User:Edsussman/sandbox


 * NOTE: I have fixed various tense issues below without notation. e.g. Instead of "has" now says "had." But with any other significant proposed change, I've inserted a notation.

The Conduit toolbar was an online platform that allowed web publishers to create custom toolbars, web apps, and mobile apps at no cost. It was developed by Conduit Inc. but in 2013 demerged to Perion Network, a NASDAQ public company. Web apps and pieces of content developed through Conduit's platform were distributed and exchanged online via the Conduit App Marketplace. About 60 million users used apps from the marketplace on a daily basis.


 * NOTE: The first part of the following sentence should be deleted because online forums ("self-published sources") should not be cited as sources. See WP:SOCIALMEDIA. The cited source, in fact, is a tech manual, not an online forum anyway, and does not even call the Conduit platform "malware." It simply gives instructions about deleting it. There are online forum citations elsewhere in the article that do call the program "malware" but self-published sources are never suitable under WP: RELIABLE


 * NOTE: The second part of the following sentence should be removed because it is not a "news outlet" as referred to in the sentence. It looks like a single author blog being used to promote the sale of software to remove programs from computers. As it has not editorial review process, it does not qualify as a suitable source, WP:RELIABLE especially for such a highly contentious allegation, disputed by the company. (It is also only one source -- not several as the plural "outlets" states.) It is not a "news organization" with a "reputation for fact-checking and accuracy" WP:NEWSORG and describing it as such (in the plural) is grossly inaccurate.

Conduit's toolbars have been described in online forums and news outlets as malware

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Conduit's toolbars have been described as difficult to remove.


 * NOTE: the following source should be removed because it 1) does not support any of the previous statements if you read it (it says the program is ""adware" and 2) it is an instruction manual for a piece of software, not a reliable source. WP:RELIABLE


 * NOTE: the following statement was unsourced. But there are sources lower in the article supporting make similar statements. I found two reliable sources for the first contention, but since it's phrasing is contentious, I placed it in quotation marks.

It was also described by several technology columnists as a "browser hijacker."


 * NOTE:: The following part of the previous sentence should be removed because it is unsourced. Later in the article, an online discussion board is in used to support this assertion, but that's not a reliable source.

and rootkit capabilities.

Conduit began to shift away from this part of its business in late 2013 when it spun off its toolbar division into Perion Network through a reverse merger. After the deal, Conduit shareholders owned 81% of Perion's existing shares, though both Perion and Conduit remain independent companies.

History
In 2010 Conduit then-president Adam Boyden was featured in Forbes magazine online, in which he discussed the link between successful social gaming and marketing principles.
 * NOTE The following sentence should be removed because it is superfluous to the subject of the software platform.

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In 2010 there were more than 100 million toolbars being powered by Conduit that were used at least once a month, which put Conduit at #29 on Google’s list of top 1,000 sites on the Internet that year. In May 2011, Conduit completed the $45 million acquisition of Israeli startup Wibiya, an engagement platform that enabled publishers to integrate a variety of web applications on their site via the Wibiya Bar product.

During this time Conduit moved away from the toolbar part of its business in order to focus on its mobile and browser engagement offerings. Ingrid Lunden of TechCrunch wrote that by spinning off the Client Connect business, the "split divided the company in two, with one part focusing on its mobile and engagement business and run by Shilo, and the other, Client Connect, merging with Perion". Lunden said further that, "Less than a month after browser-toolbar and mobile startup Conduit merged its Client Connect division with Perion, the company is making another change to its business. Conduit has announced that it will be discontinuing Wibiya, the social browser toolbar service that it acquired in 2011 for $45 million, as it shifts further away from its toolbar business." In late 2013 Conduit was valued at $1.5 billion.

Browser

 * NOTE: The following sentence should be deleted because the facts has already been stated twice before.

Until 2013, one of Conduit's main businesses revolved around downloadable toolbars.

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Conduit allowed publishers to create and distribute their own toolbars for web browsers.


 * NOTE: The following sentence should be deleted because it supported only by two online discussion board ("self-published sources") that cannot be cited as sources. See WP:SOCIALMEDIA.

