29 replies to this topic

[webstream]

I remember a thread somewhere on here where Alexa was briefly discussed and how they obtain their data.

Well I just happened to download and run Webroot's Spy Sweeper and found Spy Alexa Toolbar, version 6.5 installed on one of my machines. I than tried it on another one of my machines and sure enough it was there too. My other machines were all clean.

From the little I can find out it appears it is included with some shareware software programs you may have downloaded from the web.

To see if webroot was telling me the truth I looked in the Windows registry and did find the application did exist. I don't know how it could get anything out through my firewall, but I did immediately remove it immediately using Spy Sweeper.

You can try Webroots Free Spy Audit if you want to test your machines.

Has anybody else notices this?

Webstream

[cline]

Anti-spying programs consider Alexa to be spyware because Alexa is informed about what pages you visit.

I personally find Alexa to be pretty benign, and I run it on my machines intentionally.

[OldWelshGuy]

Same here Cline, i have alexa running all the time, i find it helpfull and interesting.

[Jill]

Yuk about Alexa. I don't want them viewing my surfing habits, and I don't put much (if any) stock in their numbers.

Jill

[webstream]

The point I was making is I was not asked if I wanted it installed on my machine, I did not go and download it either! That to me is spyware!

About 2-3 years ago Alexa had to pay $1.9 Million for selling the data, then Amazon bought them.

I run different apps every once in a while to make sure my dev. machines are totally clean. The only shareware/freeware I have downloaded lately is some of the SEO applications off of the web. I just thought others may want to be alerted to this.

Yuk about Alexa. I don't want them viewing my surfing habits, and I don't put much (if any) stock in their numbers.

I totally agree!

Webstream

[Scottie]

The point I was making is I was not asked if I wanted it installed on my machine, I did not go and download it either! That to me is spyware!

To me, that's scumware. Anything that installs itself without my knowledge is not on the up-and-up.

[SearchRank]

I run Alexa once in awhile when I know I'm going to be visiting sites with annoying pop up ads. Otherwise, their tool bar is installed but not running. That's the only thing that is of use to me - their pop up ad blocker. I think the Google toolbar has something like this but I have not taken the time to look at it yet.

[McFox]

I wouldn't be too happy about a drive-by installation of Alexa either!

I have mixed feelings about the Alexa toolbar. In some ways it is a useful little gizmo, certainly great for most of my own target audience which is why I have a page about it extolling it's virtues.

On the other hand, it does track the users browsing habits. The thing is, whether it is your ISP or Alexa, someone is always tracking your browsing habits.

I once clicked onto a US .mil website (I was following a link) only to be greeted by a page telling me just by visiting the site I had consented to have something or other downloaded onto my computer in order to 'monitor' my activities. There weren't any dialogue boxes. Apparently, it downloaded with the page and installed itself!

McFox

[Jill]

David, I'm not positive, but they may still be tracking your surfing behavior, even when you have the toolbar off.

And yes, the latest Google toolbar does have a pop-up blocker that works fairly well from what I can tell when I use my laptop with it installed.

Jill

[Jill]

Apparently, it downloaded with the page and installed itself!

It's important to make sure that your browser security settings are set fairly high to prevent that sort of thing. And even then, you should still run a program like SpyBot every few weeks or so.

I rarely find anything on my main computer these days as I'm generally the only one using it, but my laptop (which the kids use a lot) seems to pick stuff up every so often.

J

[Cygnus]

Adaware and Alexa don't have a very good relationship on my computer, and since I like Adaware's presence more, Alexa just has to kiss my ### and leave.

Cygnus

[SearchRank]

David, I'm not positive, but they may still be tracking your surfing behavior, even when you have the toolbar off.

And yes, the latest Google toolbar does have a pop-up blocker that works fairly well from what I can tell when I use my laptop with it installed.

I'll take a look at Google's pop up blocker. You're probably right about Alexa tracking surfing even when off. I usually don't keep it on because it takes just a wee bit longer for pages to load because it's collecting its data I guess.

[qwerty]

I'm pretty sure the Alexa toolbar is on whether it's displayed or not. I never display it, but when I right-click in a web page, one of the items that appears in the popup menu is "Get Alexa Data".

[websage]

Ad Aware did find Alexa on my computer too. Now, I would have no problem with it if I had downloaded the Alexa toolbar but the truth is that on that particular computer, there was no toolbar. I have no problem storying a cookie here and there, i.e. New York Times and High Rankings forum, but when I am not asked for my opinion, I find this objectionable...

But the truth is, that indeed, the moment we login to our network provider to access the internet, we are giving up on some of our privacy...

One can always choose to live in a mountain cabin in the middle of a National Park in Alaska, of course :-)

[SearchRank]

I just uninstalled the Alexa toolbar through the Control Panel - Add/Remove program and then ran spyware detection software and even though one uninstalls the Alexa tool bar, it is still there spying on you! Sneaky little !