It seems as I read around this board a bit that there is much confusion as to how to use pay per install (ppi) programs.

first of all - you do NOT want to install these programs on your own computer - yes they are mostly considered viruses the effects of which are not good for your own computer

Some pay per install programs are not considered viruses - for instance someone mentioned roboform and something like that or lets say yahoo toolbar would not be considered a virus but still it is considered ppi because you get paid when people install it to their computer
(paid-per-install)

Some ppi companies are legal and some are illegal. An example of legal ppi operation would be when you ask a person to install something and they agree - for example you have a website that offers video or screensavers and in order for the user to get the content (media) that you offer they must install something like a toolbar - this is a legal form of ppi

The majority of ppi is illegal activity - the installation is done without the end-users knowledge.

To do this most ppi promoters will "bind" their ppi executable to another program, such as a software and when the software is launched the ppi exe is also launched but this unknown to the person running the program.

Soon warning signs will begin to appear on that persons computer, sometimes right away and other times perhaps not until the computer is rebooted.

A typical approach of ppi companies is to replace the desktop background with something else and pop-up warning boxes telling the user of the computer that they have an infection and should proceed to a website where they may purchase a software to remedy the problem.
Of course, the software that fixes the "problem" is really sold by the same people who have created the problem -it is an example of one of the oldest tricks:
"create a problem - offer a solution"

This is how many ppi companies make money and it is most definitely NOT legal, that is why many are located in countries (primarily Russia) that do not have laws against such practices.

Some other companies (3XLcash for example) actually offer the user a TOS or a EULA that the user will agree to before installing the ppi software.
The user will do this because they want something in return - something you are offereing them such as adult video, software, music, screensaver, etc.

This is not very good for webtraffic that you wish to keep, if you worked hard to create the traffic then using ppi to monetize it is probably not such a good idea.
If doing something sneaky and in most cases illegal doesn't suit you then 90% of ppi opportunites are probably not for you.

If on the other hand, you do not mind creating silent installs on peoples machines then ppi is a very good way to make good money.
Try to avoid companies that are not well established and reputable - I can only vouch for the three that I currently use myself:

Installscash
Luxecash
3XLcash

That pretty much sums of the basic concepts of ppi - I hope it helps some of you to understand this business more clearly :wink: