News
College of LAS News
Student Sections
Special Series
Marketing and Media
Faculty Honors and RSS Feed
English
When Pop-Up Ads Attack
Software for spawning those annoying online ads is on the increase.
Pop-up ads are considered mostly minor online annoyances, but a growing number have infectious code behind them that invades the user's computer and has the potential to slow performance. This code is called "spyware" and has the ability to reset the main page of a Web browser, keep track of websites visited, and fill a screen with even more pop-ups.
Eric Howes, an English instructor in LAS who has recorded data on spyware growth for three years, says that the number of websites with spyware on the prowl has increased 10 percent in just a year and there are about 500 different types of spyware on the Internet.
Software exists to help combat spyware, and there are many websites that offer information on how to regain control of browser settings. Just be careful what you click on.
October 2003
More LAS News Articles
- Speeches, Pennies, and Memories Mark the Lincoln Hall Renovation Kick-Off
- Amphetamine Use in Adolescence May Impair Adult Working Memory
- Rio Games Symbolize a Perennial Dilemma in Latin America
- Researchers Work to Understand the Confounding Sex Life of Papaya
- Scholars, East Europeans Reveal the Mixed Emotions Surrounding the Fall of the Berlin Wall
- A Well-Meant Compliment Could Be Dangerous to Your Child’s Future
- Bringing Math Class into the 21st Century