In efforts to locate revenues from their free services, companies that create popular programs, including BearShare, Audio Galaxy Satellite and iMesh, are adding outside pieces of software that have nothing to do with file trading.
Dubbed "adware," or "spyware" by their critics, these software programs run in the background even when the original file-swapping software isn't operating, popping up advertisements while people surf online, and sometimes quietly uploading information about a Web surfer's habits.
The programs have sparked a swell of protest from some people computer-savvy enough to figure out what software is running on their machines and what it is doing. But the companies defend themselves, saying there are worse alternatives and they need some revenue sources if they are to continue to offer their products for free.
"One of the issues around free software is the need to make money somehow," said Vinnie Falco, chief technical officer of FreePeers, the company that created the BearShare Gnutella software. "It's a great compromise between protecting user privacy and the ability to support free software."
File-swapping companies aren't alone in a scramble for revenues that is threatening to alienate some people online. The drive for personal information that might be valuable for advertising purposes has prompted several companies to offer software that collects this data and sometimes sends it back to the parent company. Although most of the companies doing this are relatively small, even larger companies such as RealNetworks have occasionally tried to keep surreptitious tabs on computer users' actions.
"This is all over," said Richard Smith, chief technical officer for the Privacy Foundation. "Anytime you're downloading a piece of software, you're basically trusting the company not to do anything too bad."
As file-swapping service Napster continues to decline, people are streaming to the alternative programs in record numbers, focusing a spotlight on this type of software. According to statistics kept by CNET Download.com, a software download site maintained by News.com publisher CNET Networks, more than 6.8 million people have downloaded Audio Galaxy's software and more than 3 million have tried FreePeers' BearShare.
This represents a huge, potentially captive audience for advertisers who can somehow take advantage of these numbers. And a few are trying.
