“The Cydoor Network allows online advertisers to target, optimize and achieve successful results across billions of monthly impressions, many IAB standard media formats and a vast worldwide audience of more than 80 million people,” it boasts on its home page, going on:

“The Cydoor Network is comprised of an extremely desirable global audience that achieves outstanding response and facilitates brand identity.”

That’s you.

It, “Transmits email address and user-supplied demographic information (if supplied) to Cydoor,” says Pest Patrol. “Demographic info is shared with third parties. Transmits advertising metrics such as ad displays and clicks.”

Does that make it spyware rather than adware?

When the ads have expired, Cydoor, “deletes old ads and contacts Cydoor's servers in order to receive new ones. To do this, the Cydoor component uses your Internet connection, which was designed to take up the minimum bandwidth on your line. Each ad banner on your hard disc is about 10Kbyte.”

So it’s using your computer and your ISP account to transact its business: it's actively carrying out tasks on your system.

"Please be aware that Cydoor advertisers or Web sites that have links in software on our network may utilize demographic information about you," it states. "This privacy statement does not cover the information practices of those Web sites linked from software on the Cydoor Network. From time to time, Cydoor works with third-party ad servers such as Valueclick, Commission Junction, Adventures, Advertising.com, RealMedia and BeFree and others to serve advertising to the Cydoor Network."

But, “Despite the existence of Cydoor, which SuprNova administrator Sloncek contend is not harmful to the individual’s privacy, the pomp and circumstance surrounding this release is sure to grant initial success,” says Slyck’s Tom Mennecke.

“The private beta has already been successful, despite Cydoor’s accompaniment, with well over 2,000 testers.”

Of course, there's always Dan's eXeem Lite...

Source: p2pnet