Software Information |
|
Spyware, Adware, etc. -- Terms and Common Sense
When reading an article where some term is used often, it is useful to make sure the author of the article and you mean the same. Not surprisingly for those who still remember English lessons at school, every noun ending with "ware" is a mixture of objects having something in common--usually used for similar purposes. So it tends to be when "ware" is short for "software"; sometimes it's pretty tricky to define exactly what kind of software it includes and what these programs do. If the terms "adware" and "spyware" are used in an article as synonyms (sometimes even experienced journalists make such a mistake), readers will just wonder why there are so many words for the same stuff. Since computer programmers and gurus don't read these articles at all, an average user feels bewildered when he finishes reading. Too many terms with too vague meanings?it's nothing more than my own impression, because I am not a programmer or a guru--just a linguist. I'm still trying to make a head and tail of it. Spyware, adware, malware, what else? - trackware, trapware, crapware, junkware, snoopware? Readers have heard a lot about browser hijackers, dialers, keyloggers, cookies, BHOs, Trojan horse programs, viruses, worms?What a motley crew! Is it possible for the average non-tech person to memorize their numerous definitions and knotty relations with one another? What is a part of which? If one looks trough several definitions of "spyware" given in some articles, he is going to find muddle and confusion instead of clarity. Well, let's use common sense. Fortunately, it is sometimes easy to guess from the type of a program what such programs actually do--so, let' try. A browser hijacker is software that hijacks browsers (and does some other nasty things). Correct. A keylogger is software that logs keystrokes (ditto). Exactly. Adware is software used for targeted advertising. Well, yes. There must be as many types of programs as there exist methods of advertising. Pop-up flood is also method of advertising. Is hijacking a browser also an approach to advertising? If it is so, creators of those annoying browser hijackers have somehow perverted logic. And what about tracking potential customers? It is exactly the point where "adware" and "spyware" meet. People also tend to call all unwanted software "spyware" because these programs are installed without users' consent. But?nobody has ever wanted any advertising in print or on TV. Will you watch an ads-only channel? Will you buy an ads-only magazine? Online advertising just follows the tendency (sometimes going too far) to get exposure, to make a user notice ads-- at all cost. Is spyware software used for spying, as one may deduce from the name? Yes and no. If software collects information and transmits it, such a program is automatically called "spyware" no matter how valuable this information is. That is why keyloggers (programs specially created for capturing key strokes) and cookies are both called "spyware". Well, if cookies and BHOs are kinds of spyware-- then a unicycle and roller skates are vehicles. When calling some kind of programs "spyware" we should at least consider what they "steal" and how this information is used. Other terms are also pretty indistinct, though sometimes amusing. Terms like " crapware" and "junkware" aren't very good, they just show attitude to such software instead of meaning anything clear. "Malware" is too broad and too general. If one hears that some software is called malicious, he has no idea about what kind of software it is. Dividing software into malicious and benign is like dividing all, say, plants just into eatable and uneatable. As for viruses, worms and Trojan horse programs, this fauna (not paying a slightest attention to the laws of biology) has already made up such hybrids with one another that no genetic engineer could probably dream about. Programmers say that there are almost no such viruses, worms or Trojans as they used to be only several years ago. These terms might become obsolete pretty soon because of this "evolution". "Trojan horse" is pretty elegant term, by the way -- there is a clear idea of something benign-looking with some potentially dangerous core inside. Makes people remember history, Ancient Greeks and Homer. All these may seem amusing for a philologist and make a good material for a linguistic study, but for an average PC user who would like to know what exactly his anti-spy software protects against, it is still a confusing mess of terms. Alexandra Gamanenko currently works as a PR manager at the Raytown Corporation, LLC--an independent software developing company. website http://www.anti-keyloggers.com
