Two anti-spyware companies Sunbelt Software Inc. and Facetime Inc. have flagged Ask Jeeves downloadable search products as “potentially unwanted programs”.


Sunbelt Software, which makes the CounterSpy anti-spyware program, flags a number of Ask Jeeves’s downloadable software products on machines it scans. Products such as My Global Search, My Search Bar, Need2Find Toolbar, My Speedbar, MyWebSearch Toolbar are labeled “potentially unwanted programs,” not “spyware” or “adware,” and considered a “low risk,” said Alex Eckelberry, president of Sunbelt, which is based in Clearwater, Fla.

Ask Jeeves says that industry confusion exists around the distinction between user-friendly downloadable software products and adware and spyware. The company maintains that its products are not adware or spyware and takes the “erroneous flagging” by anti-spyware companies very seriously.

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