Company:Conduit

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Short description: Software development company
Conduit Ltd.
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2005
Founder
  • Ronen Shilo
  • Dror Erez
  • Gaby Bilcyzk
HeadquartersNew York City , United States; London, United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Websitewww.conduit.com

Conduit Ltd. is an international software company.[1][2] From its founding in 2005 to 2013, its most well-known product was the Conduit toolbar, which was widely-described as malware.[3][4][5][6][7] In 2013, it spun off its toolbar business; today, its main product is a mobile development platform that allows users to create native and web mobile applications for smartphones.[5][8][9]

Products

From 2005 to 2013, the company's most well-known product was the Conduit toolbar, which is flagged by most antivirus software as potentially unwanted and adware.[4] Conduit's toolbar software is often downloaded by malware packages from other publishers.[3] The company spun off the toolbar division that manages the Conduit toolbar in 2013.[5]

Today, the company's main product is a mobile development platform that allows users to create native and web mobile applications for smartphones. App creation for its App Gallery is free, but it charges a monthly subscription fee to place apps on the Apple Store or Google Play.

History

Conduit was founded in 2005 by Shilo, Dror Erez, and Gaby Bilcyzk.[10][11] Between years 2005 and 2013, it ran a successful but controversial toolbar platform business.

Conduit was part of the so-called Download Valley companies monetizing free software and downloads by bundling adware.[12][13] The toolbars were criticized by some as being very difficult to uninstall.[7] The toolbar software was referred to as a "potentially unwanted program" by some in the computer industry because it could be used to change browser settings.[3]

The company had more than 400 employees in 2013.[14] In September same year, Conduit spun off its entire website toolbar business division, which combined with Perion Network.[15] After the deal, Conduit shareholders owned 81% of Perion's existing shares and both Perion and Conduit remained independent companies.[9] The substantial size of the Conduit user base allowed Perion to immediately surpass AOL in U.S. searches.[9]

Conduit announced it would purchase Keeprz, a mobile customer loyalty platform, for $45 million.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Weinglass, Simona (16 July 2015). "Israel's Conduit acquires Keeprz customer loyalty platform for $50M". GeekTime. http://www.geektime.com/2015/07/16/israels-conduit-acquires-keeprz-customer-loyalty-platform-for-50m/. Retrieved 24 July 2015. 
  2. ↑ Fried, Ina (February 7, 2011). "Exclusive: Web App Publisher Conduit Expands Into Mobile". All Things Digital. http://mobilized.allthingsd.com/20110207/exclusive-web-app-publisher-conduit-expands-into-mobile/?mod=ATD_rss. Retrieved May 18, 2012. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Keenan, Thomas P. (August 1, 2014). Technocreep: The Surrender of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacy. Greystone Books. ISBN 9781771641227. https://books.google.com/books?id=RExHBAAAQBAJ&dq=Conduit+malware&pg=PA157. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "PUP.Optional.Conduit removal instructions". Malware Removal Guides. 2013-08-07. http://www.malwareremovalguides.info/pup-optional-conduit-removal-intructions/. Retrieved 2013-10-12. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Tenanbaum, Gil (11 July 2013). "Conduit Gives Up on Its Own Web Browser". Jewish Business News. http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2014/12/07/conduit-gives-up-on-its-own-web-browser/. Retrieved 25 July 2015. 
  6. ↑ "How do I uninstall Search Protect by Conduit from my computer?". Norton. 2014-07-14. https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/v96233795_EndUserProfile_en_us. Retrieved 2014-07-11. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Griffith, Erin (September 14, 2012). "Conduit Turns Toolbar Riches Into Massive Dividend". PandoDaily. http://pando.com/2012/09/14/conduit-turns-toolbar-riches-into-massive-dividend/. Retrieved 2014-07-14. 
  8. ↑ Lisa Damast and Jessica McHugh (June 6, 2012). "Israeli VC struggles continue despite M&A increase". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/9dc4c34c-afe1-11e1-a025-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2NR0n4Inj. Retrieved March 13, 2013. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Matthew Kanterman and Elliott Gotkine (September 17, 2013). "Perion With Conduit Seen Besting AOL in U.S. Searches". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-16/perion-seen-surpassing-aol-u-s-market-israel-overnight.html. Retrieved December 16, 2013. 
  10. ↑ Cooper, Steve (January 2, 2009). "Conduit Builds on the Power of the Web Toolbar". TheStreet.com. http://www.thestreet.com/story/10455713/1/conduit-builds-on-the-power-of-the-web-toolbar.html. Retrieved May 16, 2011. 
  11. ↑ Grimland, Guy (January 4, 2011). "Israeli startup Conduit with more users than Twitter negotiating billion-dollar exit". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/israeli-startup-conduit-with-more-users-than-twitter-negotiating-billion-dollar-exit-1.353446/. Retrieved May 16, 2011. 
  12. ↑ Conduit Diversifies Away From 'Download Valley' Wall Street Journal, Orr Hirschauge, updated May 15, 2014
  13. ↑ Game over in Download Valley? Haaretz, Inbal Orpaz, Orr Hirschauge, August 22, 2013
  14. ↑ Jeremy Quittner (January 1, 2013). "The "Real Valuation" Is About Having Fun". Inc. Magazine. http://www.inc.com/jeremy-quittner/billionaire-club-conduit.html. Retrieved March 13, 2013. 
  15. ↑ Ingrid Lunden (October 7, 2013). "After Buying Wibiya For $45M, Conduit Discontinues Product As It Shifts Away From Toolbars". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/07/after-buying-wibiya-for-45m-conduit-is-discontinuing-the-website-social-toolbar-service/. 




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