Don’t blame the ‘Hand of God’ for those ads on your smartphone
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Tag Archives: pua
Avira Browser Security – A small tool for the browser, a big step in browser security
If you installed our Avira Antivirus, you might have already seen it: Our Avira Browser Security or ABS for short. But do you actually know what it’s for, what it does, and why you might want to install it if you haven’t already?
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Avira Antivirus 2016: Supersize your security
In the year of its 30th anniversary Avira is more super than ever!
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Avira starts lawsuit against adware distribution site
Avira has filed a lawsuit against the German Freemium.com download site for unfair business practices and misleading consumers into installing unwanted programs (PUA). We’re the first security vendor to stick up for customer rights and go directly after a software publisher.
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Android AdDisplay using anti-bouncer technique
In order to help make Google Play a safer place for Android users, ESET continues to monitor the official Android app market for malicious or potentially unwanted applications. Another threat has been detected.
The post Android AdDisplay using anti-bouncer technique appeared first on We Live Security.
Free often has its price…
In Virus Lab, we work hand in hand with our support team in order to help them in the daily fight against the „dark side“. We see a lot of infections every day and often ask ourselves how all those user end up with so many unwanted application installed.
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Know the difference between adware and porn?
“I know it when I see it,” is how US Supreme Court judge Steward Potter described his definition of pornography. But when it comes to adware, the description is far less titillating: You know it when you CAN’T see how to get rid of it.
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Legit APPS or PUA? Keep your eyes wide open!
Nowadays, our Personal Computers are able to perform a huge amount of tasks as we can find Applications for mostly everything one can imagine. Not to mention, we often have more than one App installed for the same kind of task. When does it become too much?
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Avira vs. Freemium(dot)com – We Will Protect You Against PUA
The court order sets a legal precedent for how Internet security companies like Avira can protect their consumers from potential ad-ware injection, malware, and unintended downloads introduced by installer companies like Freemium.
One of Freemium’s major investors, ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, hosts a suite of gaming sites and download sites, as well as Axel Springer’s Computerbild.de download portal, which all use Freemium’s installer software to earn money on the downloads of products they offer. Our antivirus software detects and flags unintended downloads with a safety warning, so Freemium filed a cease-and-desist letter against Avira GmbH claiming anti-competitive practices, and demanding that we should not be allowed to block the downloads.
The courts disagreed.
According to the terms of the legal judgment, our antivirus software is allowed to continue to provide a safety notice flagging these downloads as ‘potentially unwanted applications’ (PUA), in keeping with our recently published security policies. Freemium was denied its request for a cease-and-desist and, as the losing party, was ordered to pay all court costs.
“This ruling establishes a major legal milestone in the fight against misleading consumers into unintentionally installing unwanted software onto their computers,” said Travis Witteveen, CEO of Avira GmbH. “Earlier this year we established clear guidelines defining unethical software behaviour, and defining what our security software will block. We believe in ‘freemium’ and advertising-supported business models, however they must remain transparent and ethical in their implementation.”
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The voice of a user – why PUA is a misleading term
In quite severe cases, not only are additional programs installed but several settings on the computer are changed too, making it behave completely differently. In the worst case, this then means that the computer can no longer be used correctly and must be reconfigured.
The topic of PUA makes the issues with free software particularly clear. If, as a user, I purchase a piece of software, then I expect to get that exact software. No more. No less. Ultimately, I am paying for the effort put into developing the software.
If I download a free piece of software from the Internet, that’s where it gets complicated – because a lot of effort has also been put into developing this software and if the software is good and up-to-date, it is being maintained by someone and is constantly being optimized and improved. This “someone” may want to or only be able to afford to do this occasionally, and if the software is distributed for free, this “someone” needs to earn money in some other way. It doesn’t matter if the developer is an individual or a company. One possible way to pay for the effort put into development is as follows: Additional applications are installed alongside the actual application, and the manufacturers of these additional applications then pay for their software to also end up on the users’ PCs.
The topic of PUA makes the issues with free software particularly clear.
Who, then, is still interested in bundled software being installed along with other software? Download portals, i.e., the areas of the Internet where users download software, are opportune places for this. Although these portals offer a “free” service (presenting and providing software) for users, they still need to be financed somehow. It is also here where some software manufacturers are willing to pay for the distribution of their software, a possible source of revenue for the operators of the download portals. The user downloads program A from the Internet and installs it. At the same time, programs B and C are automatically installed alongside it. The manufacturers of programs B and C pay for this, meaning that their software is distributed further, whether the user had wanted it or not. From a financial perspective, this may be a good reason for software manufacturers and download portals to combine further applications with the application that was actually wanted, and install them at the same time. But what’s the picture like for those on the other side – the users?
Bernard has bought a new PC. He is quite familiar with computers, but he is by no means an expert. After a short amount of time, he has got his computer set up in the same way as his old one. Bernard loves filming and wants software he can use to edit small films. After a few searches he finds exactly what he is looking for in a download portal and it’s free! Bernard installs the software. He doesn’t understand why he has to click through lots of different windows once the software has been downloaded. Actually, he was expecting the software to install quickly and easily. But the manufacturer must think that this is the easiest way of installing the software, so Bernard clicks on “Next” several times so that he can test the software as quickly as possible. While the installation is still running, it slowly but surely fills the desktop with more and more icons. “Why does an application need so many icons?”, Bernard asks himself. Again and again, he is presented with further windows which require him to confirm something. It seems strange to him, but the supplier of the software must know why this needs to be done. After 20 minutes, the installation is finally completed. On the desktop, next to the icon for the film editing software, are seven other icons which must come from software that Bernard did not want. As Bernard opens his Internet browser, he hardly recognizes it. The usual search has disappeared, new toolbars are displayed, and everything looks different somehow. His Windows installation, which was still almost brand new just an hour ago, is no longer useable. He only has one solution: to call his son and ask for his help.
“You’ve really got yourself in a mess here”, he says dryly after a quick inspection of the computer. “All PUA”.
“PUA?”, asks Bernard. “What’s that then?”
“Potentially unwanted applications”, says his son. “Programs you don’t actually want”.
“What does it mean by ‘potentially’ unwanted applications?”, replies Bernard. “They are unwanted applications!”
As a user I would like to know what I am getting without having these things imposed on me using various tricks and ruses.
Many years ago, the principal of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) was “devised”. This implies that what I see as a user is what I get. Sure, the term was introduced in a different context, but it actually suits the current discussion on PUA quite well. As a user I would like to know what I am getting without having these things imposed on me using various tricks and ruses, things which I do not want at all and need even less so. The additional software is not potentially unwanted, it IS unwanted, as long as I as the user have not explicitly agreed that I want it.
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