Current Practices of IAC/Ask Toolbars

ronjor · Oct 29, 2007

As the fifth-biggest search engine, Ask faces a clear problem: How to get users to leave their favored search engines, to conduct their searches at Ask instead? One Ask strategy is to buys ads on TV and in other media, claiming to offer a better product. But Ask also drives traffic to its search engine by enticing users to install its toolbars. This article looks at Ask's current and recent toolbar practices, including:

* Promoting its toolbars on sites targeted to kids.
* Promoting its toolbars through ads that appear to be part of other companies' sites.
* Promoting its toolbars through other companies' spyware.
* Installing without any disclosure whatsoever and without any consent whatsoever.
* Soliciting installations via "deceptive door openers" that do not accurately describe the offer; failing to affirmatively show a license agreement; linking to a EULA via an off-screen link.
* Making confusing changes to users' browsers -- increasing Ask's revenues while taking users to pages they didn't intend to visit.

Throughout, I compare these practices to the statements of Ask's staff, and I compare these practices with applicable legal and ethical duties.
Click to expand...

Ben Edelman

ccsito · Oct 31, 2007

Toolbars are nothing more than taking shortcuts. Using Windows is also taking a shorcut (GUI). Use caution when you decide to use and install them.
I've seen those TV ads showing how Ask.com is "different" than other search engines in providing "multimedia" website responses to your query. As with Google, Yahoo, and all of the others, it is all about $$$ and visibility.

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Current Practices of IAC/Ask Toolbars

ronjor Global Moderator

ccsito Registered Member

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Current Practices of IAC/Ask Toolbars

ronjor Global Moderator

ccsito Registered Member

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