Overview |
Summary: |
This product is categorized as "adware" because it is "software that brings targeted ads to your computer, after you provide initial consent for this task." |
Vendor Notes: |
from the web site: 'We are the #1 coupon delivery Web site on the Internet.* We deliver promotional incentives (such as coupons, rebates, savings notices, samples and trial offers) using sophisticated database technology on behalf of online and offline companies (our "Clients") to registered Members ("you", "your" or "Members") of our Web site at www.coolsavings.com (the "Site"), enrollees in the CoolSavings Marketing Network (the "CSMN") and enrollees in the CoolSavings Lead Generation Network (the "LGN"), with both the CSMN and the LGN being accessible through our network of partner Web sites. Our Clients include national retailers, online merchants, consumer packaged goods manufacturers and service providers. To successfully deliver these benefits to you we first require your consent, then we must collect, store and utilize personal and non-personal information about you.' |
Category: |
Adware: Software that displays popup/popunder ads when the primary user interface is not visible or which do not appear to be assocaited with the product.
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Similar Pests: |
Adware |
Origins |
Group: |
CoolSavings, Inc. |
By This Group: |
CoolSavings.com · |
Mailing Address: |
CoolSavings, Inc. 360 North Michigan Avenue 19th Floor Chicago , Illinois 60601 |
Phone: |
+1 312 224-5000 +1 312 224-5001 |
EMail: |
webmaster@coolsavings.com |
URL: |
www.coolsavings.com |
Date of Origin: |
November, 2004 |
Distribution |
Prevalence: |
CoolSavings: 0.0%
More Info |
Clot Factor: |
CoolSavings: 6
The "Clot Factor" is a measure of how much a pest "gums up" a machine by adding registry entries, files, and directories. As more objects are placed in a machine, manual removal becomes more difficult and more error-prone. |
Growth: |
CoolSavings: Insufficient data to report growth |
Operation |
General: |
In our tests, displayed a popup ad for LowerMyBills.com. Clicking on the x in the upper right corner of the popup did not close the ad, but instead took us to https://www.lowermybills.com/servlet/LMBServlet?the_action=NavigateHomeLoansAppFirstStep&test_type=A&sourceid=8450012-6234589-4314419&TAG_ID=8086010862645720611086264572062&jrunsessionid=808601086264572061 |
Advertising: |
Yes. 'We send to your web browser all of the advertisements you see when you use the Site, the CSMN and/or the LGN. However, we reserve the right to also allow other companies, called third-party ad servers or ad networks, to serve advertisements within our web pages. In addition, some of our advertisers may use the services of third-party ad networks. Some of these third-party ad networks may place a persistent cookie on your computer. Doing this allows the third-party ad network to recognize your computer each time they send you an online advertisement. In this way, third-party ad networks may compile information about where you, or others who are using your computer, saw their advertisements and determine which ads are clicked on. This information allows a third-party ad network to deliver targeted advertisements that they believe will be of most interest to you. We do not have access to or control of the cookies that may be placed by the third-party ad servers or third-party ad networks.' -- privacy policy linked from http://www103.coolsavings.com Popup ads will appear on your screen afterleaving http://www.coolsavings.com/ |
Storage Required: |
CoolSavings: at least 17 KB |
Risks |
Privacy Issues: |
Perhaps. 'CoolSavings collects personal information when you register with us and when you use CoolSavings' services. CoolSavings may combine information about you that we have with information we obtain from business partners or companies. During registration, we require Members to give us basic contact information (such as your name, mailing and e-mail address) and some demographic information (such as your zip code, age and gender). ... Once you register with CoolSavings, you are not anonymous to us. ... We also collect information, via the Site, the CSMN, the LGN and our downloadable software known as Coupon Manager, relating to your onsite actions and activities (e.g. what coupon you download) to enable us to provide you more timely, relevant offers and products. ... We will, from time to time, prepare and distribute surveys and collect information submitted by you in response to those surveys. Through sweepstakes and responses to other offers, we also collect similar information (for example, Members typically supply their household income, education, occupation, number of children in the household, home ownership, office at home, pet ownership, automobile ownership, and shopping preferences). ... We collect information relating to your e-mail response data to enable us to provide more timely, relevant offers and products. ... When you use the Site, the CSMN and/or the LGN, we automatically receive records and information on our server logs from your browser such as: (i) IP address; (ii) domain server; (iii) access times; (iv) referring Web site addresses; and (v) the Internet service provider ("ISP") used to access the Site, the CSMN and/or the LGN in order to perform troubleshooting (i.e. to help diagnose problems with our server) or administer our Site, the CSMN and/or the LGN. ...
When you contact our Member Services Group, we may request and collect from you non-personally identifiable information such as (i) type and version of computer operating system (Mac or Windows); and (ii) type and version of web browser (Netscape, Microsoft Explorer, etc.) in order to perform troubleshooting (i.e. to help diagnose problems with our server) or administer our Site, the CSMN and/or the LGN. ... Your information will be used to personalize and enhance your CoolSavings' experience by matching the information you provide us (i.e. product preferences, interests, etc.) with better, more relevant offers and opportunities available through CoolSavings. We also may use your information to inform you of other products or services available from CoolSavings. CoolSavings may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.' -- from the privacy policy.
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Privacy Policy: |
privacy policy linked from http://www103.coolsavings.com |
Detection and Removal |
Automatic Removal: |
 PestPatrol detects this.
PestPatrol removes this.
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Manual Removal: |
Follow these steps to remove CoolSavings from your machine. Begin by backing up your registry and your system, and/or setting a Restore Point, to prevent trouble if you make a mistake. |
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Unregister DLLs:
Unregister these DLLs with Regsvr32, then reboot:
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Clean Registry:
Remove these registry items (if present) with RegEdit:
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Remove Files:
Remove these files (if present) with Windows Explorer:
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Remove Directories:
Remove these directories (if present) with Windows Explorer:
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Research |
File Analyses: |
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More Info: |
AllTheWeb, AltaVista, AOL Search, Ask Jeeves, Google, HotBot, Lycos, LookSmart, MSN, Yahoo! |
Research By: |
PestPatrol's Pest Research Center |
Last Revised: |
April 15, 2005 |