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Can You Trust Your Spyware Protection?
PCWorld.com through Yahoo! News ^ | May 31, 2005 | Andrew Brandt

Posted on 05/31/2005 6:41:03 PM PDT by El Conservador

The next time you run a scan with your anti-spyware tool, it might miss some programs. Several anti-spyware firms, including Aluria, Lavasoft, and PestPatrol, have quietly stopped detecting adware from companies like Claria and WhenU--a process called delisting. Those adware companies have been petitioning anti-spyware firms to delist their software; other companies have resorted to sending cease-and-desist letters that threaten legal action.

In most cases it's difficult for customers to determine whether their anti-spyware tool has delisted anything and, if so, which adware it skips.

"When a spyware program gets delisted, users won't be aware of its presence," says Harvard law student and spyware researcher Ben Edelman. The practice, he says, "offers spyware makers a new lease on life, letting them keep users who otherwise would have removed their software."

Degrees of Spyware

Of course, some spyware apps are worse than others. One spyware program may make severe changes to your computer's settings, while another merely displays ads.

Claria and WhenU are making the case that their adware programs don't resort to illegal tactics, such as exploiting security holes, to install themselves. And though this software can be annoying, adware developers argue that merely being listed in an anti-spyware scanner's database tarnishes a company's reputation by linking its relatively benign adware application with far more harmful and intrusive spyware programs.

According to Avi Naider of WhenU, though some other adware companies will track your Web meanderings and sell that data, WhenU's privacy policy doesn't permit it to track the search queries that users type or the Web pages that they browse.

Each anti-spyware firm uses its own set of criteria to decide whether to remove or detect a file or Registry key related to spyware. Usually even a few bad behaviors suffice to red-tag a file as spyware or adware.

Peter Mackow of PCTools, maker of the Spyware Doctor anti-spyware program, says that his company won't publish the entire list of its criteria for fear that spyware companies will use the information to design a spyware application that skirts every rule. That is a position shared by many others who fight spyware.

"The spyware guys want a really rigid set of rules defining spyware so they can then make an end run around [all of them]," says Eric L. Howes, who tracks the spyware business for Spywarewarrior.com and consults for anti-spyware software companies.

Experts recommend that you employ two--or even three--anti-spyware tools. The more you use, the likelier they are to counter the individual biases of each anti-spyware company.

To Delist or Not

It's unfair to permanently blacklist a company based on its past behavior, so some delisting is inevitable. But delisting an adware application is a dangerous proposition for anti-spyware developers. In the past, some spyware and adware makers have changed their software enough to get delisted only to resume the activity that got them flagged in the first place.

As a result, the anti-spyware industry has developed a thick skin. Delisting is rare because, Edelman says, anti-spyware firms "stand up to strongly worded demand letters."

Adware companies also decry the word spyware itself as inherently negative, so some anti-spyware firms have tried to create terms that mean essentially the same thing, using more-neutral language: grayware, potentially unwanted programs, or potentially unwanted software. But Webroot's CEO David Moll argues that matters could get more confusing if the anti-spyware companies try to refer to spyware by other names, just when many people are beginning to understand what spyware can do.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: adware; backdoor; exploit; gator; getamac; internetexploiter; lookoutexpress; lowqualitycrap; microsoft; securityflaw; spyware; trojan; virus; virusbait; windows; worm
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To: El Conservador

I have Norton which updates all the time - and I have Ad-Aware SE which checks for updates every week when I run it.


21 posted on 05/31/2005 7:26:07 PM PDT by CyberAnt (President Bush: "America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth")
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To: bpjam

'Here is a good definition: If the software loads onto my computer and I didn't know about or want it, its spyware and its evil...'

Exactly!


22 posted on 05/31/2005 7:30:31 PM PDT by msjhall
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To: 95Tarheel
...One of the most common is coolwebsearch (and it's variants),...

That one is the worst. I even had the coolwebsearch techs trying to help me get rid of it and couldn't.

