PC Pitstop has mentioned the problem with spyware and kids before, but last week's CNet spyware conference showed it isn't going to be easy getting quick and meaningful action on this issue. It's too bad. While some adware makers like WhenU seemed to be genuinely interested in changing their ways, others like Claria seemed intentionally evasive and unwilling to change any of their practices.
Search Scout is one of the features of the Gator Advertising Information Network (GAIN). Gator has a partnership with Overture Services to display keyword-based text ads. The GAIN background software monitors the web pages you visit and the information you enter into search forms. If GAIN determines that you are doing a web search, or you are visiting sites that are associated with particular keywords, Search Scout kicks into action and displays Overture advertising or other results that match the keywords.
Today I read that Thomas Cook has begun an online ad campaign that includes advertising on Claria's GAIN ad network. I wanted to make Oyster Partners and Thomas Cook aware that there may be negative aspects to associating their brands with Claria and its GAIN network. Although Claria claims that its users have opted into the GAIN network, our own research shows that most users do not even know the software is installed on their system. A survey of users commissioned by StaySafeOnline showed similar negative feelings about products such as Claria's. Other researchers have found that Claria/GAIN uses
misleading installation and disclosure practices.
There was a time that Darth Vader was one with the force, but alas, he went to the dark side. And there was a time that Yahoo was the brightest star in the Internet constellation. My browser favorites are chock full of Yahoo sites, including Yahoo Maps and Yahoo Yellow Pages. My home page is My Yahoo, and I save all of my contacts in the Yahoo address book so I can access them from both my PC and my cell phone. There may be better solutions out there, but in almost all cases Yahoo was the first.
When Yahoo acquired Overture in September 2003, it may have bought itself a load of trouble.
Prior to the Yahoo acquisition, Overture had cut a deal with Gator (which has since changed its name to Claria Corporation) to display Overture pay-per-click advertising to users of the Gator Advertising Information Network (GAIN). As we've noted in earlier investigations, this deal took many Overture customers by surprise. When we contacted some Overture advertisers in September 2003, several were unaware that their ads were now being shown to Gator users and one indicated to us that they had discontinued their Overture advertising as a result.
What is it like to be a Gator user? We get plenty of reports in our forums, but we decided to get first-hand information by installing GAIN software on our own systems. We also wanted to find out if there are any good things about GAIN ads–do they have the potential to help users find great deals on products and services? The results weren't pretty. Rob's system became very unstable almost immediately. Dave didn't have system instability, but received many GAIN ads that were anything but targeted.
Our survey found that an astounding 74 percent of Gator users did not know that a Gator or GAIN application had been installed on their system, and an additional 15 percent had not read Gator's license agreement. Compare those results to Gator's assertion that users are "inviting" Gator onto their PC's. We decided to take a look at several ways in which Gator gets "invited" onto a PC, and whether the process may be confusing users into making an uninformed choice.
Claria Corporation (formerly Gator Corporation) has filed an S-1 statement, the first step in the United States for an initial public offering (IPO) of stock. The S-1 is a very useful document because it requires the company to be very clear and honest about its business prospects. Potential investors use the S-1 to determine whether to buy stock, and to determine a fair price for that stock.
Special Report: The FTC Spyware Workshop
Continued Attacks Against Anti-Spyware Sites
Inadequate Disclosure by Claria/Gator and WhenU
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Solve Your PC Problems At The Pit
Rob Cheng
Dave Methvin
Steve Hogan
Lyle Schuknecht
Bill Zahren