Tag: ADWARE

Acronis is a fairly trusted name in the world of system utilities. Such trust is not easily gained, and should not be abused. This is all the more reason why I am so disappointed with Acronis Drive Monitor. I downloaded it, hoping for an easy utility to tell me whether or not my drive was failing. Before letting me download this "free" tool, Acronis wanted my full name, country and email address. ...

I got a heads-up email today that Foxit Reader -- one of the most widely-used Adobe Reader alternatives -- had released a new version. Curious, I headed over to the site to download and install the new version. After all, Foxit's popularity means our readers might be interested in reading about a major version update. During the installer's first couple of screens, the Ask toolbar was offered ...

ImgBurn is an excellent, free application for all kinds of burning tasks. Its developer Lightning UK has built a number of improvements into recent versions -- making an already good program even better. Version 2.5.1 is now available for download and the changelog is a typically lengthy one. Two key alterations are worth noting. First, ImgBurn's disc layout editor view now includes an ...

Digsby, I really want to like your app. It is, after all, one of the best multi-protocol instant messaging apps around. But when you keep doing unsavory stuff like this, well... it makes it hard to do that. If you happen to be connected to Digsby's email sewage pipe, you no doubt received the same offer I did. It read kind of like this: "Hey, we're friends with the dudes at ad.ly and they pay ...

Digsby took a lot of heat recently after Lifehacker slammed them for "joining the dark side" -- something a commenter pointed out back in November 2008 when I vented about the adware-packed new installer. Over on the Digsby blog today, they're trumpeting a new version - one which adds of new Facebook features (things like commenting, liking, and photos), Myspace IM support (stop chuckling), ...

PCLive Security is a full featured security suite for Windows. It helps protect you from viruses, spyware, rootkits, keyloggers, and adware. Oh yeah, and it happens to be free. While there are several other free security applications out there, none come with quite so many features in one package. PCLive Security includes the ClamAV antivirus engine, a bi-directional firewall, and a pop-up and ...

For the Windows users out there who've been affected by adware, this might be salt to the wounds: ArsTechnica is reporting that Microsoft of all firms has patented the "mother of all adware systems" - an advertising framework that allows adverts to be matched to data you search, and potentially data on your hard drive as well. There are, of course, huge privacy concerns that we'll be watching, and ...

Ever have a virus or other program that you can't get rid of because it won't die long enough for you to delete it? When Spybot, Ad-Aware, and others fail, turn to Killbox. This handy-dandy download will kill anything currently running on your PC, so you can remove it. Simply enter the path of the offending guest, and Killbox will go to town on it. Think of it like the in-memory mafia. Killbox ...

Naturally there's a paid version you can upgrade to, but the free one, MorphVOX Junior is pretty fun itself. It's a voice changer application for Windows from Screaming Bee. No, you can't change your voice to a screaming bee, whatever that would sound like. Your choices are Tiny man (like helium), Man, or Woman. While this app is free of spyware and such, it does run little banner ads at the top ...

What a noble goal: a community watch online for spyware, malware, and adware (the really insidious kind anyway). The stated mission of Stopbadware.org is this: "We will seek to provide reliable, objective information about downloadable applications in order to help consumers to make better choices about what they download on to their computers. We aim to become a central clearinghouse for ...