Get That #@&* Spyware Off My Computer!
PCWorld | at | by Mike
You downloaded a new version of Netscape Communicator or RealPlayer, only to discover that you received an uninvited "download manager" in the deal? If you think a download manager sounds useless, you're mistaken. It actually is useful to someone--just not to you.
Tools such as Real's RealDownload, Netscape's SmartDownload, and Radiate's GoZilla have just one objective: to monitor and log your download activity, and then send targeted Web advertising to you based on that activity. And those programs aren't the only nosy parkers in town. Hundreds of freeware, shareware, ad-supported, and even shrink-wrapped commercial applications contain components that maintain a record of your online activity and transmit that information to an advertiser's server.