Posted on 01/25/2006 6:31:08 AM PST by ShadowAce
I'm just posting this URL due to copyright issues with USA Today.
There is a new website as of today that claims to list all software that contains spyware/badware and the companies that create such software.
Here is the link to the USA Today article
Hope it helps everyone!
http://stopbadware.org/
Not that much there at the moment, but it looks like a good start.
cat riley tech_pinglist > tech_pinglist
Riley
The command I actually used, though, was:
cat riley tech_pinglist >> tech_pinglist
as I didn't was to trash my entire list :)
Get a room, you two! This is a g-rated website. :-) There will be no cat'n and grep'n.
Thanks! Good thread and needed information. Last month, because of this "badware," I had to have someone reformat the hard drive on my computer and re-install the operating system.
Get Firefox. I don't ever get pop-ups.
I have them blocked in windows, but I get a notice of the site trying to put up a pop up ad.
Betcha Yahoo is top of the list.
Ditto Mozilla.
The sad part is the spyware programs used to REMOVE the harmful software has messed my computer up WORSE. When it gets too bad, I just reformat my C drive and reinstall windows.
I've wasted many hours trying to clean things off my kids' computers. The ones that kill me are the spyware programs that know you are going to Symantec and will pop-up an add for their spyware removal program. My brother likened it to a doctor giving you a virus then want to sell his services to cure you.
I would love to be able to sue these folks....
his website has some quality folks behind it (Vint Cerf)...
Sites/lists like this are vital and I'll explain why. The spyware originators are gaining strength through venture capital (crazy, I know).
Like car thieves who complain that your vehicle hasn't been washed recently, these cretins now want to dictate the terms of battle. They want to claim their scumware:
1) Isn't spyware/adware/malware/pick your term
2) Isn't hard to remove
3) Was asked for by the victim
4) Clearly explains its purpose and function in the EULA
My point is that they now have funding, which means lawyers, and they will sue or threaten to sue any company (McAfee, Norton, et al) that dares identify their garbage by its proper name. Why make two or three cents here or there when you can sue and get $20 million for all the 'damages' you've suffered at the hands of antispyware companies?
Non-profit (and to a lesser degree open source) players are a much safe way to combat them, since the financial incentive for legal action is lessened.
All that said, I have been through the wars and Webroot Spy Sweeper seems the top dog, along with Outpost Pro firewall and AVG Professional antivirus.
bookmark
I certainly agree, relictele, on AVG. I had an issue on my XP machine and they never took longer than 15 minutes to respond via e-mail. They walked me through a serious problem cause by my daughter's use of the "MySpace" web site. This site is evil beyond description on many levels.
I don't agree with the other poster who said we agree to the terms. Nobody but nobody agrees to 1,254 bots I found on my daughter's PC (Win98). They were trying to generate so much traffic that the PC would crash after 5 minutes. Using logs generated by my Router, I was able to back track to many of these sleaze ball sites. Many of them got a nasty-gram from me.
Without getting into the PC/MAC food fight, I maintain that the @#%% registry crap in Windows needs to be locked out and entries only allowed by keyboard commands with password protection.
I have written hundreds of PC applications for industrial control and I have NEVER needed to modify the registry.
I wonder if the site has been vetted. Last week I had to remove spyware and trojans from my daughters computer because her husband bought into the Spy Axe claim of protection, when it's main purpose is to infect you and then try to get you to buy the product. A firewall (even the built-in in XP is not bad, but others are more effective) and a good, updated antivirus app (AVG free edition works very well and issues updates almost daily) are the two main defenses. Then, it always helps if the user thinks before clicking on certain links and inviting the bad stuff in.
Why don't you write a program that will lock the Registry? Sounds like something I'd buy and a lot of other people would as well.
This assumes that you could unlock it manually for installation of new programs you want on the computer.
Trouble is, you can't get to his masterpiece ANYWHERE! It ain't at his former website at UIUC (bad link!), and it ain't at his new page at spywarewarrior.com (bad link!).
Hilariously pathetic!
Try a program called "Spyware Blaster".......doesn't remove existing spyware, but blocks any attemped newcomers. Since I have used it, my spybot scans "AdAware" and "Spybot Search and Destroy" have detected nothing. Can't beat the price either; free. Can be obtained from www.snapfiles.com.
Works for Mozilla as well.
Yes, the whole concept of spyware is sleazy.
I'm not too keen on Norton (Symantic).....type in the words "Rootkit" and "Norton" on Google and you'll see what I mean.
Symantec is also a RAM-sucking piece of garbo, IMO.
>touch techpinglist.txt
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/main.htm (Howes' home page on SWW)
ZDNet
January 11, 2006
Symantec confesses to using rootkit technology
Posted by Suzi Turner @ 10:04 pm
Oh, dear. We're just getting over the Sony DRM rootkit ruckus and now we have a security company hiding software components from Windows APIs with rootkit technology. News.com reports that Symantec Corp.'s spokesperson admitted to using this rootkit type feature in Norton SystemWorks to hide a directory so customers wouldn't accidentally delete files. The problem was it could also provide a convenient hiding place for attackers to place malicious files. Due to the vulnerability, Symantec has issued an update for SystemWorks and is "strongly recommending" users update the software immediately.
(snip)
A rootkit is a set of software tools frequently used by a third party (usually an intruder) after gaining access to a computer system. These tools are intended to conceal running processes, files or system data, which helps an intruder maintain access to a system without the user's knowledge. Rootkits are known to exist for a variety of operating systems such as Linux, Solaris and versions of Microsoft Windows.
And the functions of a rootkit:
A rootkit typically hides logins, processes, files, and logs and may include software to intercept data from terminals, network connections, and the keyboard. In many instances, rootkits are counted as trojan horses.
I ran a rootkit tool on my machine when I first heard about the Sony business a while back.
I was remarking to someone a while ago that their machine, which has twice the RAM that my machine does (and a 2.4 GHz clockspeed!), is SLOWER than my machine, which has less than a GHz clockspeed.
Of course, they have Symantec, and I don't...
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