Hijackware

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<h1>Hijackware</h1><p> <br /><br /> ethical: conforming to accepted professional standards of<br /><br /> conduct -- Merriam-Webster OnLine: Collegiate Dictionary.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary.htm" target="bago">http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary.htm</a> 2001. (17 August<br /><br /> 2001).<br /><br /> <br /><br /> I swear, internet marketing companies are getting more obnoxious<br /><br /> and unethical every day. I guess it was just naive to thing the<br /><br /> banner ad risen to it's highest heights of stupidity with the<br /><br /> "punch the money" banner. And I don't know about you, but I<br /><br /> didn't really believe the marketers could get any lower on the<br /><br /> scum scale than the exit windows that run away from the cursor<br /><br /> so they are more difficult to close.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Well, I was wrong and I admit I was incredibly naive.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> The marketers have come up with some incredibly unethical,<br /><br /> horribly annoying gimmicks. The dirty tricks they are pulling<br /><br /> now make exit windows look like child's play. In fact, the games<br /><br /> these boys are playing makes the marketing methods of the<br /><br /> scummiest adult web sites look downright professional in<br /><br /> comparison.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> The trend seems to have started a few years ago with a handy<br /><br /> little utility called Gator. This "tool" professed to offer a<br /><br /> great benefit to surfers - the ability to remember the contents<br /><br /> of forms and password entry screens. Further, since Gator is<br /><br /> actually pretty good at recognizing that a page contains a known<br /><br /> form or password entry field, it is indeed very useful. I<br /><br /> installed the program for a while and found it to be a wonderful<br /><br /> complement to my surfing.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> True, it did have this annoying habit of throwing a "coupon" up<br /><br /> on my screen occasionally. I didn't think much about it at all -<br /><br /> I just closed the coupon as quick as I could. This phenomenon<br /><br /> didn't happen very often - in fact, at first I had difficulty<br /><br /> figuring out what was actually causing it to occur. I naturally<br /><br /> assumed this was a feature of the web site that I was visiting.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> However, the coupons slowly became more and more common, and<br /><br /> they began appearing at the worst possible times. They<br /><br /> interfered with my shopping and surfing habits by breaking my<br /><br /> train of concentration and thought.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> I began to try and understand this strange phenomenon. I quickly<br /><br /> realized this was a byproduct of Gator - and I soon understood<br /><br /> that the utility was simply "bait" to get people to install an<br /><br /> insidious, almost evil, advertising machine on their systems. In<br /><br /> fact, the program is so obnoxious and so unethical that I truly<br /><br /> believe no sane person would install it, no matter what the<br /><br /> benefit, if they completely understood what was going on.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Gator (and other similar, but less popular products) is<br /><br /> something called a "Browser Helper Object". What this means is<br /><br /> it is a small program which makes itself known to Internet<br /><br /> Explorer, telling IE that to send information to Gator about the<br /><br /> web pages that are being loaded into the browser. It's the job<br /><br /> of a Browser Helper Object to extend the capabilities of the<br /><br /> browser in a useful way. In the case of Gator, the usefulness is<br /><br /> to recognize forms and password entry fields so default values<br /><br /> can be inserted.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> In addition, Gator wants to know what kinds of advertisements<br /><br /> are appearing on the pages that are being loaded. It also wants<br /><br /> to see if the page's subject is related to a product which one<br /><br /> of it's paid advertisers is hawking. This is it's real purpose.<br /><br /> The convenience is just a smoke screen.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Let's say you are surfing to your favorite shopping site and you<br /><br /> want to order some flowers. You proceed to the flower shop and<br /><br /> suddenly a "coupon" magically appears in front of you, offering<br /><br /> you flowers elsewhere, presumably better or at a lower cost.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Okay, let's put this in real world terms so you can understand<br /><br /> what's really going on. Let's pretend you are at the mall, going<br /><br /> from shop to shop. There is this guy (let's call him Benedict)<br /><br /> standing behind you with a notebook and pen in his hand. He has<br /><br /> a bag of flyers hanging from one shoulder and a money counting<br /><br /> machine on the other.