Typically the toolbars were installed with another software product on which the toolbar was a piggyback program,


 * NOTE: The following statements are unsourced and should be removed.

with users given the option to not install the toolbar. Browsers that initially supported the toolbars included Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. Google Chrome was added as a supported browser in 2011.

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Examples of toolbars included a Zynga-designed toolbar that helped Farmville enthusiasts keep up-to-date with the status of their game; another was a toolbar from eBay that provided auction updates. The content was customized to the individual toolbar rather than generalized for all users. The toolbar was also be used for general information distribution, which was used by companies to engage in marketing campaigns. Other companies that developed Conduit toolbars include Major League Baseball, Greenpeace, and Lufthansa. Some of the companies and brands that used Conduit's platform were Major League Baseball, Time Warner Cable, Fox News, Zynga, Chelsea Football Club, Groupon, Travelocity, µTorrent, and The Weather Channel.


 * NOTE: The first part of the following sentence ("online forums") should be deleted because online forums ("self-published sources") should not be cited as sources. See WP:SOCIALMEDIA. The cited source, in fact, is a tech manual, not an online forum anyway, and does not even call the Conduit platform "malware." It simply gives instructions about deleting it. There are online forum citations elsewhere in the article that do call the program "malware" but self-published sources are never suitable under WP: RELIABLE


 * NOTE: The second part of the following sentence ("news outlets") should be deleted because the citation is to a first-person opinion column, not the news section of the website, and therefore should not be represented as a "news outlet." As per WP:NEWSORG "Editorial commentary, analysis and opinion pieces, whether written by the editors of the publication (editorials) or outside authors (op-eds) are reliable primary sources for statements attributed to that editor or author, but are rarely reliable for statements of fact." Even if it were cite, which is not allowed, the opinion column does not call the program a "browser hijaker" - it says it "may" or may not be "spyware or adware".


 * NOTE: The entire following sentence is a repeat of a sentence already in the first section of the article. It should be removed as repetition. Or, the previous mention should be removed and this one kept. It comes off as an attack piece if the same negative contention is repeated in multiple parts of the article.

The toolbars have been described in online forums and news outlets as a browser hijack


 * NOTE: The following source should be deleted as supporting this sentence because it is a book that only offers a quote from one online forum - but even that quote does not call the program a "browser hijaker." Even when quoted in a book, an online forum discussion, with no further backing, is still an unreliable source. Here that source doesn't even say what is represented in the sentence.


 * NOTE: The following source should be deleted because as support for this statement because it is a first person opinion column, not a news outlet as represented, and nowhere calls the program a "browser hijaker."


 * NOTE: The following source should be deleted because as support for this statement because it is a first-peron column, not a "news outlet" as represented, and nowhere calls the program a "browser hijaker."


 * NOTE: The following source is a small website in India. Since this claim is already made in the introduction, with better sourcing, I moved the source to the statement in the introduction. I think it should be removed here along with the entire repetitive sentence.


 * NOTE: The following sentence is a repeat of a sentence already in the first section of the article. It should be removed as repetition. Or, the previous mention should be removed and this one kept. It comes off as an attack piece if the same negative contention is repeated in multiple parts of the article.

The toolbar has been described by some reviewers as difficult to remove.


 * NOTE: The following source should be deleted because it is an online forum.

SOURCING SHOULD PICK UP HERE IF THE SENTENCE IS KEPT:'

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Most of Conduit's revenue comes from paid referrals from its search engine.


 * NOTE: The following sentence is unsourced and should be removed.

Conduit toolbars are automatically downloaded alongside the download of free software, in order to help sites that provide software for free with a form of monetization.


 * NOTE: The following sentence should be removed because the sole source is a book directly quoting a single online discussion board.

Conduit toolbars have rootkit capabilities that hook the toolbar deep into operating systems and can perform browser hijacking.

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 * NOTE: Source says "some" not "many" removal tools are considered to be malware.

Some Conduit removal tools are considered to be malware themselves. While not a virus, the program is referred to as a "potentially unwanted program" by some in the computer industry.