As online file traders
stream to Napster alternatives, many find their computers saddled
with unwanted piggyback software that tracks their online movements
and feeds them unwanted advertising.
In efforts to locate revenues from their free services, companies
that create popular programs, including BearShare, Audiogalaxy Satellite
and iMesh, are adding outside pieces of software that have nothing
to do with file trading.
Dubbed "adware," or "spyware" by their critics,
these software programs run in the background even when the original
file-swapping software isn't operating, popping up advertisements
while people surf online, and sometimes quietly uploading information
about a Web surfer's habits.
The programs have sparked a swell of protest from some people computer-savvy
enough to figure out what software is running on their machines
and what it is doing. But the companies defend themselves, saying
there are worse alternatives and they need some revenue sources
if they are to continue to offer their products for free.
"One of the issues around free software is the need to make
money somehow," said Vinnie Falco, chief technical officer
of FreePeers, the company that created the BearShare Gnutella software.
"It's a great compromise between protecting user privacy and
the ability to support free software."
File-swapping companies aren't alone in a scramble for revenues
that is threatening to alienate some people online. The drive for
personal information that might be valuable for advertising purposes
has prompted several companies to offer software that collects this
data and sometimes sends it back to the parent company. Although
most of the companies doing this are relatively small, even larger
companies such as RealNetworks have occasionally tried to keep surreptitious
tabs on computer users' actions.
"This is all over," said Richard Smith, chief technical
officer for the Privacy Foundation. "Anytime you're downloading
a piece of software, you're basically trusting the company not to
do anything too bad."
As file-swapping service Napster continues to decline, people are
streaming to the alternative programs in record numbers, focusing
a spotlight on this type of software. According to statistics kept
by CNET Download.com, a software download site maintained by News.com
publisher CNET Networks, more than 6.8 million people have downloaded
Audiogalaxy's software and more than 3 million have tried FreePeers'
BearShare.
This represents a huge, potentially captive audience for advertisers
who can somehow take advantage of these numbers. And a few are trying.
Did I order this?
The advertising software typically comes bundled with a single installation
program, so there is initially no way to tell what will be installed
on a person's computer.
Some of the services do flag the extra software, either in the license
agreement that people are theoretically supposed to read, in a separate
"readme" text file, or as part of the installation process.
It's rarely entirely clear what the software does, however.
One of the most pervasive pieces of piggyback software is dubbed
"SaveNow," created by a company called WhenU.com. Distributed
along with BearShare, iMesh and the Global DivX player that allows
people to watch many online movies, it tracks where a person goes
online and then pops up separate browser windows with targeted advertisements
or special offers.
Unlike some "spyware" software, this one doesn't send
information back to the company that created it. But it continuously
downloads updated information about new offers and keeps a record
of where a person surfs on that person's own computer. It runs continually--even
when the program it came with is not operating.
Another similar program is distributed with Audiogalaxy. Created
by a company called Gator, the "Offer Companion" is slowly
downloaded to a person's computer after Audiogalaxy is installed
and eventually starts sending information such as e-mail addresses
and Web surfing habits back to Gator.com. It also pops up advertisements
as people surf.
This is an optional feature with Audiogalaxy. People who don't want
it must pay close attention when first installing the service, or
the ad software will be downloaded automatically.
The advertising software has prompted some discussion on bulletin
boards online and drawn criticism from people who say the extra
programs are privacy violations and can hurt computer performance.
"SaveNow is buggy and tends to screw up your network connection,"
Manish Vij, a BearShare user and founder of Web design firm NetStudio,
wrote in an e-mail to News.com. "Every time I launch a browser,
SaveNow keeps trying to run and makes my network connection flaky."
People can check what kinds of software might be running in the
background without their knowledge by checking the Windows Task
Manager, which is started by pushing the Alt, Tab and Ctrl keys
all together in Windows 95 or 98. In Windows 2000 or NT, computer
users must then click the "Task Manager" button to reach
the right screen. More information on other piggyback programs can
be found several places online, including Cexx.org.
Privacy experts caution that people should be aware of what they
are downloading and where it is from, particularly if it is a piece
of software. They say companies need to do a better job of warning
their customers what will be installed on their computers.
"I think this really breeds mistrust across the industry,"
the Privacy Foundation's Smith said. "I think companies need
to be more forthcoming." |
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