|
Some toolbars come at a cost. Googlebar, a Firefox add-on is as good as Google's bar and has no problems. I wouldn't worry about Google's own toolbar either. Anything you download can have a virus, and most virus claims turn out to be false anyway. As long as your defenses are up, you are pretty impervious and any downloaded viruses are found before their host can ever be executed.
Unless you can make the argument that Google purposely included a virus with their toolbar (no laughing now!) I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Now some of the lesser known "toolbars" are nothing more than spyware vectors. Especially if a program claims to be anti-spyware or anti-virus and you haven't heard of it and it is not well-known to be harmless, it is suspect. "Accidentally" misspelled major programs qualify as well, seeing that we have an entire culture of script kiddies who revel in their inability to spell, punctuate or convey any sense in what they claim to say. They are particularly vulnerable, but they should be. It is only natural selection at work.
|