The entire spyware issue continues to escalate. Going from bad to worse. Unlike viruses, spyware is becoming about making money, and we are seeing that some of the largest and most trusted names on the internet are doing business with spyware companies. That’s right, names like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are profiting by spreading and endorsing spyware. Let’s take a step back. PC Pitstop research has found more and more software being installed on user’s computer without their knowledge. But the problem doesn’t end there! Once the user realizes that some unknown software program is potentially impacting their PC’s performance and reliabilty, what do most people do? They research their problem using a search engine such as Yahoo or Google.
“Why is that program running?”
Look up hundreds of files in our known programs database!
Pretenders and Imposters
The spyware companies aren’t the only companies making a killing, there is now a burgeoning class of software to help remove spyware from users’ computers. Unfortunately, many of these products do an incomplete good job cleaning spyware from a user’s computer. Some may only remove a handful of tests. Worse yet, some install MORE spyware instead of removing it. Be careful because the list keeps getting bigger. At PC Pitstop, we have been doing business with Pest Patrol since Jan 2003 and we endorse and trust their products. Whether you buy Pest Patrol or not, remember there are a LOT of pretenders and imposters out there.
Yahoo Still on the Dark Side
As we reported earlier, Yahoo has been dancing on the dark side for some time. They have now discontinued their practice of indirectly endorsing certain forms of spyware called adware. However, Yahoo is doing business with the pretenders and imposters. In fact, if one does a Yahoo search for “PC Pitstop”. You can see that a company named “Veloz” appears above our search results. Who is Veloz? As it ends up, Veloz is an affiliate of eAcceleration, a software that PC Pitstop and Pest Patrol recognize as spyware. Many people come to PC Pitstop because they are having problems with spyware. If they search for Pitstop using Yahoo, there’s a chance that they might get more spyware not less. That’s why we call it the Death SPYral.
But it gets worse! Yahoo owns another company named Overture which also provide search engine results. We’re already documented Overture’s relationship with the much hated Gator. But guess what happens when searches for “PC Pitstop” on Overture? Veloz is still #1, but our web site doesn’t even make the top 10. We are #11.
Yahoo and Overture are making the problem worse not better! They are increasing confusion about the spyware issue, and they are profiting at the same time. Bottom line, you can’t trust Yahoo search results, and Overture? I am having a hard time thinking of one good thing to say about that company. Just stay away from them.
Newsflash. Even Microsoft search has Veloz on top of PC Pitstop! Microsoft, the company that developed XP Service Pack 2, is profiting by rerouting PC Pitstop users to Veloz.
Google Ain’t Much Better
Google results are more accurate than Yahoo and Overture. When one searches for “PC Pitstop” on Google, we show up as #1. There are also some paid links on the right side. But the problem with Google, is their ad network called, AdSense. We were using Ad Sense throughout our entire site, until we started getting complaints. Lots of them. Google AdSense is doing business with the pretenders and imposters! We have since removed the Google ad bar from many of our pages. People come to PC Pitstop to make their PC’s run better and we can’t have deceptive advertising on our site for companies that make their PC’s worse.
Cats are Sleeping with Dogs!
Has the world gone crazy? Is the sun rising in the west now? Yahoo, Google and Microsoft. The most trusted names on the internet are doing business with spyware companies. Why? For a few lousy bucks? There’s not a lot you can trust now a days, and here is one thing more. Although we have come to trust these companies, if you are doing spyware research, please
take their results with a grain of salt.
