<s>
The	O
Conduit	B-Application
toolbar	I-Application
was	O
an	O
online	O
platform	O
that	O
allowed	O
web	O
publishers	O
to	O
create	O
custom	O
toolbars	O
,	O
web	O
apps	O
,	O
and	O
mobile	O
apps	O
at	O
no	O
cost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Conduit	B-Application
Inc	O
.	O
but	O
demerged	O
to	O
Perion	O
Network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conduit	B-Application
had	O
approximately	O
260,000	O
registered	O
publishers	O
who	O
have	O
collectively	O
created	O
content	O
downloaded	O
by	O
more	O
than	O
250	O
million	O
end	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Web	O
apps	O
and	O
pieces	O
of	O
content	O
developed	O
through	O
Conduit	B-Application
's	O
platform	O
can	O
be	O
distributed	O
and	O
exchanged	O
online	O
via	O
the	O
Conduit	B-Application
App	O
Marketplace	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conduit	B-Application
's	O
toolbars	O
have	O
been	O
described	O
in	O
online	O
forums	O
and	O
news	O
outlets	O
as	O
malware	O
and	O
are	O
difficult	O
to	O
remove	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conduit	B-Application
began	O
to	O
shift	O
away	O
from	O
this	O
part	O
of	O
its	O
business	O
in	O
late	O
2013	O
when	O
it	O
spun	O
off	O
its	O
toolbar	O
division	O
into	O
Perion	O
Network	O
through	O
a	O
reverse	O
merger	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
deal	O
,	O
Conduit	B-Application
shareholders	O
still	O
owned	O
81%	O
of	O
Perion	O
's	O
existing	O
shares	O
,	O
though	O
both	O
Perion	O
and	O
Conduit	B-Application
remain	O
independent	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
Conduit	B-Application
then-president	O
Adam	O
Boyden	O
was	O
featured	O
in	O
Forbes	O
magazine	O
online	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
he	O
discussed	O
the	O
link	O
between	O
successful	O
social	O
gaming	O
and	O
marketing	O
principles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
there	O
were	O
more	O
than	O
100	O
million	O
toolbars	O
being	O
powered	O
by	O
Conduit	B-Application
that	O
were	O
used	O
at	O
least	O
once	O
a	O
month	O
,	O
which	O
put	O
Conduit	B-Application
at	O
#29	O
on	O
Google	O
's	O
list	O
of	O
top	O
1,000	O
sites	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2011	O
,	O
Conduit	B-Application
completed	O
the	O
$45	O
million	O
acquisition	O
of	O
Israeli	O
startup	O
Wibiya	O
,	O
an	O
engagement	O
platform	O
that	O
enables	O
publishers	O
to	O
integrate	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
web	O
applications	O
on	O
their	O
site	O
via	O
the	O
Wibiya	O
Bar	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
this	O
time	O
Conduit	B-Application
moved	O
away	O
from	O
the	O
toolbar	O
part	O
of	O
its	O
business	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
its	O
mobile	O
and	O
browser	O
engagement	O
offerings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lunden	O
said	O
further	O
that	O
,	O
"	O
Less	O
than	O
a	O
month	O
after	O
browser-toolbar	O
and	O
mobile	O
startup	O
Conduit	B-Application
merged	O
its	O
Client	O
Connect	O
division	O
with	O
Perion	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
is	O
making	O
another	O
change	O
to	O
its	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conduit	B-Application
has	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
will	O
be	O
discontinuing	O
Wibiya	O
,	O
the	O
social	O
browser	O
toolbar	O
service	O
that	O
it	O
acquired	O
in	O
2011	O
for	O
$45	O
million	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
shifts	O
further	O
away	O
from	O
its	O
toolbar	O
business.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2013	O
Conduit	B-Application
was	O
valued	O
at	O
$1.5	O
billion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Until	O
2013	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
Conduit	B-Application
's	O
main	O
businesses	O
revolved	O
around	O
downloadable	O
toolbars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conduit	B-Application
allowed	O
publishers	O
to	O
create	O
and	O
distribute	O
their	O
own	O
toolbars	O
for	O
web	O
browsers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conduit	B-Application
uses	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Bing	I-Application
to	O
provide	O
search	O
results	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
toolbars	O
have	O
included	O
a	O
Zynga-designed	O
toolbar	O
that	O
helps	O
Farmville	B-Application
enthusiasts	O
keep	O
up-to-date	O
with	O
the	O
status	O
of	O
their	O
game	O
,	O
another	O
is	O
a	O
toolbar	O
from	O
eBay	O
that	O
provides	O
auction	O
updates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
companies	O
that	O
have	O
developed	O
Conduit	B-Application
toolbars	I-Application
include	O
Major	B-Application
League	I-Application
Baseball	I-Application
,	O
Greenpeace	O
,	O
and	O
Lufthansa	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
companies	O
and	O
brands	O
that	O
have	O
used	O
Conduit	B-Application
's	O
platform	O
are	O
Major	B-Application
League	I-Application
Baseball	I-Application
,	O
Time	O
Warner	O
Cable	O
,	O
Fox	O
News	O
,	O
Zynga	O
,	O
Chelsea	O
Football	O
Club	O
,	O
Groupon	B-Application
,	O
Travelocity	O
,	O
μTorrent	B-Application
,	O
and	O
The	O
Weather	O
Channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
said	O
that	O
most	O
of	O
Conduit	B-Application
's	O
revenue	O
comes	O
from	O
paid	O
referrals	O
from	O
its	O
search	O
engine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conduit	B-Application
toolbars	I-Application
are	O
automatically	O
downloaded	O
alongside	O
certain	O
freeware	B-License
in	O
order	O
to	O
provide	O
its	O
publisher	O
with	O
monetization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conduit	B-Application
toolbars	I-Application
have	O
rootkit	O
capabilities	O
that	O
hook	O
the	O
toolbar	O
deep	O
into	O
operating	O
systems	O
and	O
can	O
perform	O
browser	O
hijacking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
conduit	B-Application
removal	O
tools	O
are	O
also	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
malware	O
themselves	O
.	O
</s>
