Is Spyware Getting Worse by the Minute or Am I?

[livius drusus]

I've had the worse time clearing up spyware infestations lately, and I've got all the tools and gizmos you can imagine, too (including, before any of you elitist nerds give me shit, Firefox.) I'm down to hand searching the Microsoft folders in the registry to hunt down the more persistent fuckers, and half the time there's still some little nasty hovering around.

What exactly are these things anyway? How do they get installed? I swear they don't need stray clicking on pop-ups anymore. What kind of prevention and cleaning tools do y'all use? Is it getting worse for y'all too or am I just a pathetic loser?

[Dingfod]

Is Spyware Getting Worse by the Minute or Am I?
Yes.

[Ymir's blood]

Is Spyware Getting Worse by the Minute or Am I?
Well if given a choice between the two, I'd have to go with the former. You seem to be improving constantly.

I need to do something on my system. The antivirus I'm using now won't let Adaware work and I've kept putting off finding something that will or going back to the other AV program. I thought it sucked but it wasn't half as bad as the PoS that is installed now.

[freemonkey]

I've had the worse time clearing up spyware infestations lately, and I've got all the tools and gizmos you can imagine, too (including, before any of you elitist nerds give me shit, Firefox.) I'm down to hand searching the Microsoft folders in the registry to hunt down the more persistent fuckers, and half the time there's still some little nasty hovering around.

What exactly are these things anyway? How do they get installed? I swear they don't need stray clicking on pop-ups anymore. What kind of prevention and cleaning tools do y'all use? Is it getting worse for y'all too or am I just a pathetic loser?

Are these things that keep coming back after you've cleaned them or new ones all the time?

I don't have a concrete answer for you, but I had some recurring stuff awhile back, so maybe just look into the following:

Check to make sure you've got rid of the Microsoft spyware, most notably something called Alexa, which will come back if you update MS products.

Check to see what cookies you accept. Before I blocked most cookies, it seemed as though my internet provider was providing cookies from third party ad trackers, which showed up when I ran AdAware.

I found & killed a bunch of stuff when I ran HijackThis, a registry cleaner or two and a utility that tells you what processes are running in the background.

This was all over a year ago, though so I can't tell you step by step what I did, or exactly what worked how and why, but I hope you find something useful in all this.

[viscousmemories]

I have no issues with spyware and never have. Which is to say I've run AdAware and it found and deleted things for me, but before and after I ran it I wasn't aware of spyware having any impact on my life.

[livius drusus]

Lucky bastard. I've seen IE pop-up flurries so intense that made internet browsing basically impossible. I've even seen pop-up ads just appear out of nowhere even with IE closed. I've seen dll errors on boot up and TCP/IP errors in Lotus Notes. I've seen enough slow-downs, freezes and crashes to kill a horse.

Thank you for the tips, freemonkey. Unfortunately, this shit is way beyond the Alexa toolbar and not on my pc but on other pcs I have to tech support. I've gotten a reputation (thanks solely to Google and my big mouth) for being good at cleaning spyware, so now I'm the unofficial spyware guru at my company and the virulence of these things is making my job very, um, challenging right now.

I've got AdAware, Spybot, Hijack This, SpyBlaster, No Adware, even the pay version of SpySweeper, and I know how to use them. Still, these insidious fuckers are like Obi Wan or something: every time you kill them, they come back more powerful than before.

[Goliath]

Is Spyware Getting Worse by the Minute or Am I?


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[Scotty]

What MS OS version are you running?

Are you on the Internet without a firewall or router (blocks incoming requests, a router will do that, a firewall gives the option of letting specific stuff come through). If you are seeing this behavior in your office environment and don't have a router or firewall, get one. If you see this behavior and you have a firewall or router, I would really suspect somebody else in the office has a major virus or spyware that is just popping this stuff on your screen or reinfecting you from within the network (okay, I don't actually know if they do that, but it just struck me that somebody within the office is probably doing that unknowingly).

If the "Alerter" service is started, stop it. I _think_ that is the service that allows people to just send you messages arbitrarily on the network and just have things pop-up without you doing anything (if you don't have a firewall or router between you and the Internet).

