A quick note to all of developers out there. You have until 1 July to let us know if you think your software shouldn’t be detected under our new adware criteria.
A few months ago I announced some major changes to how we at the Microsoft Malware Protection Center assess adware in my blog Adware: A new approach.
As a reminder, the updated criteria defines adware as:
Programs that promote a product or service outside of their own program can interfere with your computing experience. You should have clear choice and control when installing programs that open advertisements.
The advertisements that are opened by these programs must:
- Include an obvious way to close the ad.
- Include the name of the program that created the ad.
The program that creates these advertisements must:
- Provide a standard uninstall method for the program using the same name as shown in the ads it produces.
On 1 July, 2014 we will change the way our products behave when they detect adware. The programs that we still detect, and their supporting files, will be removed by default.
This means that you have about a week to let us know if you think your program shouldn’t be detected.
You can let us know through our developer contact form.
Michael Johnson
MMPC