Spyware companies targeting children

[m00n]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7735192/

Kind of alarming article. Not terribly alarming, but something to keep in mind if you have children.

[formica]

yeah... not surprising, as i noticed the same thing. Cleaned out 3 home machines for a co-worker with three early teenage boys... and it was amazing the quantity of spyware and viruses running on those machines.

[dodger]

One nice thing about webtv is you can check and see your cookies.

I'll do a search on Google and pick up Google.com.

Then for a number of products (furman is one) I get hit with "googleleadservices."

Each time I go to eBay I get a double click. I can empty easily.

Others are atdmt services and some that are just numbers looooooong numbers.

[wheelman]

You can't do anything anymore on a computer without getting spyware it seems like. You almost have to clear cookies, temporary internet files, offline temporary files, and run some sort of spy killer everyday. Especially before you do a transaction on the net. I went to a website I think verizon typed in my tele number to see if I could get dsl. Well now I am getting phone calls from everyone and their brother. Check out Pest patrol. I haven't but it looks interesting at tigerdirect.com. I think that's what I am going for next.

[Duke Spinner]

since i got "Spyguard" .. a free program ...

Adaware, n' Spybot find nothing ....

[m00n]

I'll have to checkout spyguard. Never heard of it.

[m00n]

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On 5/6/2005 5:02:08 PM bsafirebird1969 wrote:

since i got "Spyguard" .. a free program ...

Adaware, n' Spybot find nothing ....

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I thought you said it was free? I just went to http://www.spyguard.com/ and it's $30.00.

[Duke Spinner]

HuH ...??

oooh .. maybe it's // "SpywareGuard .".....

[dragonfyr]

Before you buy anything, you have a few options.

First, download the free Spybot and Ad-Aware anti-spyware programs. You want both as they build the spyware profiles independently. You will also want to check for updates at least weekly.

If you want to buy a program in addition to the two above, I would suggest SpySweeper. You still want to use all 3 as they will compliment each other & catch different 'things.'

If you don't already have it, download the Firefox browser. While most swoon over it, I would suggest leaving IE as the default browser, as there are still simply too many places where Firefox has difficulties, and many places such as Yahoo need IE, and you cannot print child windows (for ex, right click-print) from Firefox. But it will be there when you need/want it...just open a new session.

Just be aware, that as much as we all like to complain about spyware, that MOST of us do not read the privacy policies - the fine print that you may have to search for that explains the conditions of selecting a feature. In most cases, if you chose to read it, you are AUTHORIZING the use of spyware and the collection of information. So the next time you "accept" something because it appears free, thank yourself for installing spyware!

Additionally, if you are not already, even if you have an external router, you should also be running a software firewall. I prefer ZoneAlarmPro. ZoneAlarm is available for free, but the Pro version (if you watch the ads and rebates, you should be able to get it for ~$9 or less) also provides excellent popup/under blocking as well.

Additionally, it can prevent unauthorized access to the internet of any unauthorized process or application, thus preventing even resident spyware from 'phoning home' as well as preventing your machine from becoming an unwitting acessory to a DOS attack via zombie infection.

Also, for cleaning out your cache, cookies, temp files and more that you never see, I recommend Window Washer from WebRoot. Again, if you watch the ads and rebates you should be able to find this for less then the ~$29 retail price.

There are a few more preference setting, etc, but this should help those of you who are just catching up.

But remember, the biggest thing that you can do to avoid spyware is to avoid ALL of the P2P (peer to peer) file sharing sites. And the next time you think those neat emoticons or toolbars or whatever they are offering free are a good deal...when you accept the package you are 99% certain to be granting them the express permission to load spyware! So think twice before you do!

And a tip if you do download something.

If you aren't already using partitioning, you need to seriously consider doing so!!!!!

But even if you are, if you download something, download it to a removable medium, such as a USB flash drive. The associated files will be resident there, and you can always remove it.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

And while we like to think of most viruses or spyware as being aggressive or invasive, the reality is that WE invite the majority of it onto own machines!

[m00n]

Personally I'm using Ad-Aware and Microsofts new beta version. One difference between you and I, I update daily. I never click on "Free" anything. I don't click on any advertisement for that matter. I try to be very savvy. Non the less, spyware does make it on your pc.

[dragonfyr]

AdAware is OK, but it is NOT sufficient.

SpySweeper's nice feature is that it quarantines all downloads and allows you to accept or delete them before they become permanently resident.

With reasonable precautions and prudent configurations, it is not difficult to avoid all but the very infrequent spyware program.

[m00n]

Right on. I will check it out.

Have you ever used McAfee's anit spyware? My mothers PC is always getting garbage because she is not savvy enough to know what to stay away from. I just had her purchase McAfee's internet suite which comes with Anti Spyware.

[dragonfyr]

As profound as it was the first time, I deleted the 2nd copy!

Boy, that line spacing is weird, and I can't edit it out!

[Piranha]

Trend Micro isn't freeware, but in my experience it's been very effective. I believe they give you a free trial without strings. Check it out.