I am pretty sure if that service is enabled you can disable it. If I have the service correctly, it is a HUGE problem.

The Spyware software gets away with what it does because they exploit the areas that are still totally open within I.E. and the MS OS because those companies have the ability to distribute the exploits all over the place on the Internet (unlike what most hackers can get away with for very long). So, they are scum, but MS is bigger SCUM for not fixing the problem.

I highly suggest never using I.E. ever again, for anything (except I suspect you have to run software updates with them, bastards)

As for getting rid of them, I highly suggest dropped MS as an operating system provider and getting a Mac.

Yes, they will integrate with MS garbage. Plus, you can replace a PDC with Samba, and run a VPN service on OS X server (or Linux) (( I had to put a bunch of TLA's in this sentence :D ))

The worst spyware tracking I have is cookies.

Also, re-install your machine from scratch, totally rebuild it. I suggest doing this once every 6 months, especially if you use the machine for much other than email.

-Scott

[viscousmemories]

Scotty she's talking about the PC's she hast to tech support at work. I kinda doubt she has any say in the building of the infrastructure, platform, OS or standard browser. I think she's pretty much stuck with trying to fight her way out of the M$ crap-a-thon.

[Scotty]

You feeling okay vm, that post seems to have spelling and grammar mistakes in it? ;)

Yes, I was working both angles, work and home. I suspect that they have an infrastructure problem (i.e. a HOLE through the FIREWALL you could walk through) and this is just allowing too much garbage in, and somebody internal is infected horribly, requiring much antibiotics.

I was just giving the option of replacing all MS crap with something else, as it is all possible. If I could go around to companies and change out their entire infrastructure with something else, I would in a heartbeat.


-Scott

[livius drusus]

Yup. vm's right. I got a glimmer of hope this morning, though, from the latest version of Spybot's immunization feature. We shall see...

[viscousmemories]

You feeling okay vm, that post seems to have spelling and grammar mistakes in it? ;)
Oh. I, um. It was for effect, see? I wanted to make an impression!

Yes, I was working both angles, work and home. I suspect that they have an infrastructure problem (i.e. a HOLE through the FIREWALL you could walk through) and this is just allowing too much garbage in, and somebody internal is infected horribly, requiring much antibiotics.

I was just giving the option of replacing all MS crap with something else, as it is all possible. If I could go around to companies and change out their entire infrastructure with something else, I would in a heartbeat.

Ah, groovy. :)

[freemonkey]

Lucky bastard. I've seen IE pop-up flurries so intense that made internet browsing basically impossible. I've even seen pop-up ads just appear out of nowhere even with IE closed. I've seen dll errors on boot up and TCP/IP errors in Lotus Notes. I've seen enough slow-downs, freezes and crashes to kill a horse.

Thank you for the tips, freemonkey. Unfortunately, this shit is way beyond the Alexa toolbar and not on my pc but on other pcs I have to tech support. I've gotten a reputation (thanks solely to Google and my big mouth) for being good at cleaning spyware, so now I'm the unofficial spyware guru at my company and the virulence of these things is making my job very, um, challenging right now.

I've got AdAware, Spybot, Hijack This, SpyBlaster, No Adware, even the pay version of SpySweeper, and I know how to use them. Still, these insidious fuckers are like Obi Wan or something: every time you kill them, they come back more powerful than before.

Oh my, you do have a mess there. I second Scotty's suggestions -too bad you can't switch to Macs, but you can work on the firewall situation.

It probably won't do any good, but maybe a short class on basic internet security is on order for your co-workers.... go on a rampage, threaten to disconnect from the www, threaten to quit! Sorry, my emotiuons got the better of me.

Also, I think I was able to download MS updates with Firefox. Its just that one was a update that reinstalled that stupid Alexa thing, so then Explorer kept trying to get through the firewall.

[squian]

Just to add to the list of Anti-Spyware programs, you might try bazooka (www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner).

Scotty's suggestions are good for the corporate environment. I wonder if an HTTP proxy could help too. When I did IT for a small office, I set up squid on a Linux box to help cut down on crap coming through the web. With most proxies you can set up a blacklist of domains and IP addresses that should not be allowed in. Network users can see a performance gain from having popular sites cached and filtering out unwanted banner ads (although small, the bandwidth adds up). Vigilance is still important. You can only block a site once you discover it. However, you do cut down on the recurrences.

