smiley central

[Lostinyahoo]

[SIZE=1]I downloaded smiley central and I can't get it to work in my yahoo messenger or outlook. It only works in my yahoo mail. I have tried everything suggested in smiley trouble shooting. I have uninstalled and reinstalled countless times. I see the smilie icon and when I click on it then on a smiley it says must be on a compose page. I open a compose page smilies disapear http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/style_emoticons/sad.gif I also see the my web search toolbar in my ie along with smilie icon. I don't see anything in yahoo chat or my outlook express. When I open my yahoo mail page smilie button is there. I really like this program but have read a few posts here. Is smiley central safe to use?
Help!
Thanx lexi

[yahoogirl]

I really like this program but have read a few posts here. Is smiley central safe to use?[/b]


Smiley Central (funwebproducts) is classified as spyware by SpywareBlaster
In the END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (http://www.funwebproducts.com/eula/) it states that THE APPLICATIONS INCLUDES POPSWATTERâ„¢, MYMAILSTAMPâ„¢, SMILEYCENTRALâ„¢, POPULARSCREENSAVERSâ„¢, CURSORMANIAâ„¢ AND MY MAIL SIGNATUREâ„¢ SOFTWARE PROGRAMS, EACH OF WHICH IS COVERED BY THIS AGEEMENT
I myself do not like programs that contain all this rubbish


Some info I found:

No fun with FunWebProducts


By Mark Gibbs
Network World Web Applications Newsletter, 12/10/03

As Web application developers, we are in the unique position to see the impact that Web browsing technologies are having on all aspects of PC use. An interesting example of this happened around September 2003 when some Web masters started noticing a significant increase in server log entries of user agent strings from Internet Explorer Web browsers containing the text "FunWebProducts." For example: "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.01; Windows NT 5.0; FunWebProducts)".

It turned out that FunWebProducts (see links below) is an operation of a company called IWon. Its software - a Web application - is essentially yet another piece of adware (often mistakenly called spyware although that is arguably a related subgenre).

Advertisement:

FunWebProducts is notable because it acquired a large user population with remarkable speed. Iwon is responsible for a series of notorious adware products including IWon, iWon Co-Pilot, iWon Search Assistant, and MySearch/MyWeb.

The apparent reason for the surge in popularity is that the FunWebProducts code is built into a number of "free" products offered by the same company. These products include Smiley Central, PopSwatter, My Mail Signature, My Mail Stationery, My Mail Stamp, Cursor Mania - all but the last tool (which is a cursor chooser) are "enhancements" for e-mail. By dint of widespread advertising FunWebProducts has managed to sucker thousands of naïve end users into running its software.

According to the FunWebProducts End User Licensing agreement: "ALL OF OUR APPLICATIONS COME WITH THE MYWEBSEARCHâ„¢ BROWSER PLUGIN - A CUSTOMIZABLE BROWSER TOOLBAR WHICH PROVIDES END USERS WITH EASY ACCESS TO SEARCH RESULTS FROM THE BEST SEARCH ENGINES ON THE INTERNET IN JUST ONE CLICK AND ENHANCES YOUR BROWSER EXPERIENCE BY PROVIDING RELEVANT LINKS AND RESULTS IN RESPONSE TO MISSPELLED OR INCORRECTLY FORMATTED BROWSER ADDRESS REQUESTS.

"THE APPLICATION ALLOWS YOU TO EASILY ACCESS ALL OF ITS FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY DIRECTLY FROM YOUR BROWSER. IT IS ALSO HIGHLY CUSTOMIZABLE AND ALLOWS YOU TO CREATE YOUR OWN BUTTONS AND LINKS."

What FunWebProducts actually does - as do a lot of other adware and spyware products - is to make it difficult to uninstall the software as well as hijack your browser by setting your home page to point to other sites. Worse still, FunWebProducts attempts to reset the browser home page should you dare to try to change it.

The consequences of adware and spyware in Windows systems are serious and the more desktops you have to manage the worse it gets. These programs can cause browsers to perform slowly, can degrade overall system performance, and can damage Windows configurations. They can also cause other applications to misbehave.

This kind of software is generally poorly designed and foisted on unsophisticated users through advertising and promotion that is effectively deceptive about the true nature of the product. In short, it is shameful and deceitful.

I strongly urge you to become familiar with these Web applications and watch out for their appearance within your organization - they are a support headache waiting to happen. You can find out more about removal methods and software to do it for you in the links below.




http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
http://www.pestpatrol.com/
http://www.webroot.com/wb/products/spysweeper/
http://www.spychecker.com/

[Mullyman]

Bottom line is smiley central is crap http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/style_emoticons/thumbdown.gif ...this has been posted numorous times...i still don"t understand why people insist on trying it...first clue should be is when you surf the net and you see all the advertisments for "10 billion" free smileys http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/style_emoticons/laugh.gif before you download any program all you have to do is punch it in google ...example:"smiley central reviews" or "is smiley central safe" etc ...and you will get an idea if the program is any good...for the time it takes it could save you headaches down the road http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/style_emoticons/thumbsup.gif

http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/index.php?showt...indpost&p=54699 (http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/index.php?showtopic=5213&view=findpost&p=54699)

[Lostinyahoo]

Thanks Yahoogirl and mullyman, I am new to the site and must admit to being puter challenged. I am learning http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/style_emoticons/wink2.gif I did read the article posted in 2003 about smiley central being adware/spyware. I wondered what exactly it did to your computer? Is it just a a pain in the butt or can it cause serious damage? Off to google it.
Thanks again
Lexi

[Mullyman]

Here is just a quick read...it"s an older article but you will get the jest of it http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/style_emoticons/cool.gif
Information (http://www.unwantedlinks.com/what_is_spyware.htm)

[bee]

Originally posted by Mullyman@11 Aug 2004, 01:05 am
...i still don"t understand why people insist on trying it...
my Ma uses it, she loves it.. gave her all the stuff to read, explained it to her yada yada yada but still opted to go with it and she loves it, makes her happy and has boosted her confidence re using email (has given my fax machine a well needed rest http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/style_emoticons/blush.gif ). I guess it comes down to ppls individual comfort levels.. like mine with MyCorkboard.. i like it loads but some ppl dont cause if ad content.. each to their own i guess http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/style_emoticons/smile.gif

[Phantom]

Interesting read Mully. http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/style_emoticons/ohmy.gif

i use EmotiPad Plus, you pay for it, but read to much bad stuff about Smiley Central,

But like Bee said, Each to there own !

http://www.wackyb.com/zzub/style_emoticons/cheers.gif

[Elffster]

I'd be lost without my EPP and EP, over 7000 smilies so far, had more but had to cut back some