Comet Cursor
Software program
title: "Comet Cursor" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["adware", "spyware", "1997-software"] description: "Software program" topic_path: "general/adware" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Cursor" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Software program ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox software"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Comet Cursor |
| title | Comet Cursor |
| logo | |
| screenshot | |
| developer | Comet Systems |
| released | |
| discontinued | yes |
| latest release date | |
| latest preview date | |
| operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| genre | Browser plugin, Spyware |
| license | Proprietary |
| :: |
| name = Comet Cursor | title = Comet Cursor | logo = | logo caption = | screenshot = | caption = | collapsible = | author = | developer = Comet Systems | released = | discontinued = yes | latest release version = | latest release date = | latest preview version = | latest preview date = | programming language = | operating system = Microsoft Windows | platform = | size = | language = | genre = Browser plugin, Spyware | license = Proprietary | alexa = | website =
Comet Cursor was a software program written by Comet Systems. It allowed users of the Microsoft Windows operating system to change the appearance of their mouse cursor and to allow websites to use customized cursors for visitors. The product installed itself without user permission and is an early example of spyware.
History
Comet Systems was founded in 1997. Its most famous product, Comet Cursor, was released the same year for free. Comet reported 20 million users in 2001, when it integrated a price comparison service in the software.
The company was criticized for secretly tracking users who installed the software, each of whom was given a unique serial number. In November 1999, the company started distributing its software as part of a package with several versions of RealNetworks' RealPlayer multimedia software. Compounding the issue of spyware, the software installed itself unknowingly on many users' computers. Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser allowed ActiveX controls, such as Comet Cursor, to install themselves with no user interaction and without asking permission, and users did not realize they had installed Comet Cursor with RealPlayer.
For these reasons, Comet Cursor was cited as one of the 25 Worst Tech Products by PC World. Microsoft recommends that users who experience problems with the application uninstall it. FindWhat.com purchased Comet in February 2004, and the Comet Cursor was phased out of their product line.
References
References
- Tynan, Dan. "The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time". PCWorld.
- Elliott, Stuart. (1999-11-22). "Internet Company Offers Customized Cursors". [[The New York Times]].
- Cheng, Kipp. (1999-11-15). "IQ News: 2 Entertainment Sites Make Deal with Comet". [[Adweek]].
- Tedeschi, Bob. (2001-12-03). "E-Commerce Report; A new feature turns a cursor into an automatic price-comparison service.". [[The New York Times]].
- . (1999-11-29). ["Cursor Software Monitors Customers"](http://movies2.nytimes.com/1999/11/30/technology/30cursor-software.html). *[[The New York Times]]*.
- Coursey, David. (2001-01-23). "The mystery of Comet Cursor: How it got on my PC (yours too)". [[ZDnet]].
- "Versions of Comet Cursor That Are Earlier Than Version 4.0 Cause an Error Message".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::