The consumer alert system (sometimes known as CAS or the ConsumerAlertSystem) is a spyware

Spyware

Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers, and which collects small pieces of information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user, and can be difficult to detect. Typically, spyware is secretly installed on the user's...

/adware

Adware

Adware, or advertising-supported software, is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertisements to a computer. These advertisements can be in the form of a pop-up. They may also be in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the user during...

 program for Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

 that delivers advertisements to a personal computer

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

's desktop. The program has been criticized by users for privacy issues and hijackings of computers. However, the program is considered very low-risk.

About

The program has been criticized for its ability to make computers open to hijacking and privacy issues. This is known widely over the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 and forums

Installation

As with almost any spyware or adware program, the CAS can be installed by installing a program. Also, the program can be installed from the manufacturer's website for packaging with a different program's file. This is also a common way of installing spyware or adware.

Protection

According to Sophos

Sophos

Sophos is a developer and vendor of security software and hardware, including anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, network access control, encryption software and data loss prevention for desktops, servers, email systems and other network gateways....

, protection has been available since 17 October 2006, thus it can be presumed that this bug is fairly new.

Risk

CAS is considered very low risk by SpywareGuide, because an uninstallation link is readily available at the manufacturer's website, and that it has no effect on the performance on the user's computer, except the system may run slightly slower due to the pop-up windows.

External links

To follow these links, copy and paste the addresses into the address bar of your browser, as these links are blacklisted.

• http://www.consumeralertsystem.com- Please note that the website contains a download link for the program.
  • http://www.consumeralertsystem.com/uninstall/uninstall.exe- Uninstallation link