Cydoor  

Server List: See Stephen Martin's Hosts File List (Cydoor Group)

Software List: The Spyware List by Lavasoft www.lavasoft.de has more info on Cydoor and a list of software containing the Cydoor module. Find it in their Freeware section.

Warning: If installation of software embedded with Cydoor is terminated by not agreeing with the EULA, Cydoor software may install itself without the software host. This has been personally noted during a rejected installation of MP3 Tag Studio (version 1.6.1) by Magnus Brading Software. If host software containing Cydoor has been fully installed and then uninstalled, the Cydoor component will not be uninstalled. Cydoor does not provide an uninstall feature.

About Cydoor: www.cydoor.com

Cydoor's Ads OnSoftware™ embeds advertising in host software, converting it to "free" adware. User tracking is tied to the GUID (Global Unique Identifier): "Upon installation of a software application integrated with our advertising technology, Cydoor Technologies sets a numerical identifier on your computer."

Cydoor "services" are Windows 95/98/NT compatible. Q & A's from the Developers FAQ states: "Your software does not have to be Internet related. The only requirement is that users occasionally go on the Internet so that ads can be downloaded transparently while they are online."

Users do not have to be online while using software embedded with Cydoor: "Ads are pulled from the protected ad cache within each user's computer whether they are online or offline. Your program will continuously display ads from the cache until it is updated-which occurs the next time the user goes online. Ad loads and reports are transmitted the moment that happens."

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Cydoor OnSoftware Suite  

"This service turns the interface of a software program into the most powerful advertising media on the Internet. Advertisers benefit from unmatched ROI, achieved by combining exact targeting abilities, rich media ads, frequency control, and many other features."

Shop OnSoftware™

"This service provides clients with a fast, easy and safe method of interactive shopping. Cydoor combines product presentation abilities with Cybercash payment solutions, enabling users to shop whether they are online or offline."

Communicate OnSoftware™

"This service enables developers to maintain a direct line of contact with users that download their free software. The service sends users messages, fixes bugs in their software, and to maintain a direct line of contact with users that download their free software. Developers also receive feedback directly from the software while it is in use, allowing them to better understand their users."

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Privacy Information  

Privacy Policy: www.cydoor.com/Cydoor/Company_Privacy.htm

"In the process of delivering this content, as well as performing online transactions, Cydoor will sometimes query you for demographic data (gender, age, interests, marital status and education). We will not collect any personally identifiable information about you (name, address, telephone number, email address) unless you provide it to us voluntarily. All of this information is aggregated for the purposes of reporting to advertisers and ad sales organizations the performance of their ad campaigns."

"Upon installation of a software application integrated with our advertising technology, Cydoor Technologies sets a numerical identifier on your computer. This allows us to measure and report aggregate information to advertisers such as the number of people who see their ad (reach) and the number of times people see their ad (frequency). It also allows us to deliver ads that are more relevant to you and avoid delivering the same ads too many times."

Opt-Out Option: "If you do not want personal information collected, please do not submit it. If you have already submitted this information and would like for us to remove it from our files, please contact us at the email address [email protected]. We will use reasonable efforts to delete your information from our existing files."

Privacy Contact: [email protected]

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Business Associates:  

Cydoor Partners Include: Tucows (software download site) www.tucows.com

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Uninstall Cydoor  

Warning: Host software should be uninstalled before removing Cydoor. Removing Cydoor without removing host software may cause host software to stop working.

Cydoor can be removed with Lavasoft's free AD-aware utility (see Spyware links). It cannot be removed by Steve Gibson's free OptOut! utility. Cydoor can be removed manually but it's recommended for die-hards only. Use AD-aware instead. It's easier and it's kept up to date with Cydoor revisions.

For the curious, an InCntrl installation log of Cydoor on a Win 98 computer can be seen here....

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Manual Removal Of Cydoor  

Warning: Host software should be uninstalled before removing Cydoor. Removing Cydoor without removing host software may cause host software to stop working.

Caution: The following directions are for reference only. Proceed at your own risk. A system backup before making changes is recommended. Editing the Windows Registry can cause major problems if done incorrectly. Always back up the Registry before making any changes (see Registry Links).

1. Delete the following files (usually found in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\):

   CD_CLINT.DLL
   CD_GIF.DLL
   CD_SWF.DLL
   CD_LOAD.EXE

2. Delete the ADCACHE folder and its contents (usually found under C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\).

3. Remove Cydoor and Cydoor Services from the Windows Registry.

The following Cydoor keys were added in my Windows 98 Registry and are shown for reference only:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cydoor\

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cydoor Services\

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\Cydoor=CD_Load.exe

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Acknowledgements  

July 14-00 - Thanks to "Snork" who passed along the cd_swf.dll info after finding it in a trial version of the file-encryption utility Security Manager 2000.

Updated: Aug 21-00

Quoted excerpts are © Cydoor unless otherwise noted.

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