FTC Says Anti-Spyware Vendor Shut Down

Reuters ^ | Mar 11 2005 | Reuters

[TruthWillWin]

Next step is to smack University of Phoenix upside the head over their ads.

Why does that one usually make it past my pop-up blocker when logging onto Drudge?

[beaver fever]

"I always assumed that if you clicked on it, you would end up getting spyware installed on your computer."

That's been my suspicion about freeware.

I just installed Firefox a month ago and I keep getting these popups telling me I have 'errors' on my drive.

When I go to the link I get a prompt to download ErrorGuard. So I downloaded it and installed it and ran a scan. It told me I had 413 infections but to clean them I had to purchase the software.

So I ran Trend Micro Housecall, Adware 2.0, Spybot Search and Destroy as well as Spy Subtract Spy Trap. Nothing. Zilch. Nada.

Am I infected or am I being scammed?

[hflynn]

Go to http://www.microsoft.com/ Right under the soccer player the 1st item under Popular Downloads is what you want to download.

[jdm]

Pest Patrol should be next. PP offers a free scan and turned up the exact same problems on two different, independent PCs, at different companies, 20 miles apart. I stick with SpySweeper, AdAware and Spybot (with Tea Timer enabled).

[hflynn]

Scammed and infected. Try post #23.

[hflynn]

Post #23. XP supports it.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Now I use spybot and adaware.

Yup those are currently the top two. And Microsoft has come out with its own an anti-spyware tool as well, which helps a little.

[JustDoItAlways]

You really need to use lots of different (legitimate) ant-spyware programs.

Each one seems to find different things and you can't get keep yourself virus-free without using different programs.

I guess it is just hard for an individual company to keep with all this crap that is coming out now.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

CWShredder is another free program that can kill some variants of the CoolWebSearch infection and About Buster can help rid the system of the about:blank infection. Those two scumware are right up there as being the worst of all the hijacks plaguing computers today.

[demlosers]

It told me I had 413 infections but to clean them I had to purchase the software.

This part is for sure a scam. Noway 3 anti-spyware progs would miss 413 infections.

[hflynn]

You really need to use lots of different (legitimate) ant-spyware programs.

You need a full arsenal. Anti-Spyware, Anti-Virus and Fire Wall and even then you may eventually be faced with the need to restore your computer to it's as delivered state. In the meantime it's Microsoft OS's that are bearing the brunt of these attacks and if they have become proactive in addressing the problem they are th 1's I will use to address the problem. PS: The price is right.

[Malsua]

Am I infected or am I being scammed?

Sounds like Scammed, but you could be infected. Open your task list and compare the running programs in there to www.answersthatwork.com (click tasklist). Some trojans run hidden, but most things should be in there.

You also shouldn't be getting popups with Firefox which suggests you may have a pest. My FR homepage may have some information and links that could be of use to you.

[beaver fever]

Thanks. I was really suspicious when Housecall turned up a blank.

Trend Micro seems to have their heart and marketing dept in the right place. Do something usefull for a customer for free and they'll buy your gear.

My real wonder is why this popup is happening on Moz.

Is it a security vulnerability that ErrorGuard is exploiting or is Moz involved in viral marketing?

[TomGuy]

Check out Mike's Ad Blocking Hosts file. It will work wonders to cut down on pop-up ads.

http://www.everythingisnt.com/hosts.html

It is very easy to use/install. Be sure to read the info on the program.

[beaver fever]

Thanks. I looked and everything seems kosher. The pop unders are suspicious but I'll keep scanning and see what happens.

I bookmarked your homepage. Very helpful. You're a sport

[HighFlier]

Sounds like you probably were scammed.

[Malsua]

The pop unders are suspicious but I'll keep scanning and see what happens.

What site is giving you pop-unders? I'll go there and see what happens.

Oh and sorry my Homepage is so disorganized, I started with a core bit of information about a year ago and keep updating the relevant parts. I should probably figure something out to make it easier to read. The links are in there and the instructions are accurate, so it's good in that respect.

[demlosers]

The popup sounds like scumware. You may have to do a manual Sherlock Holmes check. A good place to start is use your Spybot program in 'tools' and run a 'view report' on your system. Scrutinize everything that you do not recognize.

BHO's, processes, CSIDs, start up files, browser start and search page list, Protocols, ect... You may even have to look in folders where crap likes to hide, for example C:\Windows\System32 .

I've cleared a lot of scumware manually.

You could download other reputable anti-spyware as backup if all this seems tedious. MS has a beta version, " Microsoft Anti-spyware," that appears pretty good, but you'll have to download it using MS explorer.

[beaver fever]

To tell you the truth I'm not sure about the site.

The last couple of times it happened I didn't notice the pop under on my task bar until I closed the browser.

When it happens again I'll see if I can trace the path in my history folder.

Seemed pretty innocuous. Standard adware pop under.

Nothing greasy or pornographic but definitely a spawn so I don't know whether I can trace it. If I can I'll let you know.

[HungarianGypsy]

I haven't had any spyware problems since installing the ms spyware. Of course I did have to change the settings, since it constantly called freerepublic a browser hijack because it wasn't the default msn homepage.