Tag Archives: Ben Edelman

Microsoft’s Antispyware Turns Neutral on Claria?

(Sorry, a few days late with this.) Further to the reports of talks between Microsoft and adware maker Claria (formerly Gator), spyware/adware expert Ben Edelman points to a website discussion that highlights an apparent conflict of interest should Microsoft Buy Claria: What would Microsoft’s own anti-spyware software make of Claria’s adware? A Dozleng.com post reports that… Read More »

More On Trusting Google’s Sponsored Links

Further to my earlier post about whether one can trust Google’s Sponsored Links, here are some notes from a chat with Ben Edelman, an expert on spyware: Ben says legally it’s a difficult area: For Google, the sponsored links are just ads, not any kind of endorsement at all. But users have the sense that… Read More »

WhenU’s Popup Victory

WhenU, now known as Claria, has won what it calls an “important decision for the entire Internet industry” in its motion to enjoin the Utah Spyware Control Act, passed in March. WhenU had argued the Act “affects legitimate Internet advertising companies and therefore violates the First Amendment and dormant Commerce Clause of the United States… Read More »

Popups Never Die, They Just Mutate

In response to my post yesterday, a reader suggested that with the proliferation of pop-up ad blockers in browsers and toolbars, who needs to worry anymore about ‘contextual’ ad services like WhenU? Since I installed the Google toolbar, I’ve forgotten what a pop-up looks like. Since I installed Win XP SP2, the “pop-ups blocked” counter on… Read More »

Utah, WhenU And Pop-Up Poaching

The spyware war continues. Ben Edelman, an expert on spyware, reports that “WhenU, a major provider of programs that show pop-up ads according to users’ web browsing activities, yesterday filed suit seeking that Utah’s Spyware Control Act be declared void and invalid.” WhenU effectively poaches browser real-estate by plopping its ads above those of others… Read More »