Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: acepilot2 on March 07, 2004, 03:08:29 PM

Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: acepilot2 on March 07, 2004, 03:08:29 PM
Man this is annoying.  Sucks to be going to a webpage and suddenly have all your programs close out and have all your CD drives open.  any way to disable this other than buying the spyware?

I feel bad for those not up on their computer skills who don't know how to set a homepage.  The stuff even changes your internet settings so the homepage is the spyware advertising site.

err its like pop up advertising that makes your computer go haywire-very annoying, i hope this trend in advertising doesn't last.

If i were to lock the spyware websites would they not come up again?
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: flakbait on March 07, 2004, 03:34:35 PM
Change browsers. IE is a virus-trap waiting to happen that anyone can exploit. http://www.mozilla.org has two of the best browsers out there; Mozilla and Firefox. Mozilla has all the whiz-bang features of something like NS or IE, while Firefox is very lean and loads amazingly fast. Both will block pop-ups automatically, let you set which sites to block images from (no more ads from doubleclick), and no harmful code can cause your CDROMs to open up. I actually tried that same bit of code on Firefox 0.7 and it didn't work.




-----------------------
Flakbait [Delta6]
Delta Six's Flight School (http://www.worldaccessnet.com/~delta6)
Put the P-61B in Aces High
(http://www.worldaccessnet.com/~delta6/sig/page25.gif)
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: acepilot2 on March 07, 2004, 03:48:16 PM
thank you! Never knew those existed. They work like a charm.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Dinger on March 07, 2004, 03:58:46 PM
or disable activeX

do not buy the software from the "spyware" company doing this.
Ctrl-alt-del and shutdown IE works when that crap hits.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: medicboy on March 07, 2004, 06:46:41 PM
dinger, how do you disable active x???
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Nefarious on March 07, 2004, 06:57:08 PM
I'm having a problem with Messenger Service Spam...

I went into the Resource Manager and turned it off, but they still come!!!

ARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: medicboy on March 07, 2004, 07:00:06 PM
Nef, I had that problem as well right after I loaded xp, I turned on the fire wall and it never happened again.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Angus on March 07, 2004, 07:49:21 PM
Opera is also a cute browser.
Try Spybot as well, it's free.
Check this site out for free stuff:
http://www.tudogs.com
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: boxboy28 on March 08, 2004, 09:23:17 AM
Theres a program out there called  "CWShredder"  it kills and remove the trojan/spyware for Cool Webs sites

lets say  you miss spell a web page and it takes you to other pages  the Cool Web stuff CWshredder works great too!
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: 1K0N on March 08, 2004, 10:05:35 AM
A term for them is Parasite programs... Had an issue last night with shop at home parasite "SAHagent.exe"
Ad aware seems to deal with them effectively...
The people and companies who distribute this garbage need to face some retribution!

IKON
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Coolridr on March 08, 2004, 10:37:06 AM
the problem is the companies that make anti-spyware and anti ad-ware programs are the ones putting the stuff on your computer. Every single one of them does it..even the "Reputable" (if you can call anyone who sells software on the internet reputable) ones. Here's an example. I downloaded a program to clean out all spyware on my computer..it worked really good. I decided not to purchase it and at the end of the trial..THAT program put so much stuff on my computer I could not operate my browser without everything going haywire. I finally got it all cleaned up..but it's a really shady way to do business. I am actually begining to hate the internet. As a matter of fact if it wasn't for this game i'd probrably not even have a connection anymore since it's too hard to surf the net without picking stuff up no matter what kind of protection you think you have. ad-ware spy-ware and all the f****ing prettythangwipes that make viruses just for fun or because they think they have some sort of political agenda can lick my prettythang
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Wlfgng on March 08, 2004, 11:24:10 AM
disable plug-n-play, messenger service, ActiveX and Dcom and
you'll be better off.  

more info here:
http://grc.com/default.htm
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Curval on March 08, 2004, 11:26:42 AM
Quote
Originally posted by boxboy28
lets say  you miss spell a web page and it takes you to other pages  the Cool Web stuff CWshredder works great too!


