Freeware; what is the "real cost"?
Has you computer noticably slowed down since you installed high speed service? Do you wonder where all those "pop-up" or banner ads come from? Most likely, you have sons or daughters who have "discovered" the benefits of a high speed connection and have downloaded "cool MP3 music files", "radical free games" or free software.Morpheus, Gator, Bonsie Buddy which have been most sought after and now reside on your home machine. Other more unitarian, but free, programs such as: Eudora (free version); free Microsoft options to "enhance your Internet experience", Netsonic 3000( a program that claims to speed up your Internet connection), and Copernician 2002 (a free multisearch engine program) also carry "advertising software" that operate in the background.All of the above "free software" is supported by "hidden software" that downloads and displays ads, pop up windows, and flashing banners as you surf the Internet. The background ads and their own undetected Internet connections slow the machine down. This is the actual "cost" of freeware. Remove the advertising and you may remove the functionality of free software but gain greater data transfer speed and less unsolicited advertising. There are some 'free' advertisement removal programs at http://cexx.org/apps.htm but they may have limited functionality until payment for a "enhanced or plus" version is received by their owners. Prices vary as does the utility of each program. Read the review before you download the software.
At http://www.privacy.net/ you can see a demonstration of how the hidden programs track your visit to various web sites. The information is sold to various third party marketing companies who in turn buy pop up ads to intrude on your own machine. Do you want to avoid the above? There is a shareware program available. ad-aware, at http://www.lsfileserv.com/ which can be downloaded and installed on your computer. I installed "ad aware" on my machine and it found 56 suspect files in 7 directories.