Surf Faster with Ad-Aware
Written: May 23 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Free, lightening fast, removes spyware, small download.
Cons: Disables some free ware.
The Bottom Line: Ad-Aware stops spyware from tying up your Internet connection.
|
|
|
| timewalker's Full Review: AD-Aware |
SpyWare - The Big Brother Of The Internet
Like it or not, the internet is free because of ads. The flashing banners and popups don't bother me cause I don't look at them. Of course, my browser would load faster if the flash and cold fusion were not on the web sites. But Internet Explore, Netscape and even Opera have options to turn the graphics on or off. I do think the makers of so called freeware are stepping over the line when they include programs that spy on me in their "free" downloads. If I'm at your site and you want to know who I am and where I came from, then don't let me in if I have my cookies disabled. But don't follow me around and snoop on me. If you want to know where I'm going and what I'm doing, then ask. And if you are nice about it, then maybe I'll tell you. But it should be my choice. It's not that I'm doing anything I'm ashamed of or trying to be sneaky about it. It's just that it is none of your *$#%@!! business.
The Up Side To SpyWare
The spyware is there to fine tune banner ads to certain individuals. And this makes a lot of sense. Why would a company want to waste time and money flashing ads about Monster Trucks and Auto Parts Houses to someone who has no interest in them at all? If you play online games, then ads about computer games would be something you would read. How would they know what you are interested in? Well, by the sites you go to, of course. What's the best way to find out what sites you go to? Why, to follow you around and see, of course. After all, it is the ads that keep the Internet almost free. Why not have fine tuned ads aimed at what you like instead of things you'd never buy even if you were richer than The Donald? We are all consumers, you know?
Faster Surfing With Ad-Aware
Although I dislike people who peak at me. I close the curtains in my house so people can't look in. You never know who might be looking and what they are looking for. But it's not an invasion of privacy issue when it comes to spyware. The programs are free because of the ads that sponsor them. Here, you have three choices. 1)Pay for the program and there will be no spyware. 2)Allow the spyware to do it's job or 3)Install Ad-Aware and remover the spyware.
I have a 56K dial-up modem, and my Internet connection was slower than Granny going upstairs with a broken leg. When I installed Ad-Aware, it found and removed over 200 spy ware programs. No wonder my Internet connection was so slow. My browser had to wait till the spyware completed it's mission before it would load my sites. There's only so much through put to go around. Now my Internet connection is only slower than Granny in the bathroom. But after I removed the spy ware, my Internet speed almost doubled.
Not all freeware has spyware included with the downloads, but most of them do. The programs that wouldn't work after the spyware was removed, I uninstalled. I'd rather have a faster Internet connection than some nifty little "free" tool on my task bar.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
timewalker
|
|
Location: Lakes Region, NH, USA
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.