toobars

[Brynn]

Hi Friends,
I've come across a couple of toolbars lately, which I think I would find quite useful.  However, back when the spyware type of malware was first proliferating, all security warnings were to avoid these 3rd party toolbars, as many were known to install malware.  I'm wondering if it's still the same advice now-days?  The 2 I'm interested in, ImageShack and Merriam-Webster Dictionary, appear to be safe, to me, but I don't know how one is to confirm it.

So my questions:
Should ALL 3rd party toolbars be avoided, still?
Can some be trusted?  How can one determine the safety of a toolbar, before installing it?

Thanks for any comments :)

[mitch]

my idea


a toolbar takes up valuable real estate! so for me to use it i would have to be one i would use all the time !!!

and there are spell checkers for web work ( i-spell, and one for firefox) so don't need a toolbar for them for typing?

read everything you can before you think of installing any one !
check their terms of use, privacy policy and do a google for a couple of pages looking for a hint of trouble !

i would just as soon bookmark a page and keep the empty space for a web page to display and haven't found a toolbar i need yet ;-)

but that is just my opinion !!

[Brynn]

Ah, well as far as the M-W toolbar, it's definitions that I want, as well as the thesaurus, not just spelling.  Another reason the toolbar is attractive, is that I'm still on dial-up, and surfing to the m-w website takes more time for me, than those on cable and dsl.  And they have this like 'word of the day' feature , which I tend to be a vocabulary nut (word games, crossword puzzle, etc) so would find it quite useful.  I do hear what you say about needing something ALL the time, and believe me, using 800 x 600 screen res, screen space is a serious issue!  The ImageShack, I go through phases -- there are times when I would use the toolbar several times per day, but then other times when I don't use it at all.  So maybe I won't risk that one.  But I will definitely take your comments to heart, and will thoroughly research as you instructed before installing one.

Thanks very much for your comments :D

[Corrine]

Brynn, do you use Firefox?  If so, you don't need a special toolbar. Its as easy as 1, 2, 3 to add M-W an other search engines -- and safe too without additional advertising.

[Brynn]

HA!
I was just about to tease someone about their spelling ("toobars"), when  :oops:  I see it's MY THREAD !!

Thanks Corrine, but I don't use Firefox yet.  But plan to try it at some future time.

[GR@PH;<'S]

Brynn,

I was just about to tease someone about their spelling ("toobars"), when   :oops:  I see it's MY THREAD  !!

It never a good idea to pick some one up on there spelling more so on a forum as inevitably it will come back to haunt you
Well that & the fact that you may then want help from the very person you are ridiculing  :tease: to find that they are away learning how to use there spell checker instead of helping you  :hysterical:

GR@PH;<'S   :Hammys pint:

[Corrine]

Brynn, for the time being, I'd avoid ImageShack. 

See http://malwareremoval.com/plog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=180&blogId=4
and the followup http://malwareremoval.com/plog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=183&blogId=4

[Brynn]

Oh wow....bummer!
Well, at this point, I just use ImageShack to host smileys.
Although even more bummer, I just finished uploading a ton of smileys!

I had already decided not to risk using the ImageShack toolbar, and I may not use the Merriam-Webster one either.  We'll see what I find out when I read all their 'terms'.  But I will admit that I was hoping the 3rd party toolbars were no longer targets for, and "carriers" of spyware/malware.  God forbid we may actually use the internet as it is intended, and without worry of malware!

Well, I sure hope this is an isolated problem with ImageShack.  Thanks for thinking of me, and for posting this info, Corrine  :flowers:

And GR@PH;<'S -- Ah, excellent point!  However I would submit there is a big difference between what I was thinking of -- teasing, and what you warned about -- ridiculing.  I would never ridicule a friend.  Malware purveyors, yes but never a friend!!