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adware - technical definition

A type of spyware that records search information and forwards it to an advertising agency or market research firm that later uses it to tailor pop-up ads for delivery to users without their knowledge or consent. See also spyware.
Hardware, firmware, and software as it is advertised rather than as it exists. Unfortunately, truth in advertising is not a given. Always read the fine print and check references, especially for users of similar size, using the product in similar configurations with similar intensity in similar applications. Brochureware is a type of adware that you pick up at a trade show and take with you. See also fine print.

See adware in Webster''s New World Hacker Dictionary

Software delivering pop-up advertisements based on Websites that online users browse. Online users find adware to be particularly annoying, and computer critics maintain that adware often degrades computer performance. It can also track usersÂ’ browsing habits and is generally installed without usersÂ’ permission.

Claria Corporation, previously called Gator Corporation, a pioneer of such software, said in March 2006 that it was leaving this business by June 2006. Claria officials maintain that they have hired Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., to sell their adware assets. Claria is now interested in focusing on PersonalWeb, a new service generating personalized Web portals. Previously, ClariaÂ’s software came bundled with free products such as the eWallet password-storage program or file-sharing software such as KaZaA.

In Brief. Adware Pioneer to Exit Business. The Globe and Mail, March 23, 2006, p. B13.

See adware in Computer

(1) (ADvertisementWARE) Software that periodically pops up advertisements on a user's computer. It displays ads targeted to the individual user based on key words entered in search engines and the types of Web sites the user visits. The marketing data are collected periodically and sent in the background to the adware Web server. Adware is known as "contextual marketing."

Adware or Spyware?
If adware is installed in the user's machine without disclosure, it is considered "spyware." Such programs are often delivered as part of another download the user actually did want, but without any notification. Since software licenses are rarely read, there is controversy over what is legitimate adware versus spyware. See contextual marketing, popup ad, PUP and spyware.