I think we can all agree, that to some degree, we hate them. They are annoying, aggravating, and infuriating. Should you get caught in a �circle jerk�, you may be forced to shut down your system to get rid of them. Sometimes you even end up in a pop-up hell that crashes your system. We all can just turn off our Java, but then some sites we visit just won�t work. There are programs that can block spawned browser windows, or we can just stay away form the sites that have them, but I have to ask a question about them.
Can they be considered illegal?
It depends on how they are viewed. Are they like the subscription cards that fall out of magazines? Billboards? Leaflets? Are they just additional advertising, or something more intrusive? We expect advertising and live with it every day, in our newspapers and on our television, radios, and even our clothing. People want to sell us their stuff, and more often than not, we want to buy it. It�s when someone wants to sell us something we DON�T want that a problem arises.
In the old days, we could slam the door in the salesman�s face and derive some satisfaction from it, less so with cussing out and hanging up on those telemarketers that call us during diner. We can channel surf or take a wizz when a television commercial comes on, less so nowadays when some commercials are better then the actual programs. We have developed an automatic blind spot to other stationary ads, for can you remember what ads you saw on the way to work? Even Internet sites have advertising, and we accept it because the ads support the person the runs the site which allows us to visit it for free.
But what I don�t accept is another window popping up with some enticement to visit another site or to buy some product or service. My reason is simple: I didn�t ask for it. Some may offer the logic that if you accept the ads on a web site you are visiting for free, then you have to accept spawned windows. My answer to this is:
BULLSHIT!
I don�t have to accept them. They are forcibly jammed down my throat because I can�t trash the computer system that contains them. I am regulated to either altering MY system to stop them, or forfeit the benefits of on-line communication. I could mark down every site that spawns these window when I visit them, while I view them, and even when I leave then, and just not visit them again... and you are already nodding your head at the silliness of the idea. Pop-up ads are just like unwanted phone calls; just hang up and move on. The world is too apathetic to do anything about them and ranting on does nothing but heat the air.
Okay... but that�s the assumption that spawned browser windows are nothing more than additional advertising. Are we sure we know what they really are? Have you even examined one down at the programming level? I�m not that good at programming, but let me tell you this; they are a bitch to dissect. It�s almost as if someone doesn�t want you to see how they work, or what they actually do.
Ever have stuff downloaded onto your computer that you didn�t know about or even allowed? What else is in your �cookie� file aside from ways of webmasters keeping track of when and the number of times you visit that site? Can that annoying little window contain something more sinister than an ad or a link to a site?
Yes it can. And the scary thing is that you won�t know about it until it�s too late. Nothing as malicious as a virus either, but something that could not only monitor your activities, but also upload certain files or information from your computer to someone else. It�s a big bad world out there, and people will use whatever they can to get what they want from you. Some sites are like bear traps, but we knowingly put our foot into them when we click on a link or enter an address. A site could contain something malicious to our system, and us, but they can be shut down when found out. But what about a spawned window? Something that is slipped into out back pocket when we enter a site, but not by the site�s operator! Sure, they have to have the code that spawns the window on their site, but not the information sent from the spawned site.
Can you say �Gaping hole in a web site�s security�?
The next time you see a pop-up ad, look at it carefully, and not for it�s apparent content. What does that selection of programming contain in regards to your system�s security, and your personal liberties? |
