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I'm sorry, but, spyware is spyware whether you call it so or not.
This program -- by its own admission -- meets the criteria of monitoring activity for marketing purposes. That is, assuming it is safe. Quite frankly, the way this WhenU crap is spreading just like Gator used to, it looks like it may become the next Gator. Right now it seems innocent enough, but, so did Gator in it's earliest stages.
And the reason why people state that spyware sacrifices integrity, speed, and reliability is because it is using resources. Not just networking, it wastes memory, cpu, and harddrive space. Usually each one is a small amount, but, when every program tries to install its own spyware, it adds up in a HURRY. Then there's the biggest problem of all. They can have conflicts, poorly written code, trigger bugs, etc and decrease reliability. A simple spyware program can sometimes actually make a system massively unstable even though it is something so seemingly harmless as a search bar. Not to mention that some act exactly like a virus and fight you tooth and nail when you try to remove them all the while making your system unstable. As you see in the article, spyware differs from a virus in that it isn't self replicating. It is, in fact, almost the same thing as a trojan designed slightly less maliciously. Instead of a cracker trying to get back doors into people's systems with the intentions of using them as zombies, we have commercial companies trying to get back doors into people's systems with the intentions of grabbing information about what the user is doing.
Frankly, I'm just really dissapointed. It's very depressing to see a great tool like Daemon-Tools go the way of so many others I've seen in the past. Once they add the spyware (whether they say "this is NOT spyware" in the agreement or not) they usually don't last much longer. Let's hope this isn't going to be one of those, but, I have only seen a few manage to pick up the peices of what happens when they eventually go too far and everyone leaves in droves. I am most dissapointed that the daemon tools team would choose to go this route though.
Sorry, I'm just stating the facts as I see them. The fact is, it uses spyware, and the fact is that the greater majority of programs that go this route die shortly after. I strongly suggest going commercial instead. People WILL pay. We like Daemon Tools and think the people who work on it deserve to be paid for giving us such a wonderfully useful tool. Sure, there will be some who pirate it, but, I'll bet it doesn't take many buyers to make as much of a profit as the spyware, not to mention that if the spyware drives everyone away it makes no profit.
This program -- by its own admission -- meets the criteria of monitoring activity for marketing purposes. That is, assuming it is safe. Quite frankly, the way this WhenU crap is spreading just like Gator used to, it looks like it may become the next Gator. Right now it seems innocent enough, but, so did Gator in it's earliest stages.
And the reason why people state that spyware sacrifices integrity, speed, and reliability is because it is using resources. Not just networking, it wastes memory, cpu, and harddrive space. Usually each one is a small amount, but, when every program tries to install its own spyware, it adds up in a HURRY. Then there's the biggest problem of all. They can have conflicts, poorly written code, trigger bugs, etc and decrease reliability. A simple spyware program can sometimes actually make a system massively unstable even though it is something so seemingly harmless as a search bar. Not to mention that some act exactly like a virus and fight you tooth and nail when you try to remove them all the while making your system unstable. As you see in the article, spyware differs from a virus in that it isn't self replicating. It is, in fact, almost the same thing as a trojan designed slightly less maliciously. Instead of a cracker trying to get back doors into people's systems with the intentions of using them as zombies, we have commercial companies trying to get back doors into people's systems with the intentions of grabbing information about what the user is doing.
Frankly, I'm just really dissapointed. It's very depressing to see a great tool like Daemon-Tools go the way of so many others I've seen in the past. Once they add the spyware (whether they say "this is NOT spyware" in the agreement or not) they usually don't last much longer. Let's hope this isn't going to be one of those, but, I have only seen a few manage to pick up the peices of what happens when they eventually go too far and everyone leaves in droves. I am most dissapointed that the daemon tools team would choose to go this route though.
Sorry, I'm just stating the facts as I see them. The fact is, it uses spyware, and the fact is that the greater majority of programs that go this route die shortly after. I strongly suggest going commercial instead. People WILL pay. We like Daemon Tools and think the people who work on it deserve to be paid for giving us such a wonderfully useful tool. Sure, there will be some who pirate it, but, I'll bet it doesn't take many buyers to make as much of a profit as the spyware, not to mention that if the spyware drives everyone away it makes no profit.