The Two Sides of the Free Yahoo! Anti-Spyware
Spyware Defined
The key to understanding anti-spyware is to understand the very software that it is acting against, the spyware. Spyware is a broad description of any software program that resides and operates in your PC without your consent. It is unlike a virus, which destroys data in your PC. Spyware spies on your PC and can minimally provide unwanted advertisement over and over again (generally referred to as adware), or worse, provide your personal information and surfing habits to other companies, without your permission. Though spyware is not a virus, being infected with a severely abusive spyware can cause many-a-PC-crashes due to memory overload.
There are two ways by which you get infected. First, spyware may come bundled with other free software that you purposely install. As you install the freeware, spyware is installed at the same time, without your knowledge. Another way of getting infected is through security flaws in Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). You may download Microsoft software updates to address these flaws, but is limited only to those using the XP OS. If you have not done this exercise, or are using an older version of the Microsoft OS, your PC remains susceptible to spyware. To address this mode of getting the dreaded program, you may install an anti-spyware program active in your browser, like the free yahoo anti-spyware.
Yahoo! Anti-Spyware Characterized
So what is the Yahoo! anti-spyware program all about? Well, as its name implies, it combats spyware. To be clear, it is not a stand-alone program that you can download from Yahoo! for free. It comes with the Yahoo! toolbar, an add-on feature to your browser’s tool bar for convenient access to Yahoo!’s search engine. So, the anti-spyware is a feature of the Yahoo! tool bar.
Yahoo launched the beta in mid 2004, at around the same time that the US Congress looked into IE’s flaws. The anti-spyware was actually created by PestPatrol™ Inc., a Computer Associates™ Inc. brand of personal and enterprise anti-spyware programs. So the same protection from a $30 PestPatrol™ program can now be experienced for free, by downloading the Yahoo! toolbar.
Well, not quite as experienced users will share. Right from Yahoo! toolbar’s message board, a lot of users provided feedback with the inability of Yahoo! anti-spyware to remove and prevent all spyware, particularly adware from its partner company, Claria. Claria is the same company as Gator, a pioneer in spyware activities since early 2000. There seems to be a common observation that not all unwanted pop-up ads are blocked by the Yahoo! anti-spyware and that these ads usually come from Claria. To totally block off those program, the user needs to turn off the adware feature every time the browser starts up.
Yahoo! spokesperson about the issue said in defense, that they have no control over the functionalities of the anti-spyware and that PestPatrol™ Inc. provides the set-up. PestPatrol™ does confirm that their anti-spyware does not address adware intrusion, but in a separate press release, boasts that their software fully addresses Gator.
Final Decision
So that’s the two sides of the coin about the free Yahoo! anti-spyware. If you have budget concerns and have conservative surfing habits, then this anti-spyware is for you. However, if you surfing through dangerous e-waters is your lifestyle, then try to save up for a paid subscription against spy(ad)ware. The final decision is up to you.
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