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Home » Articles » Anitivirus Software » Spyware Adware
Is all adware badware?
From Mary Landesman,
Jul 11 2005
In the war against spyware, are legitimate advertising firms getting caught in the crossfire?
Microsoft has received no small amount of flack for their decision to downgrade Claria (aka Gator/GAIN) detection in the Windows AntiSpyware beta. Though Claria software is still detected, the recommended action is now set to 'Ignore'. Previous versions of Windows AntiSpyware had recommended Claria software be removed.
Critics allege that Claria uses deceptive 'two-click' installs. The first occurs when the user clicks the banner ad for the Claria/GAIN software; the second when clicking YES to a dialog that asks whether you want to install and run the "ad-supported downloads that display (i) exact time/date, and (ii) GAIN-branded pop-ups and other ads based on websites you view".
It's difficult to imagine how this particular dialog might be made more clear to its critics.
After all, it does state that it will deliver ads and pop-ups and it does state that these ads will be based on websites you visit. And obviously, in order to deliver ads based on websites you visit, there is some form of tracking involved.
The degree of threat
To deal with the varying degrees of adware and spyware, Windows AntiSpyware provides users the option to choose whether to "Always Ignore," "Ignore," "Quarantine," or "Remove" a given program. The default option signifies the level of threat Microsoft has assigned the program. If the program exhibits deceptive behavior, it is assigned a Remove or Quarantine recommendation. Programs that do not exhibit deceptive behavior may be assigned either an Ignore or Always Ignore recommendation. The recommended action can be easily changed by the user, i.e. an Ignore recommendation can be changed to Remove and Windows AntiSpyware will then remove the designated application.
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