It is important that both developers and our customers understand this criteria. I will look at each of the points individually. But first, let\u2019s look at which programs can qualify as adware.<\/p>\n

What can be classified as adware<\/h2>\n

We only consider classifying a program as adware if it runs on the user\u2019s machine and produces notifications promoting goods or services in programs other than itself. If the program shows advertisements within its own borders it will not be assessed any further.<\/p>\n

Many programs use advertising as a form of payment for the program and that is also an acceptable practice. We are more concerned with the advertising that interferes with our customer\u2019s Windows experience without giving them choice and control over it.<\/p>\n

A method to close the ad<\/h3>\n

As part of the advertisement there must be a method to close the ad. This must be a clear and obvious method. Suggested methods are an \u2018X\u2019 or the word \u2018close\u2019 in the corner of the ad.<\/p>\n

If you are going to have a group of ads, it is acceptable to have a single close button as long as the ads are clearly grouped together. If the ads are not grouped each ad will need its own close button. Some of the better groupings we have seen are lines around all of the ads or a different colour background for the ads.<\/p>\n

In the case of pop-up advertisements, a working close button on the window is acceptable.<\/p>\n

The name of the program that is creating the ad<\/h3>\n

It is important for the user to know that these ads are being shown by a specific program and would not be there if it was not for this program. To tell the user that your program is making the ads, you need to make it clearly known in the advertisement. For example, some of the clearer ways that we see this done are phrases like \u201cAds by \u2026\u201d, \u201c\u2026 ads\u201d, \u201cPowered by \u2026\u201d, \u201cThis ad served \u2026\u201d, or \u201cThis ad is from \u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

These methods all meet our updated objective criteria by clearly informing users which program is showing the ads. Using abbreviations or company logos alone are not considered clear enough. Also, only using \u201cAds not by this site\u201d does not meet our criteria, because the user does not know which program created the ad.<\/p>\n

A way to uninstall the program that is making the ads<\/h3>\n

The final part of giving a user choice and control is giving them a way to uninstall the program that is making the ads. For example, candidate programs that produce independent promotion notifications or promotion notifications in Internet Explorer must have an uninstall entry in the Windows control panel. It is very important that the name of the program in the uninstall entry exactly matches the name shown in the advertisement.<\/p>\n

We know that for some browsers extensions are only removable through the browser\u2019s own controls. This is considered a standard uninstall method and meets our objective criteria as long as the name still matches the name in the ad.<\/p>\n

What happens to detected adware<\/h2>\n

Currently, when our security products detect a program as adware they alert the user and offer them a recommended action. If they don\u2019t respond, the security product will let the program run until the user makes a decision.<\/p>\n

With our updated objective criteria, this is going to change. Now, when one of our products detects adware it will immediately stop the program and the user will be notified. The user then then has the ability to restore the program if they wish.<\/p>\n