The simplest proxy configurations would require every browser to set the proxy address and port. However, if you already have a firewall, you can use a combination of port forwarding and an HTTP proxy to make a transparent proxy -- no browser configuration.

For individuals, you can also apply the proxy technique. My favorite site on the topic is Junkbusters (www.junkbusters.org). They have a very holistic view of junk including fax, mail, and email. It's refreshing to find people fighting the good fight.

[dave_a]

curiously after switching from IE to Firefox and setting the appropriate cookie settings my spyware issue has shrunk considerably. Someone here (Scotty?) suggested Firefox and I haven't turned back.

I run adaware, spybot and spysweeper. I think spybot is the best of the three, but all seem to find stuff the others don't.

After Firefox most of the time these find nothing.

Go figure

[Lauri D]

After Firefox most of the time these find nothing.

Go figure Ditto. Since having this laptop running Firefox, I have had -0- issues, whereas my work 'puter (on the network) situation becomes more disturbing by the day. One part of me wants to tell my boss (since I work him directly as the Big Cheese of the co.) that our fulltime IT guy is obviously useless for not having figured out that there is a MAJOR FUCKING PROBLEM, but the other part of me is apathetic.

I run AdAware and Spybot every fucking day (sometimes more than once) but there is something seriously wrong and creepy with the whole network, and it kinda freaks me out sometimes.

As a sidenote, where do these people come from and why do they give a shit about the average person? :confused: It's not as though by accidentally opening an email titled "hey there" by a name that seems REMARKABLY SIMILAR enough to someone I actually know, I am going to be compelled to buy Viagra.

I swear though, when I see some of these emails (the ones I realize are spam but they piss me off because of the headers I realize there is some tracking going on) it makes me almost homicidal. I feel almost violated. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT? I.... DON'T... WANT.... VIAGRA. Or whatever. I seriously want to find these people and strangle them slowly with their own computer cords sometimes.

P.S. Not to reveal myself as a complete idiot, I have googled this to no avail, but wtf is with "DSO Exploit" and how can I fix it or is it not meaningful? It's bugging the shit out of me.

[JoeP]

After Firefox most of the time these find nothing.

Go figure Ditto. Since having this laptop running Firefox, I have had -0- issues, whereas my work 'puter (on the network) situation becomes more disturbing by the day. One part of me wants to tell my boss (since I work him directly as the Big Cheese of the co.) that our fulltime IT guy is obviously useless...
You have a thing about cheese, power and worship. Accept it. :bow:

[Scotty]

DSO is dynamic shared object (IIRC), but anything on a MS machine is open for exploit, I swear.

As for the tracking software, most of that isn't in emails (although I suppose you could use it for that). You get most of it on install of software that you download, or on web-pages that exploit the problems with I.E. that won't go away (and I dont' think they can fix them because of the way the operating system works, if they fixed it, the machine would stop functioning, not that normal operation of MS Windows can be termed as functioning).

The tracking software is very good for business. If you can determine what people are doing, you can sell a lot more product, and really, it is a valid way of doing business - IF YOU TELL THE CUSTOMER -

I mean, I wouldn't be as adverse to all of this spyware if they asked, and if it didn't take up CPU time. Some of these things are written so poorly that they mangle your machine and crash it.

As for the stupid emails you get all of the time, the problem is, is that people DO respond to them. If people didn't, the emails would go away. If the SPAMMERS didn't get a specific ROI on the emails, they would be gone.

My email address for work is just pummeled. I get probably 1000 SPAM emails a week (at least), and that doesn't include the over 30,000 that get blocked on our servers every week (for everybody). We are actually a pretty big volume sender of email ourselves (all opt in) and I think people just get peaved at us, even though I try so hard to make it easy for them to unsubscribe. <sigh>

I mean, WE wouldn't send the emails if we didn't see a marked improvement in sales. We are even on SPAM blocker lists, ones you can't get removed from easily. <heavy sigh>

On a side note (wait, this whole post is a side note), I have put spamassassin on my incoming email the past few weeks, and it doesn't catch OUR emails as SPAM, which I think says a lot.