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> As you go from store to store Benedict watches your every move<br /><br /> (by the way, he has a radio and reports everything you do back<br /><br /> to his home office where it is permanently recorded). You go<br /><br /> into a clothing store and pick up a pair of jeans. Suddenly a<br /><br /> flyer appears under your nose, informing you there are cheaper,<br /><br /> better jeans in a shop down the road. You look Benedict and he<br /><br /> smiles nicely at you. You push the flyer out of the way and keep<br /><br /> shopping.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Now you go into a candy store and walk up to the counter to<br /><br /> order some chocolate. Again, a flyer appears in front of your<br /><br /> face offering you chocolate at discount prices in a competing<br /><br /> store. You push the flyer out of the way and pick out some<br /><br /> chocolate that you want to purchase. Benedict pulls out his<br /><br /> money counting machine, takes your wallet, counts the money,<br /><br /> hands it to the cashier, and returns your wallet. This, by the<br /><br /> way, is the "benefit" that makes it useful to have Benedict<br /><br /> around.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> I'll bet it wouldn't take long before you either called the cops<br /><br /> or punched Benedict in the nose! And, of course, the store<br /><br /> operators would make sure Benedict was arrested and thrown in<br /><br /> jail, and they would sue the company for sure.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Well, guess what, it's gotten worse and more unethical, as hard<br /><br /> as that is to believe.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> According to reports, Gator is now working on a version which<br /><br /> not only throws coupons in front of your face, it actually finds<br /><br /> banners ads and covers them up with other advertisements so<br /><br /> carefully and precisely that you would never know the original<br /><br /> ad was there.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Now Benedict runs ahead of you as you shop and replaces all of<br /><br /> the signs with advertisements for other stores. If you walked<br /><br /> through our hypothetical mall and peaked under that ad for a<br /><br /> movie, you might find there is actually an ad for an entirely<br /><br /> different movie there. The billboard might actually be<br /><br /> advertising something totally different. In fact, the signs in<br /><br /> the stores themselves could be replaced with signs directing you<br /><br /> to other stores.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Is this legal?<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Well, Gator's terms and conditions do tell you they are going to<br /><br /> do this. And you are supposed to read them (all gazillion pages)<br /><br /> before you download the program. And of course, the terms and<br /><br /> conditions are written in such a user friendly and simple way<br /><br /> that you would certainly have no trouble completely<br /><br /> understanding and agreeing to their tactics. (Sarcasm<br /><br /> intentional).<br /><br /> <br /><br /> I'm sure Gator would also argue that web sites do not own the<br /><br /> user's desktops. And after all, the users did agree to the terms<br /><br /> and conditions by installing Gator, so they must want this<br /><br /> "service", right?<br /><br /> <br /><br /> I must admit I am just as guilty as everyone else, when it comes<br /><br /> to reading terms and conditions. I mean, I just downloaded the<br /><br /> silly thing and installed it. I did what everyone else does - I<br /><br /> clicked through the terms and conditions without a glance. For<br /><br /> all I know, I could have signed away my soul.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> This is a lesson we all have to learn - by clicking through the<br /><br /> terms and conditions we AGREE to them. By installing a program,<br /><br /> we AGREE to the terms and conditions. Since the ONLY WAY to<br /><br /> install the program is to click through the screen containing<br /><br /> the terms and conditions and clicking a button that says, "yes I<br /><br /> read this and I understand that my soul now belongs to you and I<br /><br /> am happy with it", well, the companies are covered. Oh yes, and<br /><br /> your soul is toast.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Are programs such as this ethical?<br /><br /> <br /><br /> No. Not by any definition of the word. This is unethical in<br /><br /> terms that the adult web sites have not even come close to.<br /><br /> Programs like Gator are produced by the lowest form of pond scum<br /><br /> - scum which is so dirty and filthy that even normal scum does<br /><br /> not want to be associated with it. In fact, if this pond scum<br /><br /> enters a pond, all of the other scum will go to a different pond<br /><br /> in a different country just so as not to sully their own names<br /><br /> any more than they already have.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> What should we do about it?<br /><br /> <br /><br /> First, we all need to start reading terms and conditions. The<br /><br /> web is based upon these poorly written, conniving and often<br /><br /> one-sided documents. We must ALL begin to read them, understand<br /><br /> them, and if we don't agree to them, then we must not install<br /><br /> the program or use the service.