Consumer Alert: Stealth Ad Invasion

Feel like online ads are getting more annoying? You're not alone. Consumer advocates are up in arms over adware--a new class of advertising products that typically install on your PC as part of a software download. Once it's there, adware does tricks like putting commercial links and ads on Web pages you visit--without the site's consent.

Recent adware controversies have centered on Gator and Ezula, two firms that bundle their adware with dozens of popular programs, including the game Snood, utilities like WeatherBug, and file-sharing software such as Kazaa and AudioGalaxy Satellite.

Gator covers banner ads on a site with ads from its clients. The program also sends periodic reports to Gator's server about the Web sites you've visited and the ad banners you've clicked, so Gator can favor you with ever-more-relevant ads. According to the company's lengthy privacy policy, the data Gator collects is anonymous and will not be sold.

Ezula's TopText, in contrast, works by overlaying hyperlinks onto whatever Web page you're viewing. While visiting ESPN.com, for example, you might see a yellow TopText link on the word football that, if clicked, would take you to a competing sports site.

The trend shows few signs of abating. Ezula and Gator say that their advertisers are very pleased with results, and they claim that millions of PCs have loaded the software.

Sneaky or Smart?

Critics say these new ad techniques violate consumers' rights and infringe on copyright laws by changing a Web site's content and design. One trade group, the Internet Advertising Bureau, claims that Gator's practice of covering a site's ads with Gator's clients' ads illegally interferes with the contractual relationship between the site and its advertisers. Gator has countered with a declarative relief civil suit against IAB, seeking to have its practice ruled to be lawful.

Consumer groups also criticize the way adware often is slipped into downloads without adequate notification.

Gator CEO Jeff McFadden maintains users aren't tricked into installing his software (adware programs are listed in the terms-of-service contracts users must accept before they can download), and he says there's nothing wrong with helping people get free software in exchange for seeing ads. Michele McGarry, spokesperson for Ezula, says users are notified about TopText and it's up to them to opt in or out of it.

Many users overlook the particulars of the often-dense TOS agreements, however. So some people realize they have adware only when extra links appear on Web pages or when ads multiply.

Web surfers' ire over these programs is having an impact. Spedia, which distributed a program like TopText, stopped in response to complaints. Spedia had bundled adware with its SurfPlus software, which blocks pop-up ads.

In the meantime, privacy experts caution users to download prudently. You need to be aware of what you're downloading and who produced it. And no one surfing today's Net should confuse "free" with "annoyance-free."