-Scott

[Maynard]

I installed SP2 for Windows XP. The new firewall is catching a lot of the stuff that I couldn't keep off with McAfee.

[livius drusus]

We're locked into W2K until corporate decides it's time to move on, and like with all big corporations, these kinds of decisions move at a snail's pace.

The good news is Spybot 1.3's immunization is working quite well for me. I have it set to alert every time a site tries to install something on the blocked list and it's been a fascinating voyage of discovery, let me tell you, to see which sites try to sneak one in. Slate, for instance, persistently tries to install Avenue A and Double-Click every time I read an article. The Warner Brothers forum does too.

I'm building a lovely little blacklist to add to this thread.

[Ymir's blood]

I just ditched the AV program that was installed and went with another. It seems to be much better designed. AdAware works again and found two objectionable items. :stwitch: (livius, is there anyway that this smilie or a similar one could use the :/ ? I just really like that expression.)

What anti-spyware programs are best? Should I use multiple ones, as some here do?

[livius drusus]

Hmm... Well, I could just change it to :/, but you'd have to edit your post to fix it and I'd have to edit any other post which used the old text. I don't think it has been used much, though.

I'll look around for another one, but I doubt I'll find one as cute as he is. Shall I make the change?

Oh, and Spybot 1.3 (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2471.html) is key. I think it's better than AdAware in lots of ways, and they work well in tandem anyway.

[Ymir's blood]

Hmm... Well, I could just change it to :/, but you'd have to edit your post to fix it and I'd have to edit any other post which used the old text. I don't think it has been used much, though. I don't suppose there is anyway to have both shortcuts go to that image?

I'll look around for another one, but I doubt I'll find one as cute as he is. Shall I make the change?
I've got two saved off but you've probably seen both of them before.

[livius drusus]

The only way I can think of is to make a duplicate. Normally that would disturb my sense of rightness, but I think if I put it in another category I'll be okay.

Edit: done.

Edit 2: Revoked. See here (http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=697) for reason. Sorry, Ymir.

[reprise]

I run Opera (custom configured) on Win XP (SP2), AVG anti-virus, ZoneAlarm, AdAware SE, Spybot (with tea-timer enabled) and Spywareblaster. I haven't had a piece of spyware or other malware on my PC in 9 months (and I wouldn't have got that had my son not downloaded a key-gen).

I'm extremely disciplined about downloading and installing updates of my protection software as well as critical updates from MS, and if I'm unsure about accepting something (especially registry changes), I'll decline it.

Some malware removal programmes operate just fine with system restore enabled, but many do not. It's always worth disinfecting with system restore disabled and then re-enabling it once you're sure your system's clean if you're finding the same culprits returning again and again.

[copiae]

I've been using the same install of win2k for the past 3 years now, I believe. In the past two years, I have had a grand total of zero virus infections, and zero spyware/malware incidents. All done using freeware programs too.


Simple steps to keep your PC Healthy:


#1: Where possible, exclusively use a web-based email client... Stuff like yahoo, gmail, hotmail, etc. By doing this, you significantly reduce your chances of getting virus-infected emails (down to ~zero), as any virus-laden emails have to first get through the very strict server filtration process, any virused emails that do get through sit on the yahoo/gmail/hotmail/etc server, and not on your PC, to be deleted at your leisure. Also, all those lovely Outlook exploits become useless.


#2: Use Mozilla Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/)/Opera/anything other than MS IE! These browsers are usually immune to many malicious scripts out there, plus stop most pop-ups dead. If one site you need to visit doesnt work in the other browsers, then just use IE for that one site... not for all surfing.


#3: Firewalls are your friend. What a firewall does is monitor traffic that comes into, and goes out of your system, and either grants or denies access to the traffic. Also, they help you notice when your system is infected by spyware (after all, what good is spyware if it doesnt communicate back to base at some stage?). How to use them is relatively simple... Programs you know/trust, grant access. Programs you don't know/don't trust, deny access. If in doubt, google the name, and see if it pops up under any security risk pages or anything like that.

