How Understanding Adware Can Enhance Your Internet Experience
- Date: 2007-01-15 - Word Count: 383
Share This!
Adware is truly an amazing thing. While people consider it to be nothing but a software form of aggravation and a danger to their computer, adware has affected the Internet in a positive manner. So why does it matter to know about adware? When all is said and done, adware has made a dramatic impact on the Internet that we know of today.
Through the affects of the media, adware is considered nothing but a malicious piece of software that goes around and infects computers. It is important to understand that adware was never meant to be malicious in nature, unlike spyware and malware. With this in mind, it can be understood why various media sources confuse the true idea of adware. In their stories, the media usually categorize threats as "adware" when in fact they should be using terms like "spyware" or "malware". Adware's initial intention was just to change the paradigm in which advertisements were delivered to potential customers.
Since adware was initially just intended as a new way to deliver advertisements, there was much money to be made by simply adding adware to software. Before you knew it, the funding provided by adware was spawning new forms of software, such as freeware and shareware. This new idea of being able to download and use software for free also helped develop other new things; online communities. All different types of Internet users started collaborating with one another to make free software better and more functional, all the way up to the point of rivaling commercial substitutes.
At the same time, adware can be considered as a downfall of the Internet. While adware was funding all sorts of different projects, it was also aggravating all different types of computer users. Adware became more abusive and pop up advertisements on people's computers more often. On top of that, people started installing and adding adware in places where people would never expect it, such as in commercial products and websites. What once used to be a new advertising medium has now become a cyper nightmare.
When people thought adware couldn't get any worse, hackers and malicious software programmers got involved. They started to make their own versions of adware that were more unethical in nature. As businesses became more anxious for new prospects, they turned to developers which would develop a different breed of adware. Instead of just popping up advertisements on people's computers, this adware would also track people's browsing habits as well as various other things. This act of tracking brought forth spyware, the next generation of adware.
The evolutions of adware didn't stop there though. Taking the idea of bundling adware with software, hackers started removing the advertising aspects entirely out of adware to make them more stealth-like and difficult for users to identify. More and more often you would hear about viruses, Trojans, worms and the like camouflaging themselves within free software without the knowledge of users (or even developers in some manners). With a goal to just infect and destroy as much as possible, malware started entering computers worldwide.
When things did not look like they could get any better for adware, they did. Security experts started collaborating with each other to deliver cost-effective and free security software to eliminate malware and spyware, which became financially available to Internet users through legitimate adware. That being said, you can find tons of security software freely available on the Internet, a lot of which rivals commercial counterparts.
Currently, adware is still seen as a threat and considered more of a nuisance than anything else. Fortunately, with plenty of adware removal solutions freely and commercially available now, people can now control the types and amount of adware they care to have on their computers.
About the Author:
Josh George has been helping others protect themselves against adware and annoying pop-ups since 1998. His website contains free adware information, adware tools, and useful guides proven to help prevent annoying pop-ups from appearing on computers. If you want to learn how to help protect your own system from annoying adware, have a look at his site: Adware Resource.
Through the affects of the media, adware is considered nothing but a malicious piece of software that goes around and infects computers. It is important to understand that adware was never meant to be malicious in nature, unlike spyware and malware. With this in mind, it can be understood why various media sources confuse the true idea of adware. In their stories, the media usually categorize threats as "adware" when in fact they should be using terms like "spyware" or "malware". Adware's initial intention was just to change the paradigm in which advertisements were delivered to potential customers.
Since adware was initially just intended as a new way to deliver advertisements, there was much money to be made by simply adding adware to software. Before you knew it, the funding provided by adware was spawning new forms of software, such as freeware and shareware. This new idea of being able to download and use software for free also helped develop other new things; online communities. All different types of Internet users started collaborating with one another to make free software better and more functional, all the way up to the point of rivaling commercial substitutes.
At the same time, adware can be considered as a downfall of the Internet. While adware was funding all sorts of different projects, it was also aggravating all different types of computer users. Adware became more abusive and pop up advertisements on people's computers more often. On top of that, people started installing and adding adware in places where people would never expect it, such as in commercial products and websites. What once used to be a new advertising medium has now become a cyper nightmare.
