Sneak is pleased to note that the term PUA is gaining some traction, given that even the mighty Microsoft has had legal trouble trying to classify what’s spyware, what’s adware, and what is in fact a legitimate and helpful generator of relevant popup adverts. That you never knew you installed. And that seems to think you need Viagra. Or is that just in Sneak’s case? Anyway, the nicely politically correct “potentially unwanted application” is a lovely coverall to describe annoying things that eke out a living on the margins of your hard-disk. It also has a nice ring to it, sounding vaguely excremental when spoken aloud. Of course, the range of applications that are potentially unwanted is actually rather broad. For example, Sneak would rather listen to a pair of fingers than use the execrable Windows Media Player 10 that shipped as part of Windows XP - surely qualifying it as a prime piece of PUA.

03 Oct 2006