Privacy Digest

Microsoft patents the mother of all adware systems: "The application, filed in 2006, describes a multi-faceted, robust ad-delivering system that lives on a 'user computer, whether it's part of the OS, an application or integrated within applications.'

'Applications, tools, or utilities may use an application program interface to report context data tags such as key words or other information that may be used to target advertisements,' says the filing. 'The advertising framework may host several components for receiving and processing the context data, refining the data, requesting advertisements from an advertising supplier, for receiving and forwarding advertisements to a display client for presentation, and for providing data back to the advertising supplier.'

The adware framework would leave almost no data untouched in its quest to sell you stuff. It would inspect 'user document files, user e-mail files, user music files, downloaded podcasts, computer settings, computer status messages (e.g., a low memory status or low printer ink),' and more. How could we have been so blind as to not see the marketing value in computer status messages?

The software would also free advertising from its traditional browser yoke. 'A word processor may display a banner ad along the top of a window, similar to a toolbar, while a graphical ad may be displayed in a frame associated with the application. A digital editor for photos or movies may support video-based advertisements,' the patent application says.

The patent application, first unearthed by InformationWeek, gives the impression that your software would have more control over the advertising than you would. 'An e-mail client may specify that ads from competitors must be excluded, that its own display client must be used... (that) no more than 4 ads per hour are allowed, and that only text or graphical... advertisements are supported.' The patent makes no mention of any method by which an actual user might exert control, nor does it mention very real privacy or security concerns.

That's okay. It's still a good thing. It says so right in the application: 'The ability to derive and process context data from local sources rather than monitor interactions with a remote entity, such as a server, benefits both consumers and advertisers by delivering more tightly targeted advertisements. The benefit to the user is the perception that the ads are more relevant, and therefore, less of an interruption. The benefit to the advertiser is better focus and a higher chance of conversion to a sale.' "

(Read Original Article - Via .)