An adware parasite by the name of Bargain Buddy is predicted to have been created by eXact advertising. It works to collect your usage information and sends it to the intruders who will user the information to target you with advertisements they have dubbed appropriate based on your online habits.
Its like ads made just for you. Most times Bargain Buddy must be installed manually by the user but in some instances it was found on computers in files that installed themselves automatically. To remove the adware go into Add/Remove Programs and delete any files named Adware.BargainBuddy.
After removing all infected files you should also run a scan from a spyware removal tool to check for and rid of any other spyware or adware infections.
In a study done in an IDC based out of Massachusetts it was predicted that money spent on internet security from spyware will jump from $12 million in the U.S. during 2003 to $305 million once 2008 rolls around.
The study said most spyware security providers will continue to compete for having the top market products, including big name virus security companies such as Norton and McAfee who will release their spyware software to compete with already established anti-spyware providers. Millions of computers, mostly PCs, have been and continue to be infected with spyware, with the study estimating 67 percent of computers with an infection already.
