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Myware is spyware that collects personal information for the user’s benefit, but its use and storage raise privacy concerns. Some people find it convenient, but others use spyware detection tools to remove it. Reviewing terms of service is important, as myware collects and stores information that can be exchanged for a product or service. The control over personal information is questionable.
Myware is essentially spyware. Whether or not this is “good” spyware, as some claim, is debatable. It depends on how you feel about collecting your personal information, even if it’s ostensibly done for your benefit. In an age of privacy concerns, many people are suspicious of cookies or other tracking devices used to build an online history. How data is collected, stored and used is often of great concern to those who care about privacy.
The premise of myware is that it is meant to help the user. A good example is people who like to download music. Having their favorite song lists at your fingertips would be convenient. That might be a good thing when it comes to data collection, but what else happens to that information?
Can companies that collect personal information use it at will? There must be something to be gained for those who create this type of software, which makes it seem very unlikely that they would offer a product just to be nice. Will they sell this information to third parties?
Today many people have moved beyond firewalls and antivirus programs and are also using spyware detection and removal tools. While many items such as basic cookies can be harmless enough, many people choose to clean most of them off their computers. Some people run more than one spyware detection program to make sure that one is picking up objects that the other may not be detecting. People who are so particular about who collects and uses their information are unlikely to subscribe to myware or similar programs.
Perhaps the best advice is to review the terms of service and other information provided, very carefully. For some people, the convenience is worth the trade-off of having another party monitor their Internet usage. Others simply believe that there is no more privacy, so they are not very concerned about programs like myware, which are intended to collect and store the sites you visit, how often you visit, how long you stay on each site, the total time spent online and much more.
Myware is also apparently intended to allow the user to exchange the collected information for a product or service. The next question is how much is your information worth to you? It’s also important to know how that information will be used once it’s been exchanged. Will the company you share it with share it with other parties, sell listings that include you, provide that information to a government agency?
While myware is generally described in positive terms, as open and user-friendly, one has to ask how open it really is. When your information is collected, is it really “yours” to do with what you please? Can you modify, delete, exchange, move, sell or trade only a part of it? Are you really in control of your information or is it myware?
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