"You" mispiel sumthink?  Nah....shirly ewe jeste?
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: kappa on March 08, 2004, 12:23:08 PM
Mozilla Firefox  solves these problems..  new version is .8 I think.. still beta but runs smooth, stable and rocks!
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Toad on March 08, 2004, 12:27:39 PM
I'd like to take a ballbat to those guys.

My 83 year old father had his homepage changed to one of those "open the CD" sites.

He calls me in a panic saying he has a virus because the computer said so.

Took a little while to call him down, figure out what happened and set it all right.

Them basteegees should be horsewhipped; picking on old folks like that.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Siaf__csf on March 08, 2004, 12:32:42 PM
Whoa weird, I've run W2k and IE for 3 years now using broadband. Before that W95 and W98SE on modem, IE, Irc etc.

I've surfed the weirdest of the sites, believe me. I've even sometimes pushed the 'windows update' button.

No popups (except normal site specific ads of course.) No spyware (according to ad-aware anyway.)

No redirects to search engines or homepages.

Wtf are you people doing with your computers? Press 'yes' to every suggestion???
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Dinger on March 08, 2004, 01:39:49 PM
Coolrdr -- Which "reputable" ones are you talking about?
Adaware and Spybot S&D are the only "reputable" names worth knowing.  They do not engage in tactics like this.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Coolridr on March 08, 2004, 01:44:54 PM
every company out there has some sort of shady dealings...some more blatant some not
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: kappa on March 08, 2004, 01:59:15 PM
Robotech avitar, eh?   hehe nice
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Dinger on March 08, 2004, 02:20:32 PM
heh.  I figured it out.  Coolridr is the unabomber.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Lizking on March 08, 2004, 02:24:24 PM
I am with Saif.  I surf everywhere, using IE6 on XP and have never, ever had any spyware installed, very few pop-ups, no virus's, etc.

WTF do you silly boys do?
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Wlfgng on March 08, 2004, 04:36:12 PM
are you SURE you have no spyware?
if so, how do you  know?

I have found spyware on every computer in Town that I've worked on (at least 100 computers)

my guess is that you have some and don't know it.  
Probably Data-miner and/or double-click
simple tracking cookies count as spyware if they report your internet activities without your knowledge
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Wlfgng on March 08, 2004, 04:37:24 PM
btw Kappa, you're avitar rules.. now if the Av's could just wake-the-hell-UP !!!


how long before a new coach?  1 day mebee ??
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: JB73 on March 08, 2004, 04:41:37 PM
Quote
Originally posted by kappa
Mozilla Firefox  solves these problems..  new version is .8 I think.. still beta but runs smooth, stable and rocks!
cant upload to picture hangar with it...

also it sucks for adding "favorites" or "bookmarks... whatever you want to call it.

i got 3 years worth of favs in IE with no way but to manually type in each fargn addy into firefox.


also having some troubles with secure sites relating to my work.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Maverick on March 08, 2004, 04:43:43 PM
I solved 90% of these problems by adjusting the settings on my browser. I simply do NOT accept cookies for storage. I do NOT allow java script except on very few specific sites that I trust. I also have a prompt for active x and do not allow it on unfamiliar sites. This cut WAY down on spyware.

I ahve 3 seperate spyware killers on my system and run them in series.

The first is adaware. It's ok bu t pretty weak.

The second is Spyhunter and the third is Spybot search and destroy.

The 3 of them do a good job of getting all the trash these jerkoffs like to stash on your system. I also use a firewall and do not allow unrestricted access to the net by my mail program. Any time it asks to connect without me prompting it I know I have a spyware working.

Cut the access to your system and you will drop most problems from these vermin.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Skuzzy on March 08, 2004, 04:49:17 PM
I set my Linux router up to proxy for me.  With the rules in place I just do not have to worry about it.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Octavius on March 08, 2004, 04:52:08 PM
Quote
Originally posted by JB73
cant upload to picture hangar with it...

also it sucks for adding "favorites" or "bookmarks... whatever you want to call it.

i got 3 years worth of favs in IE with no way but to manually type in each fargn addy into firefox.


also having some troubles with secure sites relating to my work.


