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I thought it might be a virus so I visited Symantec. I wanted to see if there was a newer virus data file or a virus warning that would explain these links. On the Symantec site, everywhere I found the words "virus protection," it had been converted to a link to Symantec's rival, McAfee.Com. Symantec linking to McAfee? Something is badly wrong here I went to work to find the source of these mystery links. I discovered that after deleting all my cache files in Microsoft's IE (Internet Explorer), the links went away, but every time I restarted IE, they came back. They also appeared in ebooks compiled to use IE for display. These links did not show up when viewed in Netscape. I had heard about Smart Tags, so I checked into it. Microsoft Smart Tags Technology Smart Tags, according to Microsoft, are "... a feature of Internet Explorer that add smart links to pages you view. Smart Tags enable real-time, dynamic recognition of content on web pages and offer you relevant options as you work. By hovering and clicking on these smart links, you can get access to additional information or perform convenient web tasks." Many Internet marketers, fearing Smart Tags could be used to hijack visitors by using their content to divert traffic to another website without permission or compensation, complained loudly to Microsoft. Microsoft's received so much negative feedback about the damage Smart Tags technology poses to developers and businesses on the Internet that a month ago it announced they had backed off of plans to add "Smart Tags" to its Windows XP operating system. "Smart Tags" Technology is like a scalpel. In the hands of a doctor, it can restore health, but in the hands of a killer it can cause only pain and suffering. Smart Tags Can Be Disabled on a Web Page If you are a Web author, you can disable Smart Tag recognition in IE by adding the following meta tag to each web page. <b> <<font color="#990000">meta name="MSSmartTagsPreventParsing" content="TRUE"</font></b>> For more info, see: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/preview/smarttags/ On The downside, while this may disable Smart Tags by Microsoft, it does nothing to disable browser plug ins. Nor did it remove these specific links from my pages. Smart Tags technology distributed as a plug in To make a long story short I discovered the source of these links was a browser plug in my son had installed as part of a file-sharing program similar to Napster. KaZaA is the fourth most downloaded PC program on Cnet Network's Download.Com site. It has been downloaded 4.9 million times since July 11. http://www.kazaa.com/ KaZaA makes it possible for people to download licensed software and music without paying the owners anything. When KaZaA is downloaded, a copy of a special IE plug in using Smart Tag technology is installed. It adds links to keywords purchased by advertisers on every page the user views with IE ANYWHERE on the Internet. The Source of The Plug In It's called <a name="TOPtext">TOPtext</a>. It's provided by eZula.com. It's listed in the KaZaA installer as, "TOPtext, a browser plug in to give Internet Explorer relevant quick links" http://www.eZula.com/ I contacted several of the advertisers the links sent me to and in every case they claimed they had received complaints, but had no actual knowledge of where the links were coming from. Even after I supplied them with information about the source of the links, they all have remained active. The Theory of "Contextual Advertising" EZula supporters say "contextual advertising has promise because it is far less obtrusive than other forms of online and offline advertising while delivering only what a consumer wants." I see things differently. The purpose of my website is to deliver value-added content on the subject of Internet Marketing and Home Based Business. I have spent over five years developing this website, and I maintain well over 5,000 pages of valuable free content. This content works much like a TV program. It provides a vehicle for delivering highly targeted traffic and builds trust delivering sales over time. In the case of TV, programming content is only possible because advertisers pay for commercials. No third party is allowed to supply different commercials in place of those paid for. If third parties were allowed to hijack TV commercials, where would the money to develop the programming come from? It's exactly the same on the Web Yet I have learned that in less than 20 days, over four million potential customers visiting my website may see links appearing on my pages leading them to other websites selling products I don't earn any income from and would not recommend. Hundreds of thousands of people are downloading this plug in every day, most without knowing they are doing so. I maintain that my website content belongs to me and your content belongs to you. I assume all content developers feel the same way. No one has the right to hijack our hard earned traffic by adding links to the words we use. Vote With Your Feet We can't put the genie back in the bottle. If advertisers and the buying public are willing to fund this type of advertising, this technology may be the killer blow for small content-rich web developers. Small businesses such as myself can't afford to sue the corporations that dream this stuff up. The best we can do is to not support the advertisers. We can also let them know we won't support this form of advertising and will NOT buy their products. The Bottom Line Microsoft's Smart Tags technology and browser plug ins like TOPtext pose a substantial threat to content driven marketing. Shawn Collins has launched an online petition to protest against Smart Tags. You can sign the "No More Smart Tags" petition here: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/nmst2001/ If you feel this form of advertising is a violation of your copyrights, you may also want to register your thoughts with eZula.com, the company that owns the TOPtext plug in. http://www.ezula.com/company/contact.asp</a> If this technology is allowed to evolve, I am concerned that the concept of developing free content for the Internet will be threatened. If content developers can't earn income indirectly through content development, we soon may be required to pay for every scrap of information we now get free. Have your sales dropped off lately? In just the last 20 days, over 4 million web surfers are viewing links on your website you didn't put there. These links are taking your customers elsewhere. But the really scary part is unless you have TOPtext installed with IE, you won't even know it's happening. ______________________________ ROBERT SMITH helps thousands successfully market their Internet based home business. You'll find tons of free marketing tools & resources on his Internet Marketing web site at: http://www.smithfam.com/ . ______________________________ WEBSITE101 TUTORIALS HTML Tutorial | CGI tutorial | Email Tutorial | Spam Tutorial | Cookies Tutorial | Privacy Tutorial | Windows Tutorial | DreamWeaver Tutorial | Domain Name Tutorial | Business Plan Tutorial | Search Position Tutorial | Online Advertising Tutorial | Ecommerce Essentials Tutorial |
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