I gave up on the box and transfered all my important files to a new PC.

23 posted on 05/31/2005 7:33:24 PM PDT by FReepaholic (When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading)
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To: relictele

What does weatherbug do that makes it spyware?


24 posted on 05/31/2005 7:38:22 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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To: zeebee
What took you so long?

LOL

25 posted on 05/31/2005 7:40:36 PM PDT by perfect stranger (I need new glasses.)
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To: HairOfTheDog
weatherbug.com

Don't click the above link.

26 posted on 05/31/2005 7:43:54 PM PDT by perfect stranger (I need new glasses.)
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To: fat city

What does it do?


27 posted on 05/31/2005 7:44:19 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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To: perfect stranger

I have had it on my machine for years... no trouble at all from it. That's why I'm asking what it does.


28 posted on 05/31/2005 7:45:06 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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To: lawdude

I'm going through something similar except I can't even get windows XP to come up on my computer.

I've got my old one hooked up to the internet now, and my 6 month old dell is out of commission till I can either figure out how to fix it or reinstall windows.

Not sure how this happened but it has been BAD! I'm trying to use some old files from windows restore to fix it but not having much success.


29 posted on 05/31/2005 7:45:31 PM PDT by shattered
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To: HairOfTheDog
I've never heard of it 'til now.

I'm glad it works for you, some others don't like it much.

30 posted on 05/31/2005 7:49:55 PM PDT by perfect stranger (I need new glasses.)
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To: Lancey Howard

I'm using the Webroot now (Spysweeper). I like it so far. Dumped Norton off and just use AVG free.

I've got 4 computers in the house and 2 kids. If there's something bad out there, they will find it. :-)

So far so good with the Webroot. Haven't had anything bad happen since I installed it. I was using PC Safe but it let me down, so I went with Webroot on a friends recommendation.

Too bad there ain't a magic bullet for all of it. The guy who comes up with that is going to be rich.


31 posted on 05/31/2005 7:55:05 PM PDT by planekT (Go DeLay, Go!)
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To: shattered

Good Luck. Same thing happened on my new Acer notebook computer. Had to use the restore dick and lost everything on the computer. Fortunately my other 'puter is Mac.


32 posted on 05/31/2005 7:55:12 PM PDT by passionfruit
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To: perfect stranger

I love it... wondering why it's getting all the bad press.


33 posted on 05/31/2005 7:56:41 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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To: HairOfTheDog

Try to remove it and see what happens.


34 posted on 05/31/2005 7:59:09 PM PDT by ChuckHam
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To: lawdude
Same here, on my desktop! If I want to check my e-mail I might as well get on the laptop. What's with that?

I keep getting the "Action cancelled" page.

35 posted on 05/31/2005 7:59:48 PM PDT by Tuscaloosa Goldfinch (Thank goodness "Terayza" is not first lady.)
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To: HairOfTheDog

I'm sure a few will come along and tell you soon enough.


36 posted on 05/31/2005 8:00:04 PM PDT by perfect stranger (I need new glasses.)
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To: El Conservador

Spyware was the last straw for me. I ditched my PC and bought an iMac and have not regretted it one whit since. I just use the thing and no more playing cat and mouse with all the crap on the internet. I could care less about brands and loyalty to companies so don't start the harang about Macs. It just works and that's all I care about.


37 posted on 05/31/2005 8:03:24 PM PDT by strongbow
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To: ChuckHam

I don't want to remove it if it's doing no wrong.


38 posted on 05/31/2005 8:04:07 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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To: PeaceBeWithYou
It is far better to stop it from getting on your box in the first place

Removed Aurora this morning. It's a real charmer. It required two separate scans and removals and two separate kills while running in safe mode.

39 posted on 05/31/2005 8:07:57 PM PDT by Stentor
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To: BibChr

pingomai


40 posted on 05/31/2005 8:08:52 PM PDT by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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