Kids

Bad Spy

Researchers at Symantec Corp® recently took a brand new PC out of the box, connected it to the Internet without any standard protection software, and did a little browsing. The results were staggering. After visiting five or six web sites aimed at kids, and clicking around a bit, the computer had been uploaded with 359 different pieces of adware and a flood of pop-up ads followed. The researchers did a similar exercise with adult-targeted web sites (an experiment with travel sites produced 64 adware programs and sports sites 17), but kid-targeted sites were the worst by far. According to experts, pop-up companies aren't clamoring to get ads directly in front of children. Rather, they are just getting at parents through their kids. They say kids are easier to manipulate, and the behavior they engage in makes it simple for companies to sneak software on to their PCs. Kids hunting for song lyrics, free games or video game “cheats” are enticed with games like “punch the president” or offers for a free iPod®. Often, a single click on an ad followed by one more click is enough to doom a PC to a deluge of pop-ups.

WonderGroup's Perspective

Viruses, non stop pop-ups and computers that move at the speed of snails – adware and spyware are serious threats to bring down the Internet. Like every other medium, advertising on the Net can be effective when done the right way. However, makers of spyware are harming even the most legitimate advertisers by frustrating users and making them wary of all ads. These companies are giving parents one more reason to fear letting their kids use the Net. Of course spyware companies deny that they are targeting kids. They say that many of the gaming sites have strong adult demographics and that anytime they buy from an ad network, they request adult demographics. But the experts aren't buying it. Regardless, though all of this threatens to severely harm the Internet, it does open the door for companies that produce adware and spyware protection to profit even more. Many Internet service providers can also win by offering these services as part of the subscription price.