Posted on 12/21/2004 2:39:48 AM PST by goldstategop
Spyware used to be defined as applets, cookies or any other method used to collect statistics on your browsing habits. Gone are the days of such a benign interpretation. Spyware has evolved into a problem that surpasses those posed by traditional worms, viruses and Trojans.
Today, these once relatively innocuous apps have evolved from anonymous, and often invisible, traffic statistics gatherers into beasts capable of crippling your PC's performance by installing unwanted toolbars, pop-up ads, desktop icons and many other nuisances.
If that's not bad enough, some Spyware will modify system files, change security zone settings, keylog your sessions, spawn Trojans and change start page settings. Today, the term "spyware" is, in my opinion, synonymous with virus, and as usual, you have been left to deal with this on your own.
How did this happen?
Like many age-old schemes, the desire for easy money has driven spyware development into the darkest corners of the Internet. Unscrupulous individuals use flaws in the Windows operating system in combination with Microsoft's browser, Internet Explorer, to distribute their wares, or more accurately, infect your machine.
Countless types of applications, browser helper objects, cookies and bots are now competing for your finite system resources in order to pitch pop ups, report your internet activity, modify OS settings and steal personal information. Simple site statistics are no longer sufficient to sustain the beast.
Spyware companies are making millions of dollars by evading laws, finding loopholes, exploiting vulnerabilities and making their products resistant to removal. When compared to what we all know as a traditional virus, spyware is much worse because viruses are not nearly as tenacious when it comes to re-propagation or resistance to removal.
This may sound like the work of evil, globally dispersed hacking networks but many spyware developers are operating within U.S. borders without so much as a hiccup from the legal system. Although as of late, the spyware problem has generated some rumblings on Capitol Hill.
Another punch to the gut is that it is very easy to track who is benefiting from your pain. Spyware partners are typically paid on a, 'per installation' basis. This means that there is a unique ID associated with each installation so that the partner can get paid. This information is easily acquired, yet no one is doing anything about it.
To further entertain us, Spyware companies are very shrewd and typically add verbiage on their sites to make you believe that all their software is installed only with your consent. What's even more hilarious is how the worst offenders have anti-spyware animations running on their sites.
If you look closely you would almost believe that you are reading a legitimate EULA when in fact, you're reading deceptive or flat out inaccurate information. Many of them tell you that the apps can be easily uninstalled using the add/remove programs feature in Windows. In my experience, this does not work. In fact, there have been times when I have seen what appears to be a complete uninstall only to find that the Spyware is still operating in the background.
My anti-virus suite will surely help me, won't it?
No. If you look at this from the standpoint of AV providers, there is no financial benefit, thus, there is no motivation to add spyware removal features.
Many of the best removal tools are freely available for download. It does not make sense to attempt to develop something better than people already expect for free. Additionally, it is much harder to keep up with spyware than worms, viruses and Trojans because most of the aforementioned were not designed for financial gain and were typically developed by loose bands of unfunded hacking groups to prove a point.
When compared to the financial forces that are backing spyware, the cost to AV companies to keep up would be astronomical. Without a significant increase in product costs, AV companies cannot allocate resources to battle what has become the new front on the assault of your Internet experience.
I have a personal firewall and I patch my system all the time. Shouldn't I be safe?
Absolutely not. For openers, Microsoft is slow to deliver patches in relation to the speed and efficiency that malware developers disseminate their apps. Statistics show that browsing a single site can yield over a dozen infections.
What's worse is that Browser Helper Objects (BHOs) are invisible to personal firewalls. The traffic is seen as originating from your browser, not the malicious helper. Spyware developers know precisely how personal firewalls behave and their apps are written to take advantage of allowed protocols and applications. Adding insult to injury, spyware uses Microsoft's own zone security model against them by simply placing malicious sites in Internet Explorer's trusted zone.
OK so which spyware removal tool is the best?
There is no single tool out there that can rid you of your troubles. Typically, running two or three different scanners will yield different results. A popular tag team approach to vanquishing the unwelcome code includes installing both Lavasoft's Adaware and Spybot Search and Destroy.
Also, detecting spyware is completely different from removing it.
As of late, spyware makers have started delivering apps that cannot be removed with automated tools so even if you ditch IE in favor of an alternate browser you may still find yourself spending hours trying to remediate infections. Sadly, users end up lost in search engine results and scanning forums hoping to find a remediation process that worked for other poor souls.