I use Kerio (http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html) myself. 100% free for home users, and easy to use too. Like most good firewalls, Kerio also checks the size of an application executable each time its run, so that if its been modified (by a virus, another program, or an update), it will await your OK before letting the program run. Very useful, but be warned: If you have XP auto-update on, some windows file updates probably will trigger it too. If possible, get details on what was auto-updated, so you know what the files are. Anyway, same sort of idea as above applies: If you've recently upgraded that software/file, then accept the change. If you have not, reject it.

The second thing Kerio does is warn you when an application launches another application. Depending on how often legitimate applications do this, this can get annoying... it can be disabled though.


#4: Hrm.. On the proviso that you exclusively use web-based email, run mozilla, and follow #5, you should be pretty safe from viruses. Grisoft offer a free virus scanner, AVG (http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/).


#5: Know where not to go and what not to install.The most important tip that I have. There are three really bad sources of spyware/malware:


Some free porn sites: Unfortunately, I am somewhat inexperienced in porn-surfing. So I can offer no real tips here, apart from the following: Why not sign up for a pay site instead? I'm think they all offer samples of thier produce, and I don't know how expensive they are, but I'm sure that after a little hunting, you can come up with one thats not too bad.

Direct download and other web-based warez sites... Ugh. Practically the only reason these exist is to infect your PC. If you want this sort of stuff, bittorrent based sites are your friend. I am not going to tell how you to use bittorrent, or where to find bittorrents... but google definitely can.

web based Serial/Crack sites: If you are relatively inexperienced, _do not_ look at web based serials/cracks sites. Instead, head over to IRC, and find serial/crack channels instead, and get stuff from them.


There are a diverse range of sites on top of this that can be malicious, but usually all you need is a firewall, an alternative browser, and some care, and you'll be right.

Regarding programs, when installing them, always click custom, so you know what it is you are installing. If you can handle it, read the license agreement too. Doing this will often reveal 'piggybacking' spyware/malware.


#6 If you have decided to follow these tips, they are much more effective if you start fresh. Backup any non-backed up work/stuff, format your computer, stick your windows cd in, and do a clean install. If you are unsure about how to go about formatting/reinstalling, Computer shops et al. should be able to do it for you, usually for some nominal fee if you shop around. Once thats done, first stop windows update, and update that OS. If you have a choice of OS'es, I really do recommend Windows 2000 - in my opinion, it is the best OS Microsoft has ever made. Anyway, after the updates, install Kerio/firewall, reboot, install AVG/scanner, reboot, and install Mozilla/non IE browser. Then hunt down critical applications, and install them. Now your set!

Cheers,

[Scotty]

I've been using the same install of win2k for the past 3 years now, I believe. In the past two years, I have had a grand total of zero virus infections, and zero spyware/malware incidents. All done using freeware programs too.


Simple steps to keep your PC Healthy:


#1: Where possible, exclusively use a web-based email client... Stuff like yahoo, gmail, hotmail, etc. By doing this, you significantly reduce your chances of getting virus-infected emails (down to ~zero), as any virus-laden emails have to first get through the very strict server filtration process, any virused emails that do get through sit on the yahoo/gmail/hotmail/etc server, and not on your PC, to be deleted at your leisure. Also, all those lovely Outlook exploits become useless.


#2: Use Mozilla Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/)/Opera/anything other than MS IE! These browsers are usually immune to many malicious scripts out there, plus stop most pop-ups dead. If one site you need to visit doesnt work in the other browsers, then just use IE for that one site... not for all surfing.


#3: Firewalls are your friend. What a firewall does is monitor traffic that comes into, and goes out of your system, and either grants or denies access to the traffic. Also, they help you notice when your system is infected by spyware (after all, what good is spyware if it doesnt communicate back to base at some stage?). How to use them is relatively simple... Programs you know/trust, grant access. Programs you don't know/don't trust, deny access. If in doubt, google the name, and see if it pops up under any security risk pages or anything like that.