I still like AVG as far as freeware goes. But it doesn't scan as well as Trend Micro IMO. In this case I guess money talks. JMHO.

[dragonfyr]

You are right, to my knowledge, Trend Micro has never been freeware, although many OEMs gave it away. It was a best buy when it was available as a standalone product, but most suites do not allow you to install other best of breed components (and that stinks!). So you are stuck with their apporach to everything. For that reason I stick with a standalone virus protection program. But if you were going to go with a suite, I would personally go with Zone Alarm's.

[Griffinator]

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On 5/6/2005 7:58:28 PM dragonfyr wrote:

AdAware is OK, but it is NOT sufficient.

SpySweeper's nice feature is that it quarantines all downloads and allows you to accept or delete them before they become permanently resident.

With reasonable precautions and prudent configurations, it is not difficult to avoid all but the very infrequent spyware program.

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I use Spywareblaster - www.javacoolsoftware.com - it's a shield, prevents the ActiveX scripts that remote-install spyware from ever being run. Lot easier than trying to clean it up every day.

Oh - and it's free, too.

[wheelman]

I use Spywareblaster - www.javacoolsoftware.com - it's a shield, prevents the ActiveX scripts that remote-install spyware from ever being run. Lot easier than trying to clean it up every day.

Oh - and it's free, too.

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Thanks Griff for the tip. I just downloaded it put in my secondary hardrive. Haven't opened or ran it yet. I will later, but i read the review on it you should have a spy killer also. I guess it doesn't prevent everything from getting through, but it's still a cool product thanks.

[skonopa]

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On 5/6/2005 7:46:11 PM dragonfyr wrote:

If you don't already have it, download the Firefox browser. While most swoon over it, I would suggest leaving IE as the default browser, as there are still simply too many places where Firefox has difficulties, and many places such as Yahoo need IE, and you cannot print child windows (for ex, right click-print) from Firefox. But it will be there when you need/want it...just open a new session.

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I did download Firefox myself. However, I did set it as my default browser. I only use IE only if I absolutly must. As for Yahoo, I don't even go there. Between the built-in pop-up ad blocking in Mozilla/Firefox and the Ad-Block plug-in (highly recommended for all you Firefox/Mozilla users), I never, ever see any pop-up on my computer, plus I can selectively nuke other ads, such as those annoying Flash ads. Between all that and good'ol Ad-aware and Spybot-S&D, plus a little savyness on my part, I've never gotten any spyware on my machines. Also, I absolutly love the tabbed browsing in Firefox/Mozilla. Why MS still did not put that in IE, I have no idea.

As for partitioning drives. I got a full-on server with nearly 1/2 a terabyte, which is where I store all my files and data - with weekly backups to external USB 2.0 drives. Just last week, those backup saved my *** in a big way, as the server crashed hard, due to a RAM stick going bad, and in the process, completely corrupted the Win2K install on there! I only finally got everything back on line just now (). Ohh, you did not want to see me - I was friggan HOT after all that! Did not think it was possible for me to get that p1ssed-off!. I was cussing Microsoft, Bill Gates, AMD, Hitachi (the maker of the RAM stick), Epox (the maker of the Mobo), and Western Digital (the harddrives) and anybody associated with them! Thankfully, I did not loose any data, except a couple of old e-mail messages, but still, what a major pain in the butt-end! Between the back-ups and the partitioning, when I re-installed Win2K, I only needed to nuke the C:/ partition, which contained only the OS and the necessary apps/drivers to make the server function. The data, such as my online music library, digital images I've taken with my trusty ol' Canon PowerShot G3, Word docs, etc, was left intact on the other partitions.

[formica]

I've been an alternate browser user for years (set as default)... going from netscape to opera to early firefox... and the compatibility has become almost a non-issue over the years except for printing "child windows" as mentioned. OTOH, IE doesn't do sooo many other things firefox does (i won't re-mention them) including very pratical scaled printing.

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On 5/7/2005 11:04:13 PM skonopa wrote:

I did download Firefox myself. ... Between all that and good'ol Ad-aware and Spybot-S&D, plus a little savyness on my part, I've never gotten any spyware on my machines.

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Ditto. Until spyware writers adapt their software to firefox, using it along with the "savy" surfing has been quite effective for me. I'm almost the exclusive user on my machine (no kids) so that helps too.

But that is kinda the point of the article... using children to bypass the semi-savy adults. Social Engineering.

Rob

[krispykoilz]

Read this before trying just any antispyware/malware apps.

http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm

I use Spywareblaster, StartupMonitor, xp-Antispy, SpySweeper, Microsoft Antispyware (Giant), Spybot Search and Destroy, AdAwareSE, Opera browser, Firefox browser, NIS, AVG as an on demand scanner, TrojanHunter, SpyCop, rootkitrevealer, a-squared as well as Evidence Terminator, CCleaner, MRU-Blaster and a few others on occasion including online scans. Oh, and common sense. I haven't had any problems with hijackers, popups, spyware, trojans, worms, viruses or the like in over 2 years now. If you haven't heard of any of the apps try googling and if you can't find them I'd be happy to give you a link.