#VIRUS FREE BONZI BUDDY SOFTWARE#

One reader was quoted as criticizing the program because it 'kept popping up and obscuring things you needed to see'. In April 2007, PC World readers voted BonziBuddy the sixth on a list named 'The 20 Most Annoying Tech Products'. Spyware Guide 's entry on the program also states that it is adware.

#VIRUS FREE BONZI BUDDY SOFTWARE#

Trend Micro and Symantec have both classified the software as adware. The activities the program is said to engage in include constantly resetting the user's web browser homepage to without the user's permission, prompting and tracking various information about the user, installing a toolbar, and serving advertisements. In 2002, an article in Consumer Reports Web Watch labelled BonziBuddy as spyware, stating that it contains a backdoor trojan that collects information from users. It is often referred to in some software as Adult Male #2.ДЄ number of sources identify BonziBuddy as spyware, a claim the company disputed. The voice was called Sydney and taken from an old Lernout & Hauspie Microsoft Speech API 4.0 package. The program also used a text-to-speech voice to interact with the user. Later versions of BonziBuddy in May 2000 featured its own character: Bonzi, the purple gorilla.

The software used Microsoft Agent technology similar to Office Assistant, and originally sported Peedy, a green parrot and one of the characters available with Microsoft Agent.

Virus free bonzi buddy