<s>
Comet	B-Application
Cursor	I-Application
was	O
a	O
software	O
program	O
written	O
by	O
Comet	B-Application
Systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
allowed	O
users	O
of	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
to	O
change	O
the	O
appearance	O
of	O
their	O
mouse	O
cursor	O
and	O
to	O
allow	O
websites	O
to	O
use	O
customized	O
cursors	O
for	O
visitors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Comet	B-Application
Systems	I-Application
was	O
founded	O
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
most	O
famous	O
product	O
,	O
Comet	B-Application
Cursor	I-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
for	O
free	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
installed	O
,	O
Comet	B-Application
Cursor	I-Application
changes	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
mouse	O
cursor	O
when	O
they	O
visit	O
participating	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
1999	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
started	O
distributing	O
its	O
software	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
package	O
with	O
several	O
versions	O
of	O
RealNetworks	O
 '	O
RealPlayer	B-Application
multimedia	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
same	O
month	O
,	O
the	O
RealPlayer	B-Application
was	O
accused	O
of	O
violating	O
the	O
privacy	O
of	O
its	O
users	O
and	O
breaching	O
its	O
own	O
privacy	O
policy	O
by	O
collecting	O
information	O
about	O
what	O
software	O
was	O
installed	O
alongside	O
the	O
RealPlayer	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
's	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
browser	O
allowed	O
ActiveX	B-Application
controls	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
Comet	B-Application
Cursor	I-Application
,	O
to	O
install	O
themselves	O
with	O
no	O
user	O
interaction	O
and	O
without	O
asking	O
permission	O
,	O
and	O
users	O
did	O
not	O
realize	O
they	O
had	O
installed	O
Comet	B-Application
Cursor	I-Application
with	O
RealPlayer	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
these	O
reasons	O
,	O
Comet	B-Application
Cursor	I-Application
was	O
cited	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
25	O
Worst	O
Tech	O
Products	O
by	O
PC	O
World	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FindWhat.com	O
purchased	O
Comet	O
in	O
February	O
2004	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Comet	B-Application
Cursor	I-Application
was	O
phased	O
out	O
of	O
their	O
product	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
