Traffic Counters and Spyware

Wow! I didn't think Alexa toolbar would have any spyware on it...but I just ran AdAware and it brought up tons of registry entries and other Alexa related files. Should I delete them?

Personally, I can live w/ a little low threat spyware as a tradeoff for a service. It is w/the more aggressive programs that I have a problem, and Alexa is one of them. The two worse that I have run across are Gator and Xupiter, but Alexa ranks right up there. When I boot up and am greeted by 3 or 4 pop-ups before I even pull up my browser, that is too much.

To answer your question, you can delete the spyware and it will have no effect on Alexa functioning. It is just a matter of whether or not you want to run Ad-Aware after each session that Alexa has been used. As for toolbars, I haven't figured out if Alexa's spyware is activated when the toolbar is activated or if you need to actually use the Alexa feature to bring aboard the spyware. Will have the answer soon, however.

Cool thanks! Keep us posted please I don't get any popups - funny thing is that Alexa itself has a popup blocker in it! On top of that I have a firewall and the google adblocker so very few ads actually sneak by.

I had a major virus a few months back and had to start again from scratch and have my system guarded like Ft Knox and stuff still sneaks in by "piggybacking" w/ something else. The "Accept Terms and Conditions" Agreement that is checked when becoming a member at a site, often contains the disclosure statement regarding 3rd party policies, so when you download a tool at the site, and clear it w/ firewall as safe, the firewall allows it in. Furthermore, you won't get new disclosure info prior to the download-the agreement was covered when initially signing up for membership.

I have pop-up blockers installed, but usually don't use one because of the slow-downs, the interruptions and system crashes that I have experienced when using . Maybe I haven't found the right one yet. I am in some fantasy sports leagues, and a pop-up blocker as well as cookie blocking is a real pain w/ sites that do heavy advertising.

Haven't double checked, but initial results indicate that (after removing spyware), the toolbar alone is safe, and that Alexa needs to be activated for the spyware to become active ie picked up at site-not embedded in toolbar.