I use Kerio (http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html) myself. 100% free for home users, and easy to use too. Like most good firewalls, Kerio also checks the size of an application executable each time its run, so that if its been modified (by a virus, another program, or an update), it will await your OK before letting the program run. Very useful, but be warned: If you have XP auto-update on, some windows file updates probably will trigger it too. If possible, get details on what was auto-updated, so you know what the files are. Anyway, same sort of idea as above applies: If you've recently upgraded that software/file, then accept the change. If you have not, reject it.

The second thing Kerio does is warn you when an application launches another application. Depending on how often legitimate applications do this, this can get annoying... it can be disabled though.


#4: Hrm.. On the proviso that you exclusively use web-based email, run mozilla, and follow #5, you should be pretty safe from viruses. Grisoft offer a free virus scanner, AVG (http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/).


#5: Know where not to go and what not to install.The most important tip that I have. There are three really bad sources of spyware/malware:


Some free porn sites: Unfortunately, I am somewhat inexperienced in porn-surfing. So I can offer no real tips here, apart from the following: Why not sign up for a pay site instead? I'm think they all offer samples of thier produce, and I don't know how expensive they are, but I'm sure that after a little hunting, you can come up with one thats not too bad.

Direct download and other web-based warez sites... Ugh. Practically the only reason these exist is to infect your PC. If you want this sort of stuff, bittorrent based sites are your friend. I am not going to tell how you to use bittorrent, or where to find bittorrents... but google definitely can.

web based Serial/Crack sites: If you are relatively inexperienced, _do not_ look at web based serials/cracks sites. Instead, head over to IRC, and find serial/crack channels instead, and get stuff from them.


There are a diverse range of sites on top of this that can be malicious, but usually all you need is a firewall, an alternative browser, and some care, and you'll be right.

Regarding programs, when installing them, always click custom, so you know what it is you are installing. If you can handle it, read the license agreement too. Doing this will often reveal 'piggybacking' spyware/malware.


#6 If you have decided to follow these tips, they are much more effective if you start fresh. Backup any non-backed up work/stuff, format your computer, stick your windows cd in, and do a clean install. If you are unsure about how to go about formatting/reinstalling, Computer shops et al. should be able to do it for you, usually for some nominal fee if you shop around. Once thats done, first stop windows update, and update that OS. If you have a choice of OS'es, I really do recommend Windows 2000 - in my opinion, it is the best OS Microsoft has ever made. Anyway, after the updates, install Kerio/firewall, reboot, install AVG/scanner, reboot, and install Mozilla/non IE browser. Then hunt down critical applications, and install them. Now your set!

Cheers,

Or...

#1: Buy a Mac.

#2: problem solved.

#3: Repeat #1 as needed for each person.

:D

-Scott

[copiae]

Or...

#1: Buy a Mac.

#2: problem solved.

#3: Repeat #1 as needed for each person.

:D

-Scott

Hehe. Or, you can switch to linux too. =)

[freemonkey]

#4: Grisoft offer a free virus scanner, AVG (http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/).

Thanks for the info, peer. I take it you recommend this virus scanner? My subscription to Norton expires in a couple weeks & I'll switch if its good (running 98SE on this particular machine).

[wade-w]

#4: Grisoft offer a free virus scanner, AVG (http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/).

Thanks for the info, peer. I take it you recommend this virus scanner? My subscription to Norton expires in a couple weeks & I'll switch if its good (running 98SE on this particular machine).

Grisoft has a free version and a for-pay version of AVG. I've been using the freeware version for a couple of years now, and haven't had any trouble with it. In all that time, the only infection I've gotten was when I was reinstalling my windows partition, and went online to download the latest version of AVG. I got the msblaster worm while waiting for my slow as hell dialup to complete the download. AVG caught it during the initial system scan and that was that.

Oh, and it will run on 98SE with no problems.

Norton is evil. For many users, getting a virus can be a very traumatic experience, and many have no clue how to proceed once a virus is detected. Norton preys on these people by charging a rather steep fee for every tech support call.

Anyway, if you are tech savvy enough to be able to disinfect a virus without needing someone to hold your hand, then I recommend AVG.

[copiae]

Thanks for the info, peer. I take it you recommend this virus scanner?

Yup. It definitely does the job.

