[HiTech RedNeck]

This came to WND's attention when somebody complained to them about salacious ads appearing in Google toolbar previews of WND's front page. While Joseph Farah wants to send Google to hell six ways from Sunday for other ways that it has been evil, I personally don't see Google legally getting away with this particular practice. It's already been court decided that it is verboten to stick someone else's website in your own frame to pass it off as associated with your own material. This banner ad editing is the same thing, just vice versa. Let Google put its own banner ads in a different frame of its toolbar window, if it has to show them at all, and faithfully show the original banner ads in their original context.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Wow, this got demoted to Bloggers & Personal in a tearing hurry.

[GOP Poet]

I noticed today that my Free Republic icon (next to the FR name) on my toolbar is a Google icon now. Pissed me off big time. Also the tab says G (Google icon) next to Posting Comment, as I write this right now. Time to eject this virus/Spyware/Hackerware from my computer!

[the invisib1e hand]

hey, they’re a bunch of russians who make money reading your email, and you let them. that’s reason enough to hate them (even if it is an impressive scam).

[GOP Poet]

In case anyone is interested regarding my post about my FR icon being replaced by a Google one both on my toolbar (or Command bar) in my I.E. browser next to Free Republic link and also in the tab that I am writing in right now. I did run my Spyware scan and removal(Spy Sweeper) and still the Google icon remained hijacked and went back even after I changed their Google icon to the Microsoft newspaper one on my toolbar several times.

What did work, I believe, is running a program I have called Speed up My PC, by a company called Uniblue. After doing my scan and optimization on computer, the true red, white, and blue star FR icon is back in its rightful place. (All is well in the world again, sigh) :-)

Definitely not advertising product here, but wanted to let everyone know I believe this was the fix. So basically to fix this problem it takes a step up from a basic Spyware program. Now to find a fix on the ad replacement that this thread is really all about . . . I think that one is going to take a lawsuit or two. :-O!

Love my Free Republic Icon!!! Thanks Jim. :-)