Ditto on the Picture Hangar, I use IE for that.

Firefox automatically imported all my IE favorites for me... it never did that for you?
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Ripsnort on March 08, 2004, 04:53:22 PM
Spybot just became acceptable where I work, and recommended to execute on company boxes.  (Took 'em long enough, I've been running it for some time on my own boxes...)
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: vorticon on March 08, 2004, 05:02:27 PM
IE is the number one browser in the world for a reason...and the only real feature these other things offer that IE doesnt have (or needs) is popup blocker thingy...and a quick download of the google toolbar fixes that
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: JB73 on March 08, 2004, 05:04:11 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Octavius
Firefox automatically imported all my IE favorites for me... it never did that for you?
nope nothing...

when i first opened it it poped up asking if i wanted to make it my "default" browser.

i clicked no obviously.. i am just trying it out.

maybe if i had said "yes" it would do that.. dunno.



either way i have not found a way to import them yet. everything i have tried says "not a valid file type" or something.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Skuzzy on March 08, 2004, 05:10:12 PM
Quote
Originally posted by vorticon
IE is the number one browser in the world for a reason...

It comes with Windows.  Just like Outlook Express is the most used Email program around.  Not a good argument there vorticon. :)
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Wlfgng on March 08, 2004, 05:14:15 PM
lol.. so true.
Everyone takes pot-shots at number 1.

If Mac was no.1 then they'd be targeted all the time...
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Nilsen on March 08, 2004, 05:18:24 PM
is IE still around? what version is it now?

havent used that old technology since mozilla came.

Have they managed go give IE a pop-up stopper yet?


Firefox rules :)
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Wlfgng on March 08, 2004, 05:20:17 PM
Nilsen ... read skuzzy's post :)


and go swimming or something and forget about Microsoft.
oh wait, you already did.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Nilsen on March 08, 2004, 05:22:55 PM
Microsoft..who is she?

to cold to go swimming Wlfgng :)
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Lizking on March 08, 2004, 05:31:37 PM
I am sure because I maintain good computer hygiene and check what is running on a regular basis.  I have 2 items in my startup tray, and an occaisional check via online spybot searchers has never turned one up.  I don't even run virus software, never have.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: vorticon on March 08, 2004, 05:34:43 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Skuzzy
It comes with Windows.  Just like Outlook Express is the most used Email program around.  Not a good argument there vorticon. :)


you also dont have to go through a whole lot of crap to get plugins...and java comes preinstalled...

and as i said before there is NOTHING those other programs offer than IE needs other than a popup blocker...and a little unobtrusive something called google toolbar fixes that...


Quote
havent used that old technology since mozilla came.


as i remember mozilla is based of even older netscape code...
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Nilsen on March 08, 2004, 05:38:31 PM
You may be right about the age thingy vorticon, but sometimes older is faster and better.

Guess its all about personal taste, but i also know that Mozilla and its various clones like Firefox wins most if not all rewievs.

You do however have one very good point...its ABIT trickyer to get all the plugins working in Mozilla etc, but after tinkering for a few mins its better.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Skuzzy on March 08, 2004, 05:53:35 PM
Plugins and Java are one of the curses of IE as well.  It is a double edged sword.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Wlfgng on March 08, 2004, 05:54:14 PM
Quote
to cold to go swimming Wlfgng


hey, being from Norway and all I thought maybe you had your suit hanging next to your ice-skates...
polar bear club and such.


Hey... are you excited about the possibitlity of the NHL shutting down and having all the players return home to play in the European league ?
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: vorticon on March 08, 2004, 06:01:24 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Skuzzy
Plugins and Java are one of the curses of IE as well.  It is a double edged sword.


not sure i get you there skuzzy...
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: SunKing on March 08, 2004, 06:26:22 PM
Firefox ... nough said..  Thanks Makarov9 for the orginal heads up.  goodbye IE.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Coolridr on March 08, 2004, 06:40:45 PM
just got firefox...wow...IE is gone
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Octavius on March 08, 2004, 06:49:18 PM
Quote
Originally posted by vorticon
not sure i get you there skuzzy...


