Adware and How it Has Benefitted the Progression of the Internet


by Josh George - Date: 2007-01-14 - Word Count: 472 Share This!

Whether or not you want to believe it, adware has actually produced a lot of good on the Internet and computers across the globe. Now, before you think the rest of this article is absolutely absurd and that adware could never produce any good, here are three primary things that adware has done to benefit everyone.

1. Adware Makes Software and Downloads Free for everyone

Have you ever been curious as to why there is so much software and downloads freely available on the Internet. Well, you can thank adware for that. Adware can be bundled with anything, from photo sharing software, to music software, to literally anything that can take a software form. Because the majority of people download free software without donating for the cause, adware is there to cover the additional funding that software developers are unable to get from donations. 

2. Adware Was Developed With Good Intentions

A lot of people will probably disagree with this, which is definitely understandable. After all, as more companies use adware as an advertising medium, more groups will push the envelope in terms of ethical business practices. Not only that, but adware has been maliciously modified by hackers so that additional functions could be performed, such as tracking and stealing. Even though this may be true, adware was initially developed as a paradigm shift to delivering targeted advertisements. 

In the dawn of adware and pop up advertisements, there was never an intention to harm people or systems on the Internet. Heck, why would companies want to do that? If people realized that a company was using adware to damage systems, they would not only lose the interest of new customers, but they may also lose the trust of their loyal customers due to the damage they are causing. 

3. Adware is a Less-Aggressive Manner to Deliver Advertisements

Granted, adware does spontaneously pop-up on your computer, but compared to the alternatives, it is definitely less-aggressive. Whether it is from watching television, to listening to the radio, to even watching online videos, more and more advertisements (which you have to watch/listen to in full) are being used to fund entertainment. Adware, on the other hand, will deliver a pop-up box to your computer, which you can simply close immediately. Not being forced to view or listen to an advertisement in their entirety makes adware a nice alternative to advertising solutions.

In the end, however ridiculous it may be, adware has indeed contributed to the progression of the Internet. As more and more people start developing their own tools and downloads, they too will probably need money to fund their endeavors. And just like everyone else, if they are unable to achieve the amount of donations they need, adware will be there for them as well. What is to be understood is that adware isn't going anywhere, so whether you like it or not, it is important to consider the benefits it has provided on the Internet.


Related Tags: malware, spyware, adware, pop ups, pop up, pop-up, pop-ups, advertisements

Josh George has been an active member in the computer security and internet security community since 1998. He has made many presentations to groups that involved members from the FBI, DoD, and NSA and hopes to now help personal and small business users. To learn more about computer security and internet security, the link below provides time-tested best practices and recommended tools: Computer Protection.

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