A number of adware companies are said to have petitioned anti-spyware firms to get their software "delisted," while others have threatened legal action to get their software removed from the spyware/adware catchers.
A published report said several anti-spyware/adware makers like Lavasoft (Ad-Aware6), Aluria, and PestPatrol have stopped detecting software from Claria, WhenU, and other companies, but added it's difficult for anti-spyware users to know whether their programs have indeed delisted any such programs.
"When a spyware program gets delisted, users won't be aware of its presence," Harvard law student and spyware researcher Ben Edelman told PCWorld, adding that delisting gives spyware and adware makers "a new lease on life, letting them keep users who otherwise would have removed their software."
At least one of the adware makers insists it doesn't use illegal moves like exploiting security holes to install its programs. WhenU's Avi Naider told PCWorld that other adware makers will track user surfing and sell the data they draw from it, whereas WhenU's privacy policy doesn't allow search query tracking or Web browsing tracking.
Claria and WhenU are making the case that their adware programs don't resort to illegal tactics, such as exploiting security holes, to install themselves. And though this software can be annoying, adware developers argue that merely being listed in an anti-spyware scanner's database tarnishes a company's reputation by linking its relatively benign adware application with far more harmful and intrusive spyware programs.
According to Avi Naider of WhenU, though some other adware companies will track your Web meanderings and sell that data, WhenU's privacy policy doesn't permit it to track the search queries that users type or the Web pages that they browse.
Claria, like WhenU, calls its clientele "permission-based users who provide up front acceptance and consent before receiving any ads. All of the behaviors that we identify, collect and analyze are anonymous."
WhenU is not exactly a stranger to anti-spyware activity or even lawmaking. Last year, the company sued to get a block on a Utah anti-spyware law that barred companies from installing programs that report user actions online, send personal data to other companies, or throw up pop-up ads without user consent.
Naidler said at that time that his company wanted to end spyware and supported federal anti-spyware legislation yet argued that Utah's bid blocked legitimate Internet advertising. A judge granted that block in June 2004.
WhenU sued to stop the law after it was used in an infringement suit that involved another company, Coastal Contacts, which was accused of using WhenU programs to send trademark-infringing advertisements.
Claria also publicly denounces spyware while questioning whether anti-spyware makers are giving consumers the whole story.
"Spyware is insidious, and Claria supports the goals of the major anti-spyware software developers, which are to help consumers understand what software is on their computers and to give consumers the information and tools they need to take control of their desktops," Claria chief executive Jeff McFadden said before addressing the Network Advertising Initiative Forum in early May. "Unfortunately, the anti-spyware industry has a long way to go to meet those goals."
McFadden said a major consideration is separating the legitimate online advertisers from the unscrupulous ones.
"There is a big difference from the practices of quality adware companies vs. the bad actor spyware purveyors who are hurting consumers as well as companies like Claria," he said, "so we need to continue to support the anti-spyware effort using our resources and involvement of our team of privacy and policy professionals."