MORE RESOURCES: Software vendors dump open source, go for the cash grab Computerworld Microsoft is removing this 30-year-old software from Windows: How you’ll be affected, alternatives and mo The Times of India The Single Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Software Stock to Buy, According to a Wall Street Analyst -- No, It's Not Nvidia Yahoo Finance AI hallucinates software packages and devs download them – even if potentially poisoned with malware The Register GM loses another software leader amid more reorganization Detroit Free Press Finding software flaws early in the development process provides ROI Help Net Security RefleXion to incorporate Limbus software into planning system Medical Device Network The Single Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Software Stock to Buy, According to a Wall Street Analyst -- No, It's Not Nvidia The Motley Fool DPP launches new software to improve efficiency Spectrum News Risk management specialist Abrigo snaps up TPG Software for investment accounting tech FinTech Futures Results: Progress Software Corporation Exceeded Expectations And The Consensus Has Updated Its Estimates Yahoo Finance Shareholders in Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) are in the red if they invested three years ago Yahoo Finance Kilgore ISD receives $25000 for bus tracking software CBS19.tv KYTX Abrigo Buys TPG Software FinSMEs Polestar 4 China Recall: Brake Software Issue The BRAKE Report Productivity Boost: Real Uses of AI in the Software You Already Have Legal Talk Network We Need to Decarbonize Software IEEE Spectrum Leading the Way: Software Solutions for Finance Leadership Excellence The Rolla Daily News - The Rolla Daily News Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. to Acquire The Gearbox Entertainment Company Inc., Developer of Highly ... Business Wire Unpleasant Surprises Could Be In Store For Paycom Software, Inc.'s (NYSE:PAYC) Shares Simply Wall St Progress Software Confirms Bid to Acquire MariaDB The Wall Street Journal Elon Musk Pushes to Increase Use of 'Full Self-Driving' Software as Tesla Sales Cool The Wall Street Journal Hedge fund Citadel makes a rare software engineering hire from Twitter/X eFinancialCareers Defense Modernization Caucus aims to help military cut through red tape, acquiring emerging technologies and software 13newsnow.com WVEC NAB 2024: RT Software Announces New Partnership with Videodata Sports Video Group The Government's Struggles With Outsourcing Software Development The New York Times Using Multicloud Network Software to Enable Business Critical GenAI Applications Featured The Fast Mode HB Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) Defense World 7 No-Brainer Software Stocks to Own Now InvestorPlace Can Genesis Succeed Where Lexus and Infiniti Struggled? EVs and Software Could Be the Ticket MotorTrend NAB 2024: Evertz Highlights New Features for Its Software-Defined Video-Networking Solution Sports Video Group Switching to a Payroll Software Mid Year Is Seamless with Latest 2024 EzPaycheck Payroll Software PR Web These 2 DevOps Stocks Are Must-Owns for Software Investors, Says Wall Street Analyst - Yahoo Finance NAB Show: Pebble Launches PRIMA Software Platform TV Technology Software Stocks Give IBD 50 Something To Chew On As Charts Start To Look Better Investor's Business Daily Porsche and Applied Intuition announce joint developments Porsche Newsroom Do Analysts Expect Paycom Software Inc (PAYC) Stock to Rise After It Has Gained 8.87% in a Month? InvestorsObserver Intel, Microsoft Slip as China Blocks Foreign Chips, Software in Government Computers - Investopedia AI Facilitates Rapid Development of Diabetes Prevention Software, Study Finds The Healthcare Technology Report. 15 Biggest Software Companies in the UK Yahoo Finance Australia Bytes and Bias– Unraveling the Influence of Gender Dynamics in Open Source Software - hackernoon.com |
RELATED ARTICLES
Windows x: Basic Windows "Security" Issues Language development computer: Computer-based method for aiding language development seems like an interesting idea, the trick with this would be in getting the computer to take on part of the role of the human in the checking process.In all computer aided learning applications aimed at the very young, there is a danger that the computer may be seen as a replacement for a human instructor, however computer are notorious for not volunteering information or inability to deal with erratic behaviour. C++ Function Templates C++ Function templates are those functions which can handle different data types without separate code for each of them. For a similar operation on several kinds of data types, a programmer need not write different versions by overloading a function. Chinese Input - Step by Step Instruction on How to Input Chinese Characters in English Windows XP Enabling Chinese input is quick and easy, there are only a few steps you need go through to install the Chinese Language support and input method before you can type Chinese in your word processor or other program.We have broken the steps to 3 different sections for your easier to read and follow. What You Must Know About Spyware Right Now Spyware is like the new technological nuclear weapon on the internet. Spyware can not only damage the health of your computer but it can also steal your personal identity other personal information. Groupware as a Document Manager: Collaboration Series #3 This article is the third of a series of articles exploring specific aspects of groupware. The brief informational articles in this series discuss some of the technologies associated with groupware, as well as some of the characteristics of groupware. Freight Forwarding ERP: Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains customization & setup - overview Microsoft Great Plains may be recommended for international freight forwarding / transportation company. Great Plains has such features as multicurrency (Euro, Pound, Yuan, Yen, Peso, Real), Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese (and if needed