Earthlink: Your hard drive may be spying on you

Miami Herald ^ | 10/14/2003 | Peggy Rogers

[ex-Texan]

Earthlink: Your hard drive may be spying on you

EarthLink has a word for all of you spam-hating, pop-up-blasting, virus-fearing brethren -- spyware.

And you should be scared, computer users, real scared.

Experts say as many as 90 percent of all Internet surfers have picked up one brand or another of this soaring spyware, also known as scumware, skunkware and malware.

That proportion seems awfully high, but at least a large majority of Internet-connected computer users harbor one or another of the thousands of spyware varieties.

EarthLink has more than a passing interest. Last Wednesday, it added to its Internet software a program called Spyware Blocker that the ISP says is the first anti-spyware software ever offered by an Internet service. Its inclusion underscores three things:

• That the threat of secret software that embeds itself on your hard drive is growing so greatly that experts have variously said its expansion rate could surpass the growth of viruses or spam.

• That many computer users have yet to notice the problem. Spyware is programming code that does everything from feed you ad after ad to record your surfing habits. It can change the Web page to which you're headed and log your every keystroke.

The latter kind reports back to an Internet source such private information as your e-mail messages and credit-card numbers. EarthLink's Spyware Blocker works against 1,500 varieties of scumware and continues to update the numbers as new ones are located.

• That while EarthLink has been on the front lines of blocking annoying and alarming threats to Internet privacy and security, it is not alone. Competitors like America Online have also developed security packages, albeit without antispyware measures.

EarthLink started offering protective software in spring 2002, first with pop-up blockers, next anti-spam and last month offering parental control of offensive materials and now spam blocking. By year's end, it expects to include a virus blocker.

Spyware is damaging, in part, because it is a largely silent plague. Now it is starting to get the serious and mass attention it so richly deserves.

''Since spyware is the next big threat, it was a logical and obvious thing for us to include,'' said Matt Cobb, vice president of product management for EarthLink.

He sees a greater drive to spook than to spin viruses.

''People who make viruses are malicious,'' he said. ``The people who do spyware are economically motivated, so we think it's going to become more like spam than viruses and surpass the number of virus attacks.''

Spyware can ensnare you in several ways. If you've ever downloaded freeware or shareware, particularly programs that provide such Internet services as music swapping, form fillers, download managers and other utilities, there's a good chance such programs offset their costs by letting one or several ad makers piggyback.

They can swarm your desktop with pop-ups, floating cubes and even more intricate display methods. One spyware program reportedly posted what looked like error messages to download software.

E-mail can also come infected with Trojan horses that steal information off your disk or follow your surfing habits. One company was caught planting spyware in the guise of electronic greeting cards.

If your Internet Explorer browser is set to automatically allow the download of software needed for such things as the proper viewing of Web pages, spyware can also slime you.

Look under IE's Tools menu>Internet Options>Security>Downloads, and disable file downloading. Re-enable it only when you choose to download software.

If you don't have EarthLink, there are plenty of sites with free or low-cost programs that will scan for spyware and allow you to quarantine or delete it.

One such site is www.spy checker.com. Look for information also at www.cexxorg/adware.htm and www.doxdesk.com/para site.

A word of caution: Some programs will stop running when the spyware element is removed. You'll have to decide which is the greater evil, giving up privacy to run a program or stopping the program to secure privacy.

[NotQuiteCricket]

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[EggsAckley]

Hey Doug!
Lately, everytime I go to Google, a popup comes up trying to sell me exactly what I am searching, or close to it. Is that spyware??

[steplock]

.      .ComputerSecurity
1.  Security Test 3.  Download AVG AntiVirus 5.  Check for Virus Hoaxes	Support Troops!	2.  Download Zone Alarm 4.  Download Ad-Aware

[TheBigB]

My hard drive is not spying on me. However, I am suspicious of my toaster...

[DainBramage]

My wife is an undercover spyware agent...I'm sooo glad they didn't release her name.

She would be in sooo much danger!

[BlessedBeGod]

OMG! I thought it was just my toaster!

[ex-Texan]

Enigma Software offers a free download so you may check you computer for Spyware and Trojans. I purchased their Spy Remover because my computer was infected with two malicious Spying programs. One type allowed every keystroke to be monitored. You may test if for free. If your computer is infected with malware, you can remove it for $ 29. Go here:

Enigma Software

[Tree of Liberty]

Spybot Search & Destroy

[af_vet_rr]

I bet if even half the people reading this download Ad-Aware or a similar program and scan their system, they'll be shocked.

[Tree of Liberty]

BTW, Spybot is free and is the most widely used spyware removal program.

[scourge]

I installed spyhunter on my computer and it did find alot of high risk spyware, but when I went to delete the spyware, the spyhunter program wanted me to pay to remove it. I'm ethier to cheap, or I don't care enough about the spyware to pay, a little of both I guess. :^)

[Always Right]

Spyware/Adware is getting out of control. They can literally take over your computer. 'Ad-ware 6.0' and 'Spybot - Search and Destroy' are good free tools to fight against them.

[South40]

Earthlink is the spy.

I haven't been a subscriber for years and there is residual and unremovable Earthlink programming on my computer.

