| The facts? Yesterday I went to the Lavasoft Forum and read all of the four pages of posts. It was very interesting and many ways informative. It was in some ways disgraceful at least in the rudeness and disruptive posts made by certain people. (Kudos to the DSLR moderator who posted on this issue and admonished people to knock it off!)Thankfully, they represented the minority. The people in question simply wanted to be argumentative, insulting, and rude. They wouldn't respond to direct questions nor stay on the issue of the forum which was what could the two owners or corporate officers of Comet Cursor do to eliminate most of the complaints about comet cursor and to get off the AdAware black list.
Based upon what I read these are the relevant issues:
1. Comet Cursor can and does get installed on people's PCs without their permission.
2. Comet Cursor can be installed a without users knowledge.
3. Comet Cursor does not collect any personal data on any user or their machine. It simply installs a cookie like number which does nothing more than indicate when that particular number visits--much like a cookie. It only reveals the number. So if you are Joe Smith of New York City who works as a stock broker who has comet cursor with number 123456 assigned all that is revealed when you "visit" is 123456 is visiting--nothing more.
4. No other information is gathered and nothing about you is either collected or sold or distributed to third parties.
6. The owners of comet cursor in the forum gave simple instructions so that you could change that number to any number you want so it would not be unique to you or anyone else.
5. The owners, at least in the forum, seem to be genuinely concerned with correct or modifying the current situation so that the end result is comet cursor could not be downloaded to your computer from the Internet without your permission and knowledge.
6. SOME of the inadvertent or covert downloads are a result of users having the security settings on their browser to low. (When I adjusted my settings it stopped comet cursor. Prior to that I was suffering with it being downloaded as discussed above.)
7. Some programs such as Norton System Works 2002 come with comet cursor installed on it. If you delete the comet cursor then certain features of th program become inoperable.
I find AdAware's silence very disturbing and somewhat suspicious. Why don't they say WHY they have blacklisted comet cursor and respond to the comet cursor's owner's claims?
By the way here is a question, (only those who are sincere in answering it and have knowledge of the subject need respond.)
What are the features or traits of a program that make it spyware?
Thank you.
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"Only the dead have seen the end of war." Plato
[text was edited by author 2002-06-07 14:23:09]
[text was edited by author 2002-06-07 14:30:25] |
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 starstuffFly By WirePremium
join:2001-12-05
Mcallen, TX | Did you read wired's article? see it at: »www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,184···,00.html
and in particular: »users.rcn.com/rms2000/privacy/comet.htm
Looks like Richard Smith description is more than just planting a cookie. |
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| said by starstuff:
Did you read wired's article? see it at: »www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,184···,00.html
and in particular: »users.rcn.com/rms2000/privacy/comet.htm
Looks like Richard Smith description is more than just planting a cookie.
Please don't be so vague or general in your posts. Yes I read it. Where did you think I got my facts and opinions that I specifically list in detail--by crystal ball?
I also read all of the many Lavaware forum posts. Did you? In my post I stated specific facts and opinions and asked questions. So which of my opinions or facts or incorrect?
How about answering the question I ask about what defines whether a program is spyware? What is the specific trait--especially in comet cursor that makes it spyware. I am not saying it is or is not--but what is the standard? And again, in my statements and opinions I list what is incorrect in your opinion? Speak up, don't refer to links or to what someone else may have said somewhere in some article someplace. If you think I've got something wrong then tell me and be specific. Which of the seven points I list are incorrect and how are they incorrect?
What does comet cursor do besides assign you an unique number you can change if you want so it is not unique and it shows what websites you've visited? What personal identifying information other than that does it transmit? How is that different from a cookie like doubleclick?
And finally, just because someone says something is true, Richard Smith for instance, doesn't automatically make it true. Especially when he says it about something over three years and one half years ago!!! Thats right, his comments accurate or not refer to how the comet cursor program was in January 1999! Not now! Think maybe anything is different since then? Based upon all the articles and forum posts it is a lot different.
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"Only the dead have seen the end of war." Plato
[text was edited by author 2002-06-08 12:06:57] |
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pierce2
join:1999-09-22
Santa Cruz, CA | many web URL's of commerce sites etc contain personal ID tracking info such as customer ID.... anything that collects and transmits a log of all the URL's you visit even if it doesn't identify you by name is an invasion of privacy. |
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