Spyware and us
By Adam Gaffin, NetworkWorld.com, 11/04/04
Network World Fusion does not attempt to install software on your computer.
The reason I mention this is because every time we run a story about spyware these days, we usually get one or two comments from people that basically go:
"Yeah, why don't you guys read your own stories and stop trying to install spyware on my computer?!?"
Well, good for you dear sir or madam for running anti-spyware software on your PC. It's a good idea, and I do it myself. Unfortunately, your software is equating a bit of text with a malicious application.
What we do is use "tracking" cookies from DoubleClick so we can track aggregate site numbers (how many people visit page X, how many articles about topic Y are viewed, etc.)
These are NOT spyware applications. These are simple text files. Text files cannot take over your browser. They can't screw around with your Windows Registry. They don't keep you from uninstalling them.
And yet Ad-Aware (and no doubt other similar apps) reports these as "critical objects" that need to be killed right this very second. Some people do think they are a privacy concern, and that's why anti-spyware applications will report their presence. But if that is a concern for you, the answer is simple: Use a browser that lets you disable cookies (like, any browser published, oh, in the past three years).
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Comments
It's very confusing for the average internet user to know exactly what is malicious and what isn't. When we download these programs, like Spybot, AdAware, etc...we just "go with the flow" and do what they tell us. I thought cookies were suspicious too - that's what I've heard, but your resolve makes wonderful sense. Thanks !
Posted by: Catskill on December 13, 2004 12:19 PM
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