(i.e. What wade said. =))

[Scotty]

Oh, I highly recommended, for anybody, that the use a DSL/cable modem router (or firewall) in front of their cable-modem or DSL link (or really dailup, but I don't think I have seen anything for that, and probably never will).

The reason is for protection from worms and viruses. This is especially true on Windows boxes, because the mean time between being checked/attacked on-line is 10 minutes. So, if you have a new install, or a hole in Windows (surprise surprise) then only 10 minutes have to elapes before you can be taken advantage of. The router/firewall will protect against most of that. They only cost $50, so it is well worth while.

-Scott

[Ymir's blood]

Oh, and Spybot 1.3 (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2471.html) is key. I think it's better than AdAware in lots of ways, and they work well in tandem anyway.
Thanks. I downloaded and installed it this morning. It found seven little beasties :mole: that Ad-aware didn't.

[reprise]

Make sure you've upgraded to AdAware SE. From what I've read, it catches a lot of stuff which the previous versions didn't.

[Dingfod]

Here is an online spyware checker that almost always finds stuff that Adaware, Spysweeper and Spybot S&D does not. Link (
http://www1.spywareinfo.com/xscan.php)

I cannot believe how pervasive this spyware is. How many working hours are being wasted in dealing with this shit? I don't know, but it is a lot.

[Socratoad]

I get the usual crap emails peddling Viagra, valium, women promising sexual paradise, Nigerian princesses willing to share their fortune with me for just a tiny bit of help, etc, but just recently I have received unsolicited emails offering to scan my C drive for free. Now is that not so very kind of them ......the slimy bastards.

[livius drusus]

I cannot believe how pervasive this spyware is. How many working hours are being wasted in dealing with this shit? I don't know, but it is a lot.

It really is. That's why the legislation and FTC action is finally beginning to come down.

House approves spyware legislation (http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5397822.html?tag=nl)
FTC sues that fucker who infects you with the "i've installed spyware; click here to spend 50 bucks to clean it" software (http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5403438.html)
This guy bought a new computer (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20665-2004Oct9.html?sub=AR) and barely uses it because he's so shellshocked from spyware infections. (registration from bugmenot: fedup@mailinator.com, fedup)

[Corona688]

[ edit - n/m ]

[Corona688]

The reason is for protection from worms and viruses. This is especially true on Windows boxes, because the mean time between being checked/attacked on-line is 10 minutes. I wonder if spyware/adware is going to be the death of Windows. Microsoft seems to be losing the fight to control it, in fact, almost none of the 'fixes' for spyware come from them, only patches for the worst of viruses.

[Scotty]

The problem is that MicroSquish doesn't care. It would cut into profits, plus, I don't really think they _can_ fix the problem. The only way is to do an O/S from the ground up, which is, possibly, what the next version is.

I like that the article say how much the spyware costs everybody in lost revenue and business. Gah! It is because of the crappy software that allows them to exploit it so easily! They should be fining MicroSquish because they are assholes!

Again, I highly suggest never running I.E. again, unless you HAVE to run it. I am slowly getting my office to use Firefox, or the netscape package (including email or using a Mac). I have been getting away from using Outlook too. This has done nothing but lower the complaints.

Oh, as a side note, somebody in the office got some spyware, and it replaced all of the graphics on OUR side with porn. Nice, just what we need, thebreastcancersite.com with porn sponsors. ;)

-Scott

[freemonkey]

Anyway, if you are tech savvy enough to be able to disinfect a virus without needing someone to hold your hand, then I recommend AVG.
I've never gotten a virus on this computer, and only had 2 instances where one was even sent, and stopped by Norton.

But here's a question: the Grisoft AVG's email scanner does not work with my email client, but their site says: "But if AVG E-mail scanner is not fully functional on your computer, Resident Shield still protects you against viruses How does that work?

[wade-w]

Anyway, if you are tech savvy enough to be able to disinfect a virus without needing someone to hold your hand, then I recommend AVG.
I've never gotten a virus on this computer, and only had 2 instances where one was even sent, and stopped by Norton.

But here's a question: the Grisoft AVG's email scanner does not work with my email client, but their site says: "But if AVG E-mail scanner is not fully functional on your computer, Resident Shield still protects you against viruses How does that work?

