| The Anatomy of File Download Spyware
http://grc.com/downloaders.htm
What do the NetZip-descended file downloaders whisper when they think you are not listening?
As you will see on the page below, if you use the RealNetworks RealDownload, Netscape/AOL Smart Download, or NetZip Download Demon utilities in their default configuration . . .
EVERY TIME you use one of these utilities to download ANY FILE from ANYWHERE on the Internet, the complete "URL address" of the file, along with a UNIQUE ID TAG that has been assigned to YOUR machine, and (in the case of Netscape's SmartDownload only) YOUR computer's individual Internet IP address, is immediately transmitted to the program's publisher.
This allows a database of your entire, personal, file download history to be assembled and uniquely associated with your individual computer ... for whatever purpose the program's publishers may have today, or tomorrow. |  |