In some cases, a complete OS reinstall is quicker than bearing this pain. You may also find yourself victimized by your own desire to remove spyware. Some crooked coders have actually developed what look to be legitimate spyware scanners, which are, in fact, spyware propagators.
What can we do?
Sadly, the funding that's fueling spyware development is far greater than the funding devoted to stopping it. Until the playing field evens out, spyware is going to continue to invade our privacy, steal information and cause financial and personal loss.
For now, the best thing you can do is visit trusted sites and be vigilant about scanning your machine with a variety of anti-spyware tools. Keep in mind that most bona fide removal tools are developed by independent groups of developers and small development firms. Paying for anti-spyware software is not an indicator that you are getting a superior product over free, open source alternatives.
Agree. I keep wondering why Gates and his company are not the object of serious legal and legislative assault. All of their software products are, when used as directed (And expected I might add) simply defective. The problem is these "Defects" are really not such from Gate's standpoint and are engineered into the software. In this sinister process they are 1) Not disclosed to the consumer and 2) Exist for the sole enrichment of Microsoft itself or other Third Parties and to the detriment of Microsoft's customers.
Like you, I suspect Micro and it's cohorts have spent millions lobbying our lawmakers to ignore this issue - All to the enormous detriment of Computer and Internet users worldwide.
There - Now I've vented! :-)
Absolutly. Since I installed Firefox, I've had no spam or pop-up problems.
If you're calling W for assistance you're barking up a wrong tree. Do you really expect W to be concerned about the integrity of your or my computer if he doesn't even give a rip about the security and integrity of our borders?
I tried that when I first set up the system. The virus software was set up to download automatically and so was Windows Update but she's on dialup and nothing would get finished before she disconnected. I told her that when she dials up in the future, before she goes to a website or checks her mail, she must update the virus scanner, no exceptions. I'm also going to tell her that if this happens again she will either learn how to fix it herself or pay a tech $100 to $300 to fix it. If I thought she could learn something different I would install Mozilla in it but there is no way.
We have three desktops and my laptop at our house and each one is setup to do all of it automatically but I still run the spyware updates on all of them weekly.
bump
bttt
Hey, y'all...I need some advice: I think I have what I need to protect my computer, but I'm not sure.
My computer is 6 yrs old, uses Windows 98, I just recently downloaded the Mozilla-Firefox browser, & my computer is a slow 56k....& the 3 programs I'm using against spyware makes it even SLOWER. It's really aggravating, & I dunno what to do about it (I'm definitely NOT a computer geek!). Here's what I have:
-- Spyware Doctor,
-- Ad-Aware SE Personal, &
-- Spybot Search & Destroy
Is that ENOUGH? How often should I run these programs? Do y'all have anymore advice? THANK YOU very much! :-)
Delete Spyware Doctor and get Spyware Blaster and apply immunization to Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers. Then get Eric L. Howes' IE Spy-ad to add thousands of malicious websites to the Registry so they can't run and execute hostile code on your computer. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/main.htm
Yeah, I've had my homepage hijacked too! It may have been CoolWeb, that name sounds familiar (it was a few months ago). I'm scared sh*tless about this! What do I do? Please notice my other post up above.
Whats worse, a browser hijacker or a FR thread hijacker?
Download CWS Shredder and run it. After that, download Lava Soft Ad-aware and Spybot S&D and scan for malware. Remove anything they find. Then download Spywareblaster to keep the malware from being ever being reinstalled on your computer. Finally, get IE Spyad to lock down your Internet Explorer browser so malicious sites can't run anything that could either install spyware or harm your computer.
Spyware is no different than hacking into someones computer and stealing all their data. People who created them or use them should be prosecuted as theifs.
Do you routinely de-frag your machine? At least every 6 months or so?
This will definitely keep your speed up to par.
I've had very good luck with hijackthis, AdAware, Spybot Search and Destroy, and F-Prot. Sometimes, I even have to trick the spyware by making it think the system is already infected. However, some of my customers require a complete re-install of the OS. On some occasions, the same customer comes back 3 days later with an even worse spyware infection, even though his system had been completely wiped and reloaded. Lately, I've been creating image backups of systems with a program called Acronis True Image. Ultimately, it all comes down to a backup solution of some sort. Saving important files to CD or DVD first, then creating an image of the entire partition containing the OS.
Windows security ping
"GET RID OF INTERNET EXPLORER AND MOVE TO FIREFOX"
I second that. Haven't had a pest in months.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.