Unicode-specific languages such as Chinese, Japanese). Microsoft Great Plains Food Processing - Implementation & Customization Highlights Microsoft Great Plains might be considered as ERP platform to build your own custom solution upon or as the assembly place for the existing modules. Microsoft Great Plains has Inventory Control (IV), Bill of Materials (BM), Manufacturing modules, coming from Microsoft Business Solutions directly, plus it has third party solutions, such as Horizon Light Manufacturing. How to Build a Basic CSS Layout Designing without tables by using CSS layouts is fast becoming the new standard on the Web because of the benefits mentioned in my previous article. Web browsers used these days are now able to render web pages proficiently. S is for Spying, Surveillance -- and for Software as Well Words we choose to describe things and phenomena often show our attitude towards what we say. They imperceptibly reflect our opinions and judgments, prejudices and preferences, moral convictions and beliefs. Microsoft Great Plains Distribution, Barcoding, Consignment - overview for consultant Microsoft Great Plains - ERM from Microsoft Business Solutions and formerly Great Plains Software is pretty generic with its standard set of modules: GL, BR, AR, AP, IV, SOP, POP and US Payroll. However, having about twelve years of implementation and customization history - Great Plains Dynamics, Dynamics C/S+, eEnterprise being Great Plains Dexterity written application has been and still is attractive core platform for third party software development companies to write vertical and horizontal modules, written as well in Great Plains Dexterity. Daffodil DB: Web Database What is a Web Database?A web database is a database for the internet. You can get access to your data via the internet from anywhere in the world. Great Plains Dynamics on Pervasive/Ctree support - overview for consultant All of us know that Microsoft bought former Great Plains Software and formed Microsoft (Great Plains) Business Solutions in the earlier 21st century. It was total success for GPS, we guess, but for Great Plains Dynamics / eEnterprise / Dynamics C/S+ clients it was the time of change. Great Plains Dexterity Development: FAQ Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is Dexterity-written application and currently we see increased interest for Great Plains customers to do in-house Dexterity development and customization. Dexterity itself is written on C programming language and its initial architecture was based on the Graphical and Database platform independence, which C programming language was believed to provide. Microsoft RMS Customization - PO Items Receiving in Great Plains Microsoft Retail Management (RMS) and Microsoft Great Plains are retail and accounting/ERP solutions coming from the same Microsoft subdivision - Microsoft Business Solutions. There is often common need to do integration between the two. New Web-Based HR Tool is Max From NAS, Hannibal, and InfoLink Three highly respected names in Human Resources have joined forces to provide companies with a revolutionary blend of services that make the hiring process more efficient and effective. The partnership joins three companies: NAS Recruitment Communications, a recognized leader in the specialized field of human resource communications, Hannibal, Inc. These Items Are A Must Before Making The Decision To Purchase Any Off-The-Shelf Software 1. What determines the software price? Is it Per Seat or Per User or Per Processor?The cost of software is determined in many ways. Microsoft Great Plains Implementation & Customization: Computer Parts Retailer Example Microsoft Great Plains fits to majority of horizontals and retail business is good fit as well. We'll consider the system, consisting from Microsoft Great Plains as Accounting, Inventory Pricing and Microsoft Retail Management System (RMS) Headquarters and Store Operations Manager. Microsoft Moves to Small Business Accounting/Retail Market - Stakes and Thoughts In this small article we will be looking at the new opportunities for Microsoft Small Business Server specialists, but rather look at the global business strategy and possible ways of future ERP modules standardizing and interoperability. This is important to get into consideration for midsize and large corporate business IT decision makers. 5 Time-Saving Tips in Microsoft Word Whether you have used Microsoft Word for years, have just switched from WordPerfect or are new to word processing, try these easy steps to save time and simplify your work in Word:Turn off Personalized Menus and ToolbarsAlthough it is a default, Personalized Menus and Toolbars is a terrible "feature" which limits your initial view to select toolbar buttons and menu commands. Do you only have one row of toolbars at the top of the screen? When you click on a menu, does it expand only after a few seconds? If so, you will save yourself a lot of frustration by turning off this personalized display:1. eConnect: eCommerce Development for Microsoft Great Plains Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has several options to enable web ordering. Traditionally Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise had eOrder - this is ASP pages based ordering application, enabling you to place or retrieve your Sales Order Processing (SOP) Sales Orders over the web. |
home | site map |
© 2006 |