[Uncle Miltie]

If you line your toaster with tin foil, everything will be Okay....

[stainlessbanner]

1. get mozilla and stop the pop-ups

2. get ad-aware and remove the spyware from your pc

[Mannaggia l'America]

What would happen if one of the Spyware scanners/blockers turned out to be spyware!

[w_over_w]

bttt

[anton]

I can't imagine why anyone would surf the Net without Spybot Search & Destroy. Its free and effective. Further, Google's free toolbar and popup blocker makes it a lot more pleasant to visit sites with popups.

[ex-Texan]

Hi Judy !

See my #9 on this thread. Was I ever shocked by what this little test revealed. I have very good anti-virus software and a good firewall. I am also running a Trojan Detector. I run all those programs daily.

Spy Remover indentified and removed two Spying program that are not Viruses or Trojans.

[EagleMamaMT]

Read later.

[EggsAckley]

I've got great popup stoppers already. These popups are different. They say "Third Party Advertisements" or something like that. And they always relate to where I'm surfing.

Tried to download ad-aware, but the page is very complicated and I couldn't get the download to work.

Arrgghh!

[snarkpup]

Experts say as many as 90 percent of all Internet surfers ...

Considering how many Internet surfers probably run with wide-open security settings in their browsers, I'm surprised it would be as low as 90 percent.

[Lee'sGhost]

Ditto

[DannyTN]

"My hard drive is not spying on me. However, I am suspicious of my toaster... "

Yes, hence the saying "you're toast!"

[Blue Screen of Death]

Ditto

You can say that again!

[stainlessbanner]

You have FReepmail.

[TheBigB]

And good conspiracy theorist knows that tinfoil merely focuses the mind-control rays.

[AppyPappy]

HEEELLLLPPPP MEEEEEEEEE

[EggsAckley]

Downloading spyhunter now. We'll see. Adaware is not user friendly, and spybot is worse, this one at least is downloadable. I'm totally ignorant of these things. Hopeless TechnoNinny.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Well, Sky Dayton founder of Earthlink, is a Scientologist... and hasn't the COS given the church members internet access that blocks anti-Scientology websites?

[Yeti]

Earthlink is a little late with this.

I used them a few years back, played hell trying to get all their crap off of my machine, eventually had to reformat to get their logo out of the corner of IE. I was getting anomalous internet activity when noting was running. ZoneAlarm said nothing was wrong, so my guess was that either something had gotten into my winsock or that it was Earthlink's not-uninstallable version of IE.

I finally got rid of it and that was the end of that. I won't use them again.

[pointsal]

thanks for the geeky update.

[Publius6961]

it did find alot of high risk spyware, but when I went to delete the spyware, the spyhunter program wanted me to pay to remove it.

It gets better.
I did pay for it and ran it.
Not only did it fail to remove the pop ups, it flagged and removed parts of itself, so that next time I attempted to run it, nope. Forget it.

No prob, I thought. I'll just download it again and re-install it and use the activation I just paid for.

Guess what? It wouldn't let me. I am still trying to resolve that.

(and I still have pop-ups)

[GOPJ]

I told a friend about adAware She ran it and found over 250 spy programs. She was stunned.

[snarkpup]

If you line your toaster with tin foil, everything will be Okay....

It's not just your toaster. You should also keep the infrared remote sensors on your VCRs and other home entertainment appliances covered when not in use. I have a theory that appliances with infrared remotes also send out infrared signals, detect one another's presence in the room, and secretly communicate. I first began to suspect this conspiracy when two VCRs that were several years old both failed in the same week.

[isthisnickcool]

The scary stuff is what nobody has found yet. I'd say more but the I'd have to shoot you.

[wolficatZ]

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html


Spyware Blaster keeps a huge list of sneaky stuff from ever being installed on your computer; updated frequently. It has worked really well for me.

[AlBondigas]

to reformat to get their logo out of the corner of IE

That spinning globe was a single registry entry. Nothing harmful. FYI, IE 6.0 deletes it.

[Normal4me]

Hehe...I have worked/repaired other peoples computers before. People who haven't cleared their history files EVER or emptied their Recycle bin. Credit card numbers in word documents, Password doc on the desktop, etc.

I am very conscious about the latest 'threats' and have this machine loaded with all kinds of defensive measures.

[xm177e2]

Is this reporter even going to bother asking another source besides Earthlink, or is she just going to feed their press release straight onto the newswire?

[in the Arena]

bttt

[Porterville]

You should reformat your hard drive often, to keep control of your system.

[Porterville]

google toolbar gets rid of all pop ups... all of them.

[Allan]

Bump

[ex-Texan]

I run my deframenter and scan disc twice a week. Reformatting is not possible beause it erase everything on my hard drive. ;-)

[GWB00]

I can't do Google searches anymore, I got a virus and can't seem to get rid of it.

[Porterville]

I would get a CD burner or a high capacity zip drive, organize my files and all my software in a cd folder (as you would a tool box) and at least, once a quarter, or every few months, reformat you cpu.... it only takes a few hours (with high bandwith) and it helps to keep everything moving quickly.... also, it opens up new ideas you might not have thought of..
trial versions..

[Porterville]

You could also just get Norton's Ghosting software, and it would be even faster.