29th - Kaipara Konnection - Dargaville.BIZ

If women are expected to do the same work as men,
we must teach them the same things. -- Plato
Panel, Add or Remove Programs only to leave behind its spyware components.
• Any software which hijacks your browser's start page and makes it difficult to change back to your preferred
start page.
• Any software which changes your default search engine without your consent and displays skewed results
based not upon what you're searching for but upon who paid the search engine company the most.
• Any program which automatically installs updates to itself without your knowledge or consent, or prior approval
(other than via an incomprehensible EULA "End User License Agreement").
• Any program which sells, rents, gives away, shares, or has the capacity to sell, share, rent, or give away
information it has collected from your computer without also having the capacity to explicitly ask your permission
before doing so.
• Any program which installs itself via a drive-by download or from a pop-up add where clicking "OK" downloads
the software, where clicking "CANCEL" downloads it, and where closing the popup window by clicking the "x" at
the top-right hand corner downloads it.
• Any program (other than 'cookies' which are not programs and are not spyware per se) which is recognized
by legitimate software spyware removal tools as spyware. We also refer to such programs as scumware or
trickware ...or "too-good-to-true-ware".
• This definition is intentionally broad. It's meant to make you wary of many types of software and encourage you
to use your own, good common sense before downloading anything. It is, more than anything our opinion. We
hope you find it useful in your personal battle against spyware, scumware, and trickware.
2. How can you recognize it?
Your first, best, line-of-defense is your own common sense. The Internet, despite its rather altruistic distant past, is not
a free candy store. There are billions, perhaps trillions, of dollars to be made and just like in real life, there are those out
looking for the easy buck. If you see something advertised as free and it pops-up wherever you go, and the company is
practically jamming the software down your throat to get you to install it; or it promises you things that seem too good to
be true. Be suspicious. Take a look at the company offering it. If it’s a big company and they’re offering you something
free, and you think they’re just being nice, beware. You have a judgment call to make. Microsoft offers free things for
your computer and they’re a very big company. We don’t consider their offerings to be spyware because the types of
programs they offer are generally utilities or updates designed to make your Windows experience better.
The Excite Group, a large, publicly traded company, offers “SmileyCentral” AKA “FunWebProducts” free. Hmm...but they
won’t allow you to install “SmileyCentral” without “MyWebSearch” toolbar.(Note: The FTC (Federal Trade Commission)
is very close to banning such tactics as those kinds of tactics are typical of spyware). Excite Group/MyWay spends
millions of dollars promoting their “free programs”. This is an example where you really need to call upon your common
sense and gut instincts despite the assurances they make of “No Spyware!”. Why would a huge company give away
something free and spend millions of dollars promoting it? Just because they like you so much? When is the last time
General Motors gave you a car? Please...beware. Read the FULL EULA of products like “Name removed due to
threat of lawsuit”, SmileyCentral (AKA MyWay, AKA FunWebProducts) and don’t believe every “No Spyware!” you see.