Not all adware is badware

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () bsf-llc com>]

Background on Hotbar:
 
    http://sarc.com/avcenter/venc/data/adware.hotbar.html
    http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1825613,00.asp
    http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1825617,00.asp
    http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/02/24/75876_HNSsymantecadware_1.html
    http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/pest/pest.aspx?id=453075474
 
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Not all adware is badware
http://news.com.com/Not+all+adware+is+badware/2010-7355_3-6058392.html

There is a lot of confusion among Internet users as to the difference
between adware and spyware. 

Adware--generally defined as software installed by consenting users seeking
free, value-added services in exchange for exposure to advertisements--is
often confused with, or used interchangeably with, the term
spyware--advertising-based software often installed without the user's
knowledge or consent. As a result, adware is frequently, yet
inappropriately, treated like spyware as a virus or malicious software by
anti-spyware programs. 

To end this confusion, adware vendors and marketers must do a better job of
teaching consumers and the software industry how to distinguish adware from
spyware. After all, the notion of providing services in return for viewer
eyeballs is not new and is comparable to viewing advertisements in any other
medium, such as network television, radio and newspapers. 

The mere fact that the software is showing ads should not taint it as
illegitimate or cause users to associate it with malicious software.
However, when legitimate adware is listed in an anti-spyware scanning
process, it acquires an unjustified negative reputation and falls victim to
a serious churn problem that afflicts much legitimate software, since users
usually eliminate the application by clicking on a default button to "clean"
or "remove" suspicious software. 

Industry leaders such as Symantec have come to recognize the need to
differentiate between adware applications and also between vendors that
practice 100 percent transparency and those that do not. As such, 100
percent transparent advertising-based software will be classified by
Symantec as low-risk with the recommendation not to remove. That provides
users with the choice, and it is a meaningful step for the whole industry. 

 ... 


Biography

Oren Dobronsky is co-founder and CEO of New York City-based Hotbar.com
<http://news.com.com/Not+all+adware+is+badware/http/:www.hotbar.com/> .

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