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Second, do as I have done. If you have any Spyware (programs<br /><br /> which report your information back to the home office) or<br /><br /> Hijackware (programs like Gator), uninstall it immediately<br /><br /> without any delay. Download Ad-Aware, run it and follow the<br /><br /> directions. This will allow you to safely remove all of this<br /><br /> junk from your system fast.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Third, if you find out that advertisers are using Hijackware,<br /><br /> then refuse to purchase their products. Be sure and send them an<br /><br /> email to let them know why you are doing so. Be polite and<br /><br /> direct.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Forth, if you like the Hijackware's functions but do not want to<br /><br /> experience it's side effects, then look for an alternative.<br /><br /> There are plenty of programs out there that can do what you want<br /><br /> without being so unethical, obnoxious and downright, well, evil<br /><br /> about it.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> My final advice. Just say no. It's simple and it's easy. Don't<br /><br /> use these kinds of programs and don't purchase from companies<br /><br /> who use them. This is the only way that we will force this kind<br /><br /> of scum out of business.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Additional Information<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Ad Blocking <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Security/adblocking.htm" target="bago">http://www.internet-tips.net/Security/adblocking.htm</a><br /><br /> Banner ads are everywhere, and they take up valuable bandwidth.<br /><br /> In addition, they are ugly and distracting. Here's how to remove<br /><br /> them.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Browser Helper Objects<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Browsers/bho.htm" target="bago">http://www.internet-tips.net/Browsers/bho.htm</a> Is your system<br /><br /> crashing? Perhaps you've unknowingly done what I did - added a<br /><br /> Browser Helper Object.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Products - Ad-Aware<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Products/adaware.htm" target="bago">http://www.internet-tips.net/Products/adaware.htm</a> Want to remove<br /><br /> spyware from your system? Ad-Aware is a quick and simple product<br /><br /> which will help you do that safely.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Products - AdSubtract Pro<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Products/adsubtract.htm" target="bago">http://www.internet-tips.net/Products/adsubtract.htm</a> You want to<br /><br /> eliminate banner ads and web bugs? AdSubtract Pro does an<br /><br /> excellent job.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Products - Cookie Pal<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Products/cookiepal.htm" target="bago">http://www.internet-tips.net/Products/cookiepal.htm</a> Need to<br /><br /> manage cookies as you surf the internet? Then you will not find<br /><br /> a better program than Cookie Pal.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Tanstaaf - Spyware<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Tanstaafl/spyware.htm" target="bago">http://www.internet-tips.net/Tanstaafl/spyware.htm</a> Be careful<br /><br /> installing ad supported products - you may find that you every<br /><br /> move on the internet is being watched!<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Tanstaafl - Spyware - Alexa<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Tanstaafl/spyware_alexa.htm" target="bago">http://www.internet-tips.net/Tanstaafl/spyware_alexa.htm</a> Alexa<br /><br /> is one of the more flagrant spyware products. My advice is to<br /><br /> avoid it like the plague.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Tanstaafl - Juno <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Tanstaafl" target="bago">http://www.internet-tips.net/Tanstaafl</a><br /><br /> anstaafl_juno.htm Juno wants to turn your computer into a module<br /><br /> of it's own supercomputer. Do you really want to let them?<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Web Bugs <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Security/webbugs.htm" target="bago">http://www.internet-tips.net/Security/webbugs.htm</a> Web<br /><br /> bugs are little graphic images inserted into web pages, emails<br /><br /> and other web-aware documents to allow companies to gather<br /><br /> information about you without your knowledge.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Web Bugs Are Crawling Everywhere<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Security/webbugs_growing.htm" target="bago">http://www.internet-tips.net/Security/webbugs_growing.htm</a> You've<br /><br /> heard about web bugs. They are little things designed to track<br /><br /> your movements. Watch out - they are exploding all over the<br /><br /> internet.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> More <a href="http://www.articlesroom.com">free articles</a> from <a href="http://www.articlesroom.com">http://www.articlesroom.com</a>

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