Thanks, Rick. I have that tidbit tucked away somewhere, too.

Implicit in this discussion is something list owners can do to help curtail the menace - ALERT YOUR SUBSCRIBERS!

Whenever I hear of someone recommending one of these thiefware/spyware programs, I cringe a little, because after all, who really reads the EULA? Few people suspect what they're opening themselves up to when they install these things.

Note: Adaware has a component that allows it to act as a sentry (in a manner of speaking) and it'll prevent such programs from surreptitious installation if you accidently happen across certain websites (Yes, just surfing some sites while you've got java and activeX turned on can get you stuff you don't want, including viruses (virii). That component of Adaware can be activated at start up, and it just sits there waiting . . .

At the very least, you can stop the switching of your homepage to stuff you don't want.

These kinds of "freebies" have also been implicated as culprits in "breaking" Windows and programs that run under it. They can and do slow down your computer by using Windows resources, causing less to be available for the tasks you want to perform.

Marye
P. S. (You KNEW there'd be one, didn't you?)
I'm doing something right now that has (so far) proved to be rewarding, and has/is revealing to Marye stuff that Marye never dreamed about herself!

Details in another drive-by post at another time . . .