What is Adware?
Adware or advertising-supported software is any software application in which advertisements are displayed while the program is running. These applications include additional code that displays the ads in pop-up windows or through a bar that appears on a computer screen. The Opera web browser is a popular example. Adware helps recover programming development costs, and helps to hold down the price of the application for the user (even making it free of charge)—and, of course, it can give programmers a profit, which helps to motivate them to write, maintain, and upgrade valuable software. Some adware is also shareware, as such it may be used as term of distinction used to differentiate between types of shareware software. What differentiates adware from other shareware is that it is primarily advertising supported. Users may also be given the option to pay for a “registered” or “licensed” copy, which typically does away with the advertisements. Other types of shareware include demoware,
Adware is software that is freely available for download, but differs from freeware in that adware is ad-sponsored. In many cases adware can be a type of Internet application that runs while the user is online, providing a live feed of changing advertisements, versus built-in static or limited advertising. Adware is a close cousin of spyware as many adware programs collect information about the user to send back to advertisers for purposes of profiling for targeted ad-serving. In the early days of the dot com boom advertisers overestimated the response consumers would have to aggressive online advertising, and many dot coms that relied on income from advertising sponsors went bust. In the height of the advertising fury, a few Internet Service Providers (ISPs) even offered free Internet service in return for using adware that ran banners and feeds across every page. When it became clear that people did not want to endure aggressive advertising, even to get something for free, the ISPs s
Adware, also known as an Adbot, can do a number of things from profile your online surfing and spending habits to popping up annoying ad windows as you surf. In some cases Adware has been bundled with other software (i.e. peer-to-peer file swapping products) without the user’s knowledge or slipped in the fine print of an EULA (End User License Agreement).
Adware is a term covering a large range of software that gathers information without your knowledge. This software uses your Internet connection and can track where you go and what you do. Usually adware is added as an extra component of freeware and shareware programs; you agree to the adware in the service agreement you know that agreement that you likely never read. Once installed, adware can transmit information back to someone else through your computer. Sounds a lot like spyware, right? Adware and spyware are actually the same. The difference is that spyware abuses its powers to monitor a users activity and is often a secret component of a program, though it is often used for advertising purposes just like adware. Adware is capable of capturing and transmitting email addresses, credit card numbers, passwords, and other private information, but only those using it as spyware use it for those reasons. Removing Adware Adware is often more annoying than it is dangerous, though someon
