The Spyware Removal Database at Safer Networking (makers of Spybot – Search & Destroy) states 'BonziBuddy is an Internet Explorer toolbar that may change your web browser settings, change your home page, and launch pop-up advertisements while tracking your web browsing habits.' Among the activities the program is said to engage in include constantly resetting the user's web browser homepage to without the user's permission, prompting and tracking various information about the user, and serving advertisements. In 2002 an article in Consumer Reports Web Watch labelled BonziBuddy as spyware, stating that it contains a backdoor trojan in that it collects information from users. Another article found in 2006 on the BusinessWeek website described BonziBuddy as 'the unbelievably annoying spyware trojan horse'.Ī number of sources identify BonziBuddy as spyware, a claim that the company disputed.

One of the last newspapers to write about BonziBuddy while it was still in distribution described it as spyware and a 'scourge of the Internet'. One reader was quoted as criticizing the program because it 'kept popping up and obscuring things you needed to see'. In April 2007, PC World readers voted BonziBuddy 6th on a list of 'The 20 Most Annoying Tech Products'. Bonzi's homepage remained open after the discontinuation of BonziBuddy and the website was shut down at the end of 2008. Some versions of the software were described as spyware and adware. It is often referred to in some software as Adult Male #2.

The voice was called Sydney and taken from an old Lernout & Hauspie Microsoft Speech API 4.0 package. The program also used a text-to-speech voice to interact with the user. Later versions of BonziBuddy feature its own character: Bonzi, the purple gorilla. and originally sports Peedy, a green parrot and one of the characters available with Microsoft Agent. The software uses Microsoft Agent technology similar to Office Assistant. Upon a user's choice the on-screen agent would share jokes and facts, manage downloading using its download manager, sing songs and other functions. In 1999, the software used a green parrot called 'Peedy' licensed from Microsoft, and in later versions, a purple gorilla named Bonzi.

The software provides an on-screen software agent designed to help users surf the Internet by using Microsoft Agent technology. Microsoft Windows BonziBuddy, stylized as BonziBUDDY, is a desktop assistant program distributed by Bonzi Software between 19.

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