That would be great except that on my regular SpyBot 1.3.1 S&D daily scan I get a lot of tracking cookies being loaded via Firefox. It won't take long before someone figures out a way to load spyware into Firefox. 
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.
I am most definitely bookmarking this. My pc is dead, and needs to be taken to the shop. Damn Coolweb search ate the machine. I will be installing CW Shredder when my pc is fixed. I'm using my friend's computer, and the first thing I did was install Ad Aware SE, and Reg Clean. So far, so good.
Thanks for posting this.
LOL Good news then. Your description is almost identical to what I've been saying about Mandrake 10.1. I use a LAN connection so I can't say anything about dial up modem support. You probably have an onboard 'Winmodem', they have been the devil to Linux users for years.
The more good Linux OS's out there the better!
That would be great except that on my regular SpyBot 1.3.1 S&D daily scan I get a lot of tracking cookies being loaded via Firefox. It won't take long before someone figures out a way to load spyware into Firefox.
Of course the EULA is such a doc - All in MS, a de-facto monopolist's favor. That isn't sufficient to shield them from ANY liability for their products just as the release you agree to at a Parking Garage is sufficient to shield the garage operator from all liability.
The theory is that you cannot be released from liability for your fraudulent actions or gross incompetence (A constructive Fraud). These "Defects" in MS software are foreseeable, known (and in fact purposely included) and able to be corrected so I just have to think a concerted suit by knowledgeable people would stand a chance.
There are a dozen other causes of action that could be asserted in any assault on the EULA, most notably that it is against good public policy to permit such an enforced release.
I have ActiveX turned off, never click on any kind of popup that makes it though my Norton supression settings (I always kill IE using CTRL-ALT-DEL when that happens), never install shareware that I haven't checked out for spyware problems and regularly update the latest MS security patches. Isn't that enough to stop spyware from installing on my system? If not, why not?
Anyway, AFAIC Linux is the websurfers' best friend these days due to all Windows' security problems. When it came to a toss up between spending time cleaning and maintaining a Winbox for several users or "learning" Linux, I opted for the latter and haven't regretted it one bit.
Good choice. For someone considering switching to Linux, I would advise dual booting between Linux and Windows for awhile. The new Linux user needs to gradually get their feet wet, and learn that they can do most everything in Linux that they normally do in Windows(hopefully).
If all else fails, and you need Windows for some specific reason, you can always have Windows on a small partition so it will always be there.
I just have a second computer with XP installed, and I VNC to it if I need windows for some reason.
What we can do is use our heads and attack the companies Like Gator and all the other garbage companies with spam, our own spyware and cripple their system.
We also must make our senators and congressmen aware of the problem and tell them we want to stop these pirates.
After reading your post about Giant I installed the 15 day trial. It found 7 pieces of spyware, one of which was a "Commercial Key Logger". Sigh.
It's aimed more at the business organization than the individual user, but IBM published a very nice Linux Client Migration Cookbook.
I've read several recommendations by Freepers for Firefox and I'm considering trying it. What I would like to know is this: if for some reason I (or my wife) don't like it, is it possible to go back to IE, and how much of a process is it? (I don't want to have to completely re-install Windows). I'm currently running XP.
Thanks for any input.
Download and install Firefox. During installation import your bookmarks from IE. If you want to go back to IE, just go back to IE. You're not un-installing IE, just not using it. You must have IE to do Windows updates so you wouldn't want to un-install it anyway.
bttt
Its more like invading a house and rifling through and stealing people's personal possessions. Steve Gibson of Gibson Research Corporation doesn't look kindly on this at all. As you can expect, he thinks personalized advertising is out of bounds, period. No one has the right to know about me and what I eat, wear, use, and drive. Its no one else's business.
A little more info:Un-installing Firefox is simply a matter of going to Add/Remove programs and removing it. No big whup. But IE will always stay. I can't imagine any of this causing one to have to re-install XP.
In Windows XP Service Pack 2, in the Security Center applet, there's a button that lets you set whether you would like to receive Automatic Updates. Its best to keep it in the default settong which is turned ON. To avoid a recurrence of spyware, install Spywareblaster. And get IE Spy-ad to lock down the Internet Explorer browser regardless of whether or not you use it. And of course, use Firefox or some other browser as much as possible to avoid IE's security flaws.
That's true. I paid to get real time protection for my Ewido Security Suite trojan scanner. The peace of mind may be worth the extra cost involved in alerting you to a download that doesn't seem suspicious but might turn out to pose a threat later.
Don't forget Spybot S&D, Spywareblaster, a good trojan scanner like Ewido Security Suite, anti-intrusion software like Pivx's Qwik Fix and for extra measure, lock down Internet Explorer with IE Spyad. All that should keep your computer clean and running smoothly.
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