Java applets offer neat little conveniences and programs, but security can be easily compromised through Java.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Ike 2K# on March 08, 2004, 06:56:35 PM
Firefox is still in development stage, should i wait for the original release of firefox?
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: JB73 on March 08, 2004, 07:57:56 PM
man .. firefox...

<-- scratches head wondering why everyone raves about it
  • cant get to secure work related sites.
  • cant upload @ picture hangar
  • amazon.com cant "preview" files (heck the PICS of the CD's dot show up)
  • AHBB the "post reply" text box is like 25 charecters wide. VERY annoying.


not at all impressive to me.

just did my taxes online. i used IE. wasn't feeling "comfy" enough with the capabilities (or IN-capabilities) of firefox.

oh well will keep giving it a try for now until it totally pisses me off LOL
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Coolridr on March 08, 2004, 08:04:12 PM
still a beta...works great so far...I like it
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Nilsen on March 09, 2004, 02:21:37 AM
Lol Wlfgng :D

Dont know anything about hockey so...
My suit is in the basement and the bear club technology is pure science-fiction here yet...we have heard rumors on the wireless tho.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: flakbait on March 09, 2004, 04:15:35 AM
Vort, you got it backwards. NS 6.0+ is based off Mozilla's code, not the other way around.


JB, Firefox does work on secure sites. It won't work on sites that are coded for IE (CheckSix forums don't work in FireFox) or sites that have bad code. It's a fairly demanding browser since it requires proper site coding in order to work. If there's IE-only features present, you won't be able to use them. On the other hand, it doesn't leave port 80 wide open nor will it execute any code or plugins that you tell it not to. It's more a browser for people who want one that works, without all the whiz-bang stuff you get in the bloated browsers.


-----------------------
Flakbait [Delta6]
Delta Six's Flight School (http://www.worldaccessnet.com/~delta6)
Put the P-61B in Aces High
(http://www.worldaccessnet.com/~delta6/sig/gullible.gif) (http://www.totalsims.com/index.php)
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Saintaw on March 09, 2004, 04:39:45 AM
Quote
Originally posted by JB73
cant upload to picture hangar with it...



It's now fixed.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: vorticon on March 09, 2004, 11:18:47 AM
Quote
Java applets offer neat little conveniences and programs, but security can be easily compromised through Java.


so what...everyone installs java on there alternative browser anyway...

Quote
It's more a browser for people who want one that works, without all the whiz-bang stuff you get in the bloated browsers.


mozilla netscape and opera are the most bloated browsers...k-meleon and firefox are non bloated...IE is somewhere in between...

the only real difference between IE and other browsers (other than plugin issues) is most websites do not look good on the other browsers...

security issues are non existant because i DONT click yes to every thing that pops up...

this is what my IE browser looks like...and i dont see why i should switch from a proven browser to a browser being developed by anyone and everyone who cant accept that IE won years ago...

(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/ah_53_1073253149.jpg)
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Nilsen on March 09, 2004, 12:21:21 PM
i just wish webdesigners would stick with STANDARDS!!! :mad:
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Skuzzy on March 09, 2004, 12:36:59 PM
Gee Vort,..why so passionate about IE?  It does violate HTML standards, but a lot of what Microsoft does violates accepted standards.
Microsoft did not win nor create the DNS/Bind system, yet they do violate the protocols which requires the standard software to work around the violations.
Two wrongs have never made a right yet.  Just because they have numbers does not make it right.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Octavius on March 09, 2004, 12:41:57 PM
Vort, you had a similar stance when a thread about DVDs vs. VCRs was around.  Get with it man! :)
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Saintaw on March 09, 2004, 01:26:52 PM
IE allows developpers to be lazy, it's very forgiving.
That comes in as usefull when you're on a vewy tight deadline.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: flakbait on March 09, 2004, 01:29:42 PM
You said it Nilsen!

