a group (or "suite") of such programs. Each program has a different purpose, each trying to fill a different "need" for the end user. By installing one adware program, you're opening the door for more incompatibilities, more popup ads, more spam, and inevitably a less useful PC. It's a slippery slide down a long bumpy hill. The only sure answer is to stay away from adware programs entirely.
However, there are some companies which are of the belief that if they can't get you to install their software, they will install it for you, without your consent. Sometimes, adware hides behind fake error messages designed to trick unwary users into thinking they're responding to a system message or a normal dialog box, when they're really accepting or triggering the installation of an adware package.
Some adware vendors also set things up so their software tries to auto-install when you merely visit a web page — sometimes called a "drive-by download." You don't have to click on anything; simply viewing the web page will cause the adware to try to stuff itself into your system.
You may not like these installation routines and downloads triggered by subterfuge, but these behaviors are often 100% legal. In fact, adware usually comes with enormous, carefully worded "click wrap" licenses that go into effect as soon as the software downloads — even if you trigger the download by accident or in error. These licenses usually spell out very clearly that the adware vendor has your permission to do whatever it is the adware package is designed for. This often means that you're agreeing to allow the ads to display; and agreeing to let the adware company monitor your actions. Exactly what monitoring of which actions is usually spelled out in the rest of the license terms and privacy statement. The trouble is, many users aren't savvy enough to deflect these overly-aggressive and sometimes even deceptive installation routines; through uninformed choices or poor security practices, these users end up with adware on their systems that they really didn't want and never consciously chose.
And almost no one wades through the full license agreements, which sometimes seem intentionally designed to bury the most important terms under an avalanche of legal verbiage. But it is truly legal verbiage: you may dislike the terms of the license, but if you download the software, you have agreed to those terms. Note that I wrote "download" and not "install"; this is where the fine line between respectable and dispicable adware is drawn, in my opinion. Often you don't get the chance to read the legalese before deciding to continue installation and use of these packages. Without an option to discontinue installation if you don't agree to the terms, these legal user agreements "should be" null and void. I have yet to see any lawsuits brought to trial against any company practicing these "drive-by downloads," so I'm unsure for certain what the ramifications would be if you wanted to try to sue these companies for bad business practices, destruction of private property, etc.