When people thought adware couldn't get any worse, hackers and malicious software programmers got involved. They started to make their own versions of adware that were more unethical in nature. As businesses became more anxious for new prospects, they turned to developers which would develop a different breed of adware. Instead of just popping up advertisements on people's computers, this adware would also track people's browsing habits as well as various other things. This act of tracking brought forth spyware, the next generation of adware.
The evolutions of adware didn't stop there though. Taking the idea of bundling adware with software, hackers started removing the advertising aspects entirely out of adware to make them more stealth-like and difficult for users to identify. More and more often you would hear about viruses, Trojans, worms and the like camouflaging themselves within free software without the knowledge of users (or even developers in some manners). With a goal to just infect and destroy as much as possible, malware started entering computers worldwide.
When things did not look like they could get any better for adware, they did. Security experts started collaborating with each other to deliver cost-effective and free security software to eliminate malware and spyware, which became financially available to Internet users through legitimate adware. That being said, you can find tons of security software freely available on the Internet, a lot of which rivals commercial counterparts.
Currently, adware is still seen as a threat and considered more of a nuisance than anything else. Fortunately, with plenty of adware removal solutions freely and commercially available now, people can now control the types and amount of adware they care to have on their computers.
Tags: Adware, Pop Up, Pop Ups
About the Author:
Josh George has been helping others protect themselves against adware and annoying pop-ups since 1998. His website contains free adware information, adware tools, and useful guides proven to help prevent annoying pop-ups from appearing on computers. If you want to learn how to help protect your own system from annoying adware, have a look at his site: Adware Resource.
Related Tags: malware, spyware, adware, pop ups, pop up, pop-up, pop-ups, advertisements
Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles
Recent articles in this category:
- Improper Way Of Marketing Reflects Poorly On A Company.
New business, product or service everything requires visibility, awareness in order to come into the - Replacing Paper Prints With Online Versions
Nowadays saving out on resources and being additionally informative are both aspects that are in. In - Stop Smoking Effectively
If I told you of a way that you could stop smoking harmful tobacco would you believe it? Most people - What Is Runtime Error 182? And How To Fix It
Are you finding an effective way to fix runtime error 182? Do you think fixing runtime error 182 is - Do You Know How To Fix Runtime Error 87 In Minutes?
Are you finding an effective way to fix runtime error 87? Do you think fixing runtime error 87 is to - Knowledge About Avi, Avi Player, Avi Converter On Mac
Knowledge about AVI, AVI player, AVI Converter on MacWhat is an AVI?AVI, an acronym for Audio Video - Buy Your Highly Successful Email Survey Software Today
Email Survey Software- Boost Your Business and Increase ProfitsAn email survey software could be one - Xrm - The Anything Relationship Management Solution
I recently attended the Microsoft Dynamics West Region FY11 Sales Planning Retreat. This year's meet - What Are The Benefits Of Working With Electronic Medical Records
Recording medical information is a vital part of health care services. These records are necessary f - Basic Factor To Make Website Business Oriented
Internet is home for millions of websites. The online business is becoming more and more competitive
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Parental Control Software
Parental control software is software that can help parents protect their children when they are onl - Digital Asset Management Software
Managing and organizing your organization's documents is a critical component to your business's suc - AdobeRGB vs. sRGB
Understanding color spaces I'll try to explain it very simplified, but understandable for everyone - Confessions of a Prankster
I wanted to get a jump on April Fool's Day, partially because of the long, cold winter blues, and pa - Malicious Thoughts About The Spyware Ills Of My PC
Who would think I was capable of such revengeful thoughts about the parties responsible for inflicti - Recover File and Recover Deleted File Tools
Data recovery software is a very effective way of retrieving data from a worn or damaged hard disk d - Life without Windows
Ubuntu, a user-friendly version of Linux, has been running so nicely on my home PC that I decided to - What Benefit Does an Online Software Download Site Offer You?
Are you having a problem that where you find a good softeware when you consider to have a try or wan - Maintaining A Website
There was an era when people were talking about how to create a website using html coding or some ea - Benefits Of Proper Time Tracking
Have you ever written down time when you have started and finished your work? Maybe you have had mul