Vort, IE is a bloated browser. Java download, patches up the ying-yang, activeX (virus trap), plus all 10,000 "security updates" that get issued every time a zit-poppin middle-schooler figures out a trick in IE. It's a mess. Firefox is an 8 meg download, takes up barely 20 megs installed, and does only what you want it to. I don't care about page transitions, flashy displays, or half-brained attempts to build a shockwave-only site. I want the browser to do just that, browse. Between Mozilla's code and ZoneAlarm I'm not only safe, I don't have to rangle IE every time it decides to conk out. Plus I don't need to hit Winblows Update every other week to get another "fix" for IE.

As I said, Firefox will only work on a properly written web site and it won't do all the whiz-bang things they show people doing on TV. It pulls up web sites with no hassle, no trouble, and no complaints. Now if some goombah IE user writes a web site in Yiddish, it'll make Firefox throw a fit because his site DOES comply with IE, but it does NOT comply with web standards. Importing your Favorites is as simple as going to the Bookmarks menu, using the manager, and importing your bookmarks after exporting them to a file from IE. Fairly simple, really. Now if you want a browser that'll pull up any site, show off Java, shockwave, flash, page transitions, and a slew of other stuff, go with IE. If you want a secure browser that doesn't need daily patching, use Firefox.



-----------------------
Flakbait [Delta6]
Delta Six's Flight School (http://www.worldaccessnet.com/~delta6)
Put the P-61B in Aces High
(http://www.worldaccessnet.com/~delta6/sig/veggie.gif)
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Stoned Gecko on March 09, 2004, 02:25:40 PM
Very well said, flackbait. I use Mozilla Firefox and I'm more than happy with it. It renderes the sites faster than IE, and the tabbed browsing is very usefull ... esp for reading the forums.

The only reason why IE is #1 is because it's included with the OS and the average user just doesn't know any better. What pisses me off is MS went and integrated IE into the OS, so now 90% of the security updates for IE have to be installed because your system is compromised even if you don't use it.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: vorticon on March 09, 2004, 02:26:46 PM
Quote
Now if you want a browser that'll pull up any site, show off Java, shockwave, flash, page transitions, and a slew of other stuff, go with IE. If you want a secure browser that doesn't need daily patching, use Firefox.


ive patched IE twice...the slew of other stuff is used everywhere...security...set IE's level to medium and your set...speed...a few seconds difference...


then again i cant see why people buy cars that can go 120 mph when all cars can go the speed limit...
Title: Firefox ... poor JS support
Post by: Saintaw on March 10, 2004, 04:53:26 AM
Tried it this morning, am impressed by the speed & some functions, but... JavaScript support is roughly close to the Netscape 4.7 version...  or worse.

This is what I posted on the FF forums.
--------------------------------------------------
I've heard a lot of fuss about this FF from my nerd buddies... and decided to give it a try.

It seems that  JavaScript support is pretty strict (NN4.7-like? lol) I have a pretty straightforward piece of code runnin on one of the sites I've developped, it looks like this:




It's then called with a line that looks like this one:

To


This works fine in IE6 or NN6+ but nothing happens in FF. Is there a way around this, or is it just not supported yet?
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Virage on March 10, 2004, 08:13:57 AM
Mozilla vote!

IE is unsecure.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Stoned Gecko on March 10, 2004, 01:28:26 PM
Well, for one thing you have:


To


Should be one word, right? ;)

If you can send me the whole html doc I can see what I can do to help debug it. Firefox does have a JS console under the Tools menu. That might be of help.
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: 1K0N on March 10, 2004, 01:48:28 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Coolridr
every company out there has some sort of shady dealings...some more blatant some not


Tin foil hat time!!
Title: The new trend in spyware advertising
Post by: Saintaw on March 10, 2004, 04:23:31 PM
Stoned Gecko, I'll gladly take up on that offer. I can't email/pm you from here, plz drop me an email: saw@onpoi.net :)