Cydoor
Encyclopedia
Cydoor Desktop Media is an Israeli adware
company. Cydoor originally placed ads only in software programs such as Kazaa
, but has now expanded into running ads on websites as an advertising network
.
Because of Cydoor's highly controversial practices of running ads in software programs, Cydoor software is often considered spyware
— and many Anti-Spyware
and Antivirus applications will flag the software as such.
Cydoor consumes about 3.4MB
of hard drive space, and cannot be uninstalled using the Windows
uninstaller
. No uninstaller is provided. Cydoor is often bundled with commercial Peer-to-peer file sharing
programs such as Kazaa
or eXeem
.
Formerly, a user could uninstall Cydoor and continue to use the program installed with it, but that is sometimes no longer the case. Now Cydoor is treated as a vital piece of software code by the parent program, and removal may cause the program to stop working. The website's FAQ
explains, "Our components...are the main revenue generating components for our software partners," as the way of explaining their supposed necessity. Though, programmers have successfully removed Cydoor's software from Kazaa (resulting in Kazaa Lite
and Kazaa Resurrection).
The program has been known to cause problems in Windows, but the company asserts that this is due to an old and buggy version of the software. They also claim not to harvest personal information unless "the user voluntarily supplied it".
and Spybot - Search & Destroy
.
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...
company. Cydoor originally placed ads only in software programs such as Kazaa
Kazaa
Kazaa Media Desktop started as a peer-to-peer file sharing application using the FastTrack protocol licensed by Joltid Ltd. and operated as Kazaa by Sharman Networks...
, but has now expanded into running ads on websites as an advertising network
Advertising network
An online advertising network or ad network is a company that connects advertisers to web sites that want to host advertisements. The key function of an ad network is aggregation of ad space supply from publishers and matching it with advertiser demand...
.
Because of Cydoor's highly controversial practices of running ads in software programs, Cydoor software is often considered 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...
— and many Anti-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...
and Antivirus applications will flag the software as such.
Cydoor software
The Cydoor software downloads advertisements from the Cydoor servers, to be displayed in the Cydoor-supported software.Cydoor consumes about 3.4MB
Megabyte
The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
of hard drive space, and cannot be uninstalled using the 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...
uninstaller
Uninstaller
An uninstaller, also called a deinstaller, is a utility software designed to remove other software or parts of it from a computer. It is the opposite of an installer.-Components:...
. No uninstaller is provided. Cydoor is often bundled with commercial Peer-to-peer file sharing
Peer-to-peer file sharing
P2P or Peer-to-peer file sharing allows users to download files such as music, movies, and games using a P2P software client that searches for other connected computers. The "peers" are computer systems connected to each other through internet. Thus, the only requirements for a computer to join...
programs such as Kazaa
Kazaa
Kazaa Media Desktop started as a peer-to-peer file sharing application using the FastTrack protocol licensed by Joltid Ltd. and operated as Kazaa by Sharman Networks...
or eXeem
EXeem
eXeem was a peer-to-peer file sharing client using the BitTorrent protocol. eXeem was designed to replace the need for centralized trackers...
.
Formerly, a user could uninstall Cydoor and continue to use the program installed with it, but that is sometimes no longer the case. Now Cydoor is treated as a vital piece of software code by the parent program, and removal may cause the program to stop working. The website's FAQ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
explains, "Our components...are the main revenue generating components for our software partners," as the way of explaining their supposed necessity. Though, programmers have successfully removed Cydoor's software from Kazaa (resulting in Kazaa Lite
Kazaa Lite
Kazaa Lite can refer to one of many third-party modifications of Kazaa, a peer-to-peer file-sharing computer program. These clients are unauthorized modifications of the Kazaa Media Desktop application, which typically exclude malware and may provide additional features.-Background:The first...
and Kazaa Resurrection).
The program has been known to cause problems in Windows, but the company asserts that this is due to an old and buggy version of the software. They also claim not to harvest personal information unless "the user voluntarily supplied it".
Removal
This software can be removed by most anti-spyware programs, such as Ad-AwareAd-Aware
Ad-Aware is an anti-spyware and anti-virus program developed by Lavasoft that detects and removes malware, spyware and adware on a user's computer...
and Spybot - Search & Destroy
Spybot - Search & Destroy
Spybot Search & Destroy is a popular spyware and adware removal program compatible with Microsoft Windows 95 and later. It scans the computer hard disk and/or RAM for malicious software....
.