Description: Game Vance AKA Gamevance.com provides free games to the general public. These games are free because they are add supported. Programs like this are known as Adware or Add Supported applications.
If Game Vance a Virus?
The answer is a clear no. When prompted to install this program it is very clear in the TOS that by installing the software you are allowing Game Vance to show ads in the form of pop-ups and pop unders from the websites you visit. No personal information is stored about the user so you do not need to worry about identity theft.
In many cases younger kids often install this software on their computer in order to play the free game. You can find adds for games like this on many common websites that feature other kid friendly games. It is clear that the person needs to be 18 in order to install the software but children often do not read such items.
To stop your children from installing such things in the future you should create a limitted account just for them. See our How To Guides above for details on doing this.
Remove Game Vance
Game Vance can often be removed via the add / remove program feature in the Control pannel. You can also download the uninstaller from the Game Vance website. Here is a direct link to the latest uninstaller http://www.gamevance.com/gamevance_uninstall.php
A Closer look at Game Vance
Very few antivirus clients will actually flag this program as being bad. The reason is the Terms of Service are very clear. By installing the free game you agree to be shown ads. It's as simple as that. Game Vance develops these games for free us and in turn make money from the ads. Here is a link to their Astroid 3 game I tested out. The game was fun. I played it for about 40 minutes then browsed the web a while. I was shown many advertisements and found my overall browsing experience was rather iritating from the ammount of ads shown. Perhaps if they only showed a few here and there I would not of minded so much. An hour after installing I used the above uninstall tool and re-booted my computer. No more pop-ups.
The take home lesson here is to read the Terms And Service of programs before you install them.
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