Rant the first: Download This!
I still remember the first computer I ever had. It was a Commodore 64 that used a cassette drive to save. Since that time I've had a number of other computers of almost every shape size and color. Each one came with its own set of problems designed to keep you up very late into the night fixing it, and I'm fine with that. Hell, it's almost fun. Beside, more often than not it was doing something stupid that caused the problem in the first place. You can't really complain about that, after all you brought it on yourself. Even equipment failure, while irritating, is not really anyone's fault. It's just happens, and, again, I'm fine with that.
What I'm not fine with, however, is when the problem comes from someone else making changes I never asked for. Such is the insidious evil that is ad-ware. There is a special circle in hell for the purveyors of this destructive filth.
Could someone please explain to me why we heard so much about spam e-mail, why government spam legislation was considered necessary, and yet nothing is being done to put a stop to this other more irritating, more despicable, more obnoxious, more destructive problem? Spam? Who cares, you delete it and move on with your life. It's no different than the ads that come in regular mail, except they cut down fewer trees to make it. So much the better.
Ad-ware, on the other hand, is such a pain in the ass to seek out and remove. One sweeper program isn't nearly enough to get everything. I use three to keep things to a manageable level. I'm starting to believe that it's the companies who make the sweeper programs who keep writing spyware to sell their product. It's probably not true, but I appreciate the conspiracy.
The thing is I'm pretty relaxed about a lot of things. Pop-up ads don't really bother me. After all, you've got a right to put whatever you want on your site. If you want me to see some ads before I get to the content I'm looking for you can do that. If you want me to download and install some super-saver bargain finder before I'm allowed to go on your page, that's fine too. I just won't go there. Any of these would be fine. When you have something that I want, you can ask me to do things to compensate you for the information. All fine with me.
What I'm objecting to is being unknowingly inundated with unasked for software. You're looking for some stupid piece of information like how many bagels Canadians consume weekly, and suddenly your search bar has been replaced with some other useless search program, and you're getting slider ads from the taskbar. Seriously, if I went into your house, took your old microwave, replaced it with a new crappy microwave, bolted it to your countertop, and put stickers all over everything, you'd probably press charges. This is exactly what all these ad-ware programs do millions of times a day. It's got to be illegal. My computer is personal property, and I should have the right to control what programs are installed on it.
I suggested requiring someone to download some piece of software before being allowed onto a site. There's a reason they don't do it this way. They know that nobody wants it, and that given the choice between ad-ware and not going to that particular site most people would choose to not go. So they resort to trickery and clandestine infiltration to do it instead. Not that it would matter. Even if these programs weren't useless I would still delete them on general principle. I will not be downloaded to without knowledge.
Beyond that, there's another problem inherent in ad-ware. Think for a moment about the big software companies. AOL has a pretty large R&D budget for their software, and they still don't get it right. How much time do you think these tiny little ad-ware companies spend making sure their program won't crash your particular system configuration. My guess is would be somewhere next to none.
So why complain now? It's not exactly a new problem. Well, when I was working on my music post from last Tuesday I needed to double check a lyric, and, in the process, downloaded some spyware that finished its installation process by closing all my open browser windows. Two hours of work had vanished. Some I retyped, but I've decided to leave the rest as a memorial to ad-ware's influence. Then I spent a few hours ripping it all out, and the cycle begins anew. Make me miss that old C64 every now and then.
What I'm not fine with, however, is when the problem comes from someone else making changes I never asked for. Such is the insidious evil that is ad-ware. There is a special circle in hell for the purveyors of this destructive filth.
Could someone please explain to me why we heard so much about spam e-mail, why government spam legislation was considered necessary, and yet nothing is being done to put a stop to this other more irritating, more despicable, more obnoxious, more destructive problem? Spam? Who cares, you delete it and move on with your life. It's no different than the ads that come in regular mail, except they cut down fewer trees to make it. So much the better.
Ad-ware, on the other hand, is such a pain in the ass to seek out and remove. One sweeper program isn't nearly enough to get everything. I use three to keep things to a manageable level. I'm starting to believe that it's the companies who make the sweeper programs who keep writing spyware to sell their product. It's probably not true, but I appreciate the conspiracy.
The thing is I'm pretty relaxed about a lot of things. Pop-up ads don't really bother me. After all, you've got a right to put whatever you want on your site. If you want me to see some ads before I get to the content I'm looking for you can do that. If you want me to download and install some super-saver bargain finder before I'm allowed to go on your page, that's fine too. I just won't go there. Any of these would be fine. When you have something that I want, you can ask me to do things to compensate you for the information. All fine with me.
What I'm objecting to is being unknowingly inundated with unasked for software. You're looking for some stupid piece of information like how many bagels Canadians consume weekly, and suddenly your search bar has been replaced with some other useless search program, and you're getting slider ads from the taskbar. Seriously, if I went into your house, took your old microwave, replaced it with a new crappy microwave, bolted it to your countertop, and put stickers all over everything, you'd probably press charges. This is exactly what all these ad-ware programs do millions of times a day. It's got to be illegal. My computer is personal property, and I should have the right to control what programs are installed on it.
I suggested requiring someone to download some piece of software before being allowed onto a site. There's a reason they don't do it this way. They know that nobody wants it, and that given the choice between ad-ware and not going to that particular site most people would choose to not go. So they resort to trickery and clandestine infiltration to do it instead. Not that it would matter. Even if these programs weren't useless I would still delete them on general principle. I will not be downloaded to without knowledge.
Beyond that, there's another problem inherent in ad-ware. Think for a moment about the big software companies. AOL has a pretty large R&D budget for their software, and they still don't get it right. How much time do you think these tiny little ad-ware companies spend making sure their program won't crash your particular system configuration. My guess is would be somewhere next to none.
So why complain now? It's not exactly a new problem. Well, when I was working on my music post from last Tuesday I needed to double check a lyric, and, in the process, downloaded some spyware that finished its installation process by closing all my open browser windows. Two hours of work had vanished. Some I retyped, but I've decided to leave the rest as a memorial to ad-ware's influence. Then I spent a few hours ripping it all out, and the cycle begins anew. Make me miss that old C64 every now and then.
posted by brian at 1:08 AM
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