Is Weatherbug Spyware?
Yes. It's not spying on you, but the fact is that Weatherbug installs things on your computer that cause you to get annoying popup ads all the time. Different people define the word spyware differently, but I would call it spyware (see definition of spyware here), or more precisely "ad-ware" (advertisement-supported software). Weatherbug strongly disputes this (see disclaimer below), however, to quote from their own Terms of Use: "The Software is provided for your use, as described above, free of charge, and is supported by advertising revenue." Another reason Weatherbug is undesirable is that it frequently installs other bad spyware programs, such as Viewpoint Media Player and My Search.
Many people use Weatherbug, and it s even been recommended on the news on at least one local TV station. This is unfortunate. Unless you want lots of pop-ups, you should uninstall Weatherbug. You can get basically the same functionality without the pop-ups by downloading the spy-ware-free Weather Pulse from http://tropicdesigns.net/weatherpulse.php.
How to remove Weatherbug
Because so many people use and enjoy Weatherbug, unaware it's causing problems, most of the major spyware-removal programs do not touch Weatherbug. So you'll have to remove it manually.
In order to avoid future problems with Weatherbug, make sure the program is not running before uninstalling it. If there is a WeatherBug icon in the system tray (in the lower right hand corner of the screen by the clock) you'll need to right-click on it and choose "Exit WeatherBug" or "Terminate Weatherbug". Once the program is closed, you can remove it easily from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel by following these steps:
- Click START (in the lower-left corner of your computer screen)
- Open CONTROL PANEL, or select SETTINGS, then open CONTROL PANEL
- Double click ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS
- Select "WeatherBug" from the list of applications
- Click the REMOVE or ADD/REMOVE button and follow the instructions
If you receive a warning stating that the system could not delete a file, please click on WeatherBug and then ADD/REMOVE again.
There are probably other bad programs that came along with your Weatherbug that you will also have to delete, for example Viewpoint Media Player and My Search or MyWay (or anything starting with My). If you see these in the Add/Remove Programs list, remove them also. For more help on this, click here. Be careful not to remove any good programs that you want to keep.
Disclaimer: Weatherbug has contacted Visionary multiple times demanding that this article be removed. Weatherbug claims that the new version of their product released 8 months ago does not serve pop-ups, as long as you specifically select the custom install options and choose to not install the spyware. So, that is their position, and certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion. Hopefully now that I've presented their position, they will be satisfied and stop constantly calling us. I personally find Weatherbug's harrassment ridiculous, and it just reinforces my convictions regarding this company's ethics. Customers should feel free to draw their own conclusions and keep Weatherbug if they agree with Weatherbug's assertions.
This article is simply my own personal opinion and technical knowledge, and I, John Wiltbank, take full resposibility for it. Visionary is not responsible for the views and information contained in this article.
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February 9, 2005
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December 27, 2005 at 10:23am
well said
July 26, 2006 at 7:21pm
Weather Pulse
Note from John:
Hi, Wes. Yeah, um, we are an ISP based out of *Wyoming*, so yes, we doubtless are in a huge, enormous urban metropolis and know nothing about rural living.
The fact is that it's pretty easy to know what the weather is where you are: look out the window at the back 40. It ain't that complicated. _Forecasting_ the weather is what these weather widgets are good for, in my opinion, and WeatherPulse does that just as well as WeatherBug. I personally found the Weatherbug people to be shady, untrustworthy, and unsavory, and so no way would I ever recommend putting something from them on a computer. If you feel like you want to trust them, great, no skin off my back, more power to you.
November 1, 2006 at 7:23am
Avoid Weatherbug at All Costs
Any company that operates with these practices should be avoided at all costs, and is highly suspect. I would just sign up with Wunderground.com for $10 and get all the features that way.