The issue here is when the virus gets detected. An e-mail scanner will detect a virus when the infected e-mail is received. Resident Shield, on the other hand, is the portion of AVG that detects viruses on you computer itself. So if you are sent an virus via e-mail, it won't be detected until you after you open your mail.

[freemonkey]

The issue here is when the virus gets detected. An e-mail scanner will detect a virus when the infected e-mail is received. Resident Shield, on the other hand, is the portion of AVG that detects viruses on you computer itself. So if you are sent an virus via e-mail, it won't be detected until you after you open your mail.
Well, that wouldn't be very good in the event I receive an email containing one of those viruses (virii?) that executes when you open the email. Right? I'd hate to stop using Thunderbird.

[wade-w]

Getting a virus is not necessarily as serious as most people think. The Resident Shield portion of AVG will be able to disinfect your system.

[AspenMama]

I've got something nasty on my home computer. It's working way too slow, even for dial up. It says that my server can't be found when I try to go to a website or view my email. And the "sending message" thing comes on even though I'm not. MSN Messenger told me last night that I entered a wrong password. I think I've been hijacked. Can I go out and buy software to fix this, or should I bribe one of my friends to come fix it?

[Ymir's blood]

You can buy antivirus software at a lot of places. Best Buy has a good selection, Wal Mart carries them as well. The newest ones may have anti-spyware functions as well. To really get the full effect from anything, you'll need to update it from the web so that might not be possible. It may not be worth it, but you might try the tech support of your ISP.

[AspenMama]

Okay-- I'll try both-- and perhaps bribe Dark Jedi or Blame_the_Gods to come by and rescue me.

[MinorityReport]

I think spyware must be down to poor security habits. Despite using Win9x systems widely at home I have never encountered any kind of software virus, worm or spyware. I have never been an IE fan so I have always used Netscape, Opera or Mozilla (latterly Firefox). I have avoided Outlook and Outlook Express in recent years because of their insecure treatment of html and attachments.

If I see an annoying animated ad, I block the source from sending me any more images. Flash animations only play on my system when I start them up; they are not permitted to hijack my computer screen as free advertising space. I do not run binaries from sources I cannot trust.

I have occasionally suffered from a side effect of computer misuse. One of my POP3 accounts is still regularly pelted with spam and viruses (I never post invalid "spamblocked" email addresses). I was about to give it up until recently when I discovered www.bluebottle.com. I got a free Bluebottle email account, with 250MB storage, POP3 and IMAP. This permits you to use a challenge-response system for email from unverified addresses. The sender receives an email asking him to click a link to verify that he isn't a bot. He does so and I see the email (and any subsequent emails he may send me, unless I later decided to block him).

Even better, a Bluebottle account will download email from up to three other POP3/IMAP mailboxes, and apply exactly the same processing to incoming emails as are applied to emails addressed directly to the Bluebottle mailbox.

Using that system I can now receive legitimate emails that are sent to me on that mailbox; I no longer see the spam. If a friend had a virus I would see any virus emails his system might send me but not those sent by other infected senders.

Because Bluebottle supports POP and IMAP, and also provides SMTP for outgoing email, I can read and send my Bluebottle emails using any normal mailer.

http://www.bluebottle.com/

[MinorityReport]

Oh, I highly recommended, for anybody, that the use a DSL/cable modem router (or firewall) in front of their cable-modem or DSL link (or really dailup, but I don't think I have seen anything for that, and probably never will).

I've got an old Debian system, which we call the happy computer, handling broadband internet and NAT for the various computers we have plugged into the LAN here. I see to recall I just installed a Debian package called ipmasq

Basically this means that once upon a time I typed something like:

apt-get install ipmasq

while sitting at the console of the happy computer.

I haven't bothered about it since. All the computers in the house, once told that the happy computer is their gateway, just automagically have internet.

It's also a pretty nice computer in its own right; I used to use it as an X server when I had a far less capable laptop than the one I use now. The laptop (an early Thinkpad) just had to cope with displaying stuff on its screen, while all the programs (Web browsers, emailers, shells, and just about everything else) ran on the happy computer. Neat stuff!