BIGdeals
Get more than
you bargained for!

Main Directory

Art & Literature
Automotive
Business
Computers
Drinks & Tobacco
Education &
   Society
Electronics
Entertainment
Fashion &
   Lifestyle
Finance, Banking
   & Insurance
Gambling &
   Gaming
Games & Toys
Gifts & Flowers
Health & Beauty
Home & Garden
Information &
   Services
Internet &
   Web Services
Jobs & Careers
Legal
News & Media
Photography
Regional
Romance &
   Dating
Shopping
Sports & Fitness
Telecoms &
   Technology
Travel & Holidays
Weddings

About
Comments
Legal
Privacy

Annoying Adverts?

bigdeals.co.uk does not use pop-ups, pop-unders, or any other form of intrusive advertising. If you see any then it is likely that your computer is infected with Adware or Spyware. To learn how to disinfect your PC and block unwanted adverts click here.

What is Adware?

Adware is a collective name for software which, when installed on your PC displays advertising banners or pop-ups while you browses the Web. This software is sometimes installed without your knowledge or permission, but most often is bundled with other useful software, such as filesharing software or marketed as a solution to help you find the 'best deals' on the Internet.

Adware has a number of derivatives which may do a number of different things, various names for these derivatives are: 'Spyware' 'Parasiteware' 'Thiefware' 'Scumware' or 'Malware':

• Spyware or Scumware is any software that employs your Internet connection to communicate information about your browsing habits or other information without your explicit permission
• Parasiteware or Thiefware is software that changes or intercepts a site's links and redirects it. These terms are also applied to software that replaces the banner advertisments on a site with its own banner adverts
• Malware or Malicious Software is often similar to Spyware and Parasiteware, but it also has the ability to allow remote access to your computer (trojans and worms) or it may deliberately damage files on your computer hard drive.

What can you do about it?

If you want to ensure that your browsing habits are not monitored and you Internet browsing is not plagued by intrusive advertising or pop-ups, you need to check that your computer is free of any Adware software. Anti-virus software may detect such software and remove it, but we would recommend a specific Adware removal tool such as Lavasoft's Ad-Aware/Ad-Aware Professional or Spybot Search & Destroy.

To help prevent re-infestation it is strongly recommended that you install a personal firewall, such as Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm Pro or McAfee Personal Firewall Plus, and use an anti-SPAM e-mail filtering system, such as MailWasher Pro or McAfee SpamKiller.

Further information

• BBC News: Spying software watches you work
• Adware Definition from Whatis.com
• Andrew Clover's Parasite Section
• Parasiteware.com.