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Adware, Should I Be Afraid
Adware, Should I be Afraid?
Developers offering downloads are paying the price for
the malformed truths that have been put forth regarding
downloads. While not a political campaign the smears
are ever present in the adware arena.
Years ago developers saw they could monetize
freeware that was becoming expensive to host. Developers
began working with Ad Networks such as the former Aureate
and Conducent, who imbedded advertisements in the software.
The software in many cases phoned home retrieving ads.
In other cases adverts were imbedded directly into the
download only being removed when the software was registered.
Many well known software companies, including Netscape
distributed ad supported versions, which allowed users
to use the software for free. Developers were compensated
either by install or the number of ads served. Advertisers
welcomed new revenue streams to reach potential customers.
Adware or advertising-supported software
is any software application in which advertisements
are displayed while the program is running. These applications
include additional code that displays the ads in pop-up
windows or through a bar that appears on a computer
screen. Adware helps recover program development costs,
and helps to hold down the price of making the application
for the user, often making it free of charge. As a result
of the AdWare revenue programmers were motivated to
write maintain, and upgrade valuable ad-enabled software.
Adware was a great consumer trade off, so were did it
all go wrong?
Unbeknownst to the developers a handful
of ad serving companies were logging and profiling the
surfing habits of those who had downloaded the ad-enabled
software. After downloading free software, the new adware
companies delivered pop-up and pop-under ads based on
the consumers surfing interests. Adware has been criticized
for including code that tracks a user's surfing habits,
email address and personal information, which are passed
to third parties, without the user's authorization or
knowledge. This was the downfall of the ad serving technology
and ad-enabled software.
In many cases consumers rightfully believe
they have been and are being spied on, which prompted
an outcry from privacy advocates. Adware is not a virus
and may not be detected by anti-virus scanning programs.
It does not spread the same way as most viruses spread.
Many users do not know they are downloading a free program
along with adware onto their computer. The lack of disclosure
tarnished reputations of many well known, but misfortunate
developers and software companies. The collapse of a
number of venture backed ad-serving companies including
Aureate and Conducent.
Fast forward to today. Few applications
are now ad enabled. Those that are generally follow
strict disclosure guidelines. Some developers opt to
insert static (not changing) ads for other applications
in their product line, into free versions, but these
ads do not change and there is no record of what ads
are clicked. Freeware can therefore be used free of
charge and there is no evaluation time period as with
shareware. Freeware is also often a basic or stripped
down version of the shareware version. Developers make
money off ads or those who want to upgrade from the
free version. There are also developers who provide
freeware out of principle, occasionally asking for a
donation. The majority of freeware that employs the
use of imbedded advertisements are provided in the true
spirit of adware without the intent to track users,
but just to be safe consumers should read the fine print.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc.
http://www.notepage.net
a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and
wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites by
Sharon can be found at http://www.rss-specifications.com
, http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com
and http://www.small-business-software.net
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copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would
be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
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