 Weather Bug, Is it as malicious as it was in the past |
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 Nov 9 2007, 12:38 PM
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#1
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Member  Group: Members Posts: 50 Joined: 31-October 07 Member No.: 166,758  |
I now have Weather Bug but it does not seem to be causing the kind of problems that it did in the past. It could be that Weather Bug has cleaned up their act, or the protection programs have evolved to a point where thet are protecting us against them. I run Adaware, Spybot S&D, Windows Defender, and now Spyblaster, My Question Is Is Weather Bug still considered by many to be a program to be avoided. |
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Nov 9 2007, 10:36 PM
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#2
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 Bleepin' Janitor Group: Global Moderator Posts: 14,074 Joined: 9-July 05 From: Virginia, USA Member No.: 26,513 |
Weatherbug is an ad-supported desktop weather applicaton by AWS WeatherNet that provides that provides updates on weather conditions and displays real time temperatures in the taskbar icon. Although Weatherbug is not spyware, the free version is ad-supported with both banner and pop up ads which makes it adware. This fact is stated on their website under the section "Why does WeatherBug have advertising?"
QUOTE It is the advertising sponsors that keep WeatherBug free. WeatherBug found a unique way to make an ad- support ed application “relevant” to each user by allowing them to choose the type of advertising they see every day within the clearly specified limits of the WeatherBug advertising platform. In addition, an “ad-free” version of WeatherBug, called WeatherBug Plus, is available to users for only $19.95 a year. For this price, consumers get all the great features of the free application plus additional premium features in an ad-free environment. The vendor disagrees on their product being called adware due to the lack of a standard definition. The vendor provides their own definition of what is considered adware. QUOTE We believe that the proper definition of adware is any program that secretly gathers personal information through the Internet and relays it back to another computer, generally for advertising purposes. This is often accomplished by tracking information related to Internet browser usage or habits. The vendor then claims that WeatherBug does not meet the criteria for being labeled adware based on how they define it. However, there are security experts who disagree with their defintion and consider the free program adware. Further, I would be concerned about the free version since it is ad-supported with banner and pop up ads. These ads could contain code which can trigger pop-up ads and Flash ads which have been reported to install malware. Ads are a target for malware writers because they offer a stealthy way to distribute malware to a wide range of Internet users. However, removing the program is considered more of an optional fix. Weather Watcher is a safer alternative. -------------------- "THE BAD GUYS DON'T NEED A SEARCH WARRANT. ARE YOU PROTECTED?"
Microsoft MVP - Windows Security 2007-2009  |
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Nov 10 2007, 12:02 AM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 50 Joined: 31-October 07 Member No.: 166,758 |
Thankyou
I just uninstalled Weather Bug and installed Weather Watcher. It appears to have more function and features. |
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Nov 10 2007, 07:30 AM
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#4
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Bleepin' Janitor Group: Global Moderator Posts: 14,074 Joined: 9-July 05 From: Virginia, USA Member No.: 26,513 |
Your welcome.
-------------------- "THE BAD GUYS DON'T NEED A SEARCH WARRANT. ARE YOU PROTECTED?"
Microsoft MVP - Windows Security 2007-2009 |
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Nov 11 2007, 04:32 PM
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#5
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 60 Joined: 29-October 04 Member No.: 4,277 |
If you wish a weather program that uses fewer resources I suggest Pico Weather. It is small, written in assembly. It does not have all the features that WeatherWatcher has, but it gives you the necessary weather facts that most folk need. Personally I use Weather Watcher on my home desktop computer, but I use Pico Weather on my laptop.
Pico Weather -------------------- saint satin stain
We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. Anais Nin The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. Albert Einstein Insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. -Albert Einstein |
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Nov 11 2007, 08:48 PM
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#6
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Member Group: Members Posts: 50 Joined: 31-October 07 Member No.: 166,758 |
Thanks
Resources are no problem at all I have a 2 Gig Celeron and a half gig of Ram I followed the advice from Quietman7 and installed Weather Watcher. It may not be dressed up as pretty as Weather Bug, But I like its simple but extensive functionality, AND NO ADS. I also expect my Spybot and Adaware to find fewer hits next scan. |
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