4 ms·
It's malware. No one wants adware and toolbars. Even if you ask politely and they say yes, no one wants that, and no one should have it. A spade is a spade.
by lawnchair_larry 13y ago
It's malware. No one wants adware and toolbars. Even if you ask politely and they say yes, no one wants that, and no one should have it. A spade is a spade.
- joh6nn 13y agoas i said in response to another post, i hate adware and toolbars as much as the next person, but semantics is important: malware is malicious software. a toolbar that i did not intend to install, but is not malicious, is not malware.
- w-ll 13y agoWhat do you think those toolbars do? Inspect and Inject javascript into webpages, send my web browsing history to their master servers. It cant imagine a toolbar that isn't malicious.
- parineum 13y agoAdware becomes malware when it resists removal.
- mortenjorck 13y agoI consider this sort of software harmful, but there is definitely an important distinction between it and software that actively tries to steal your credit card numbers, run a botnet, or send spam email. We need a word specifically for software that makes an attempt to abide by the law and avoid any outright malice, yet exists in a sort of moral gray area. I propose "grayware."
- bashinator 13y agoHow about "junkware" or "crapware"?
- jamornh 13y agoAnd I thought these were already the terms we use for this type of software...
- jlgreco 13y ago"Malware" as I understand it is basically a catch-all term for software that is harmful (hence "mal"). Don't these toolbars usually report your browsing habits anyway though? If so they are spyware which clearly makes them malware.
- rcthompson 13y agoBarnacleware.
- dsl 13y agoMalware distributed by IAC / Ask.com, which is Google's largest distribution partner. Some Googlers should pressure them with some do no evil.
- ams6110 13y agoMore than that, when I see those kind of opt in/out adware or toolbar things in an installer, I immediately lose trust in the underlying software I'm trying to install. Guilt by association.