|
ABC ~ All
'Bout Computers |
|
||||||
|
The
Internet Connection A PROFILE OF INTERNET SCUM Imagine this... You have spent your entire company's earnings setting up a seminar to attract people to buy your products. You paid for the hotel. You paid for the food. You paid for the advertising. You put it all on the line because you know your products will sell. On opening day, the turnout is great. As you watch the happy customers entering your room, you smile at the thought of your sales success. After awhile, you decide to check on your sales booths and are shocked at what you find. A competitor's salesperson is standing just inside the entrance to the room, approaching customer's and selling THE COMPETITION'S products to them. The customers are not even making it to your sales people. In some cases, the competing salesperson even poses as one of your employees to make the sale. Sound unbelievable? It's not. This is the same practice that is going on all over the Internet. Unethical businesses are introducing software that is designed to put their sales information on other people's web pages or to redirect traffic from one site to another. Although it is presently legal, this software is nullifying the hard work done by honest, hard-working designers and business people worldwide. These deceiving applications have been collectively labeled as SCUMWARE by the opposing forces all over the Internet. Still not convinced? Let's look at example... GATOR.COM At face value, the application offered at GATOR.COM looks like a great product. It is a free interface that helps users remember logins and passwords easily, as well as filling out entire forms with a 'click n drag' interface. Who wouldn't like to use this tool, right? In actuality, GATOR.COM is one of the most visited websites on the net because of this application. But if you look deeper into the site, you will see why Gator offers this product for free. Basically, it targets advertisers who are seeking a sure-fire way to get their ads in front of QUALITY potential customers. For a modest beginning price of $25,000, advertisers can have their ads automatically popping up in front of users no matter where they are on the Internet. The types of advertising can be categorized into a few distinct types: POP-UP ADS and POPUP SLIDERS take a prominent position on top of the page you are visiting, possibly misleading visitors into believing they were placed there by the webpage designers and are therefore related to the webpage. COMPANION POP-UP BANNERS put banners on top of the page that you are visiting and although GATOR refutes charges of trying to 'steal' traffic, the examples on their website show the banners appearing on top of pre-existing banner ads. This is a deliberate attempt to confuse or mislead the viewers and to counteract the existing advertisers. BACKPAGE POP-UPS are less-intrusive and bring a page up BEHIND the page that you are viewing. This gives them the opportunity to be in front of your face when you close the existing window. The thing that probably upsets me more than the product itself is the attitude and intention behind it. GATOR markets the fact that advertisers CAN get business off of their competitor's sites. FROM THE GATOR WEBSITE: Expression of Purchase Intent (EPI)? The GAIN EPI engine delivers real-time access to the most receptive prospects in your category.
WHO IS REALLY TO BLAME? One important aspect needs to be considered though: Who is responsible for the success of these SCUMWARE packages? Actually, there are two groups that are keeping GATOR and similar companies alive. First, it is the users who are downloading the software and installing it on their systems. I would almost guarantee that most users have no idea how the advertising on the back end is set up, nor do they care. They find a good tool. They download it. They use it. The second group of supporters are the advertisers who are becoming part of the SCUMWARE advertising machine. If they stop showing interest, the SCUMWARE companies may feel the heat as well. SO WHAT CAN I DO? There are a few things that you can do to try to keep this infestation from growing. Some things are basic ... some are not-so-basic.... 1. DE-SCUM your computer so that you are no longer using these types of applications. There are instructions for this DE-SCUMMING process at scumware.com. To become a crusader, you have to first stop supporting the enemy. 2. INFORM your friends and family about this practice, evangelizing to them of the deceit and poor business practices that are involved. Encourage them to join the crusade and complete step #1 as well. :) Inform SCUMWARE advertisers of your discontent regarding their affiliations. Threaten to boycott them altogether. Perhaps they will reconsider things when the bottom line is affected. 3. EDUCATE yourself on which products install SCUMWARE on your system., Many times, the download is piggy-backed on top of another application. For example, kaZaa, the next generation Napster product downloads several SCUMWARE applications every time a user installs its program. TopText, one of the SCUMWARE products installed with KaZaa, actually changes the links on a webpage to redirect traffic. You can see this in action here. Check the resources below to find sites where you can get more information. Together, we can start to turn the tide related to these types of predatory business practices. If you have any questions about this article, please feel free to email me at david@missionsalliance.net. Until next time, David RESOURCES: General Scumware Sites http://www.merchantboycott.com/ Scumware Resources Disable
scumware on your website Search
the database for scumware advertisers DeScum
your computer Scumware Application Resources Gator TopText Surf+ SmartTags Editor's Note: For more information on kaZaa, see my rant "Who Owns My Website, Anyway?" in Linda's Soapbox, ABC, Vol. 4
David Coons is a freelance writer and web designer from the
suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. When
not spending time with his wife and three daughters, he maintains several
websites, including his current missions-related shopping site,
MyFutureMall.com. |
,
