Re: Dell: "We're not uninstalling your spyware".

Post #128,597 by andread 12/3/03 10:09:38 AM Reply	Re: Dell: "We're not uninstalling your spyware". the problem is that much of the spyware is not installed in any obvious manner you do not click a box saying OK or agree to a EULA the stuff runs in the background of 'legitimate' downloads shareware developers have found that they can get paid to install payloads in their programs that run spyware many of these programs attach themselves to IE, which as we all know is an integral part of Windows which is sold by Dell, used by Dell in its ads and without which there may not be a Dell it is illegal to intentionally damage someone else's computer and may even violate the so-called anti-terror laws I have cleaned x computers at work as well as major traumas with my son's laptop I rely on AdAware, HijackThis, ScriptSentry to get me through the day None of these tools are risk-free but they all ask you to choose and confirm your actions before you take them blaming the user is a cop-out the Internet has to move beyond the Wild West period I would shed no tears if the developers of searchdot.net or those programs that pop-up hundreds of browser windows until the computer crashes were locked up Dell, the other OEMs, MS and most of all government need to do something A Play I Some Music w/ Papa Andy Saturday 8 PM - 11 PM ET All Night Rewind 11 PM - 5 PM Reggae, African and Caribbean Music [link\|http://wxxe.org\|Tune In]
Post #128,599 by pwhysall 12/3/03 10:13:58 AM Reply	So.... You think Dell should wipe your bottom after you've shat all over your computer? Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Blog]
Post #128,614 by andread 12/3/03 11:31:16 AM Reply	Re: So.... Actually someone else is doing the shitting as you can see from my earlier post A Play I Some Music w/ Papa Andy Saturday 8 PM - 11 PM ET All Night Rewind 11 PM - 5 PM Reggae, African and Caribbean Music [link\|http://wxxe.org\|Tune In]
Post #128,623 by pwhysall 12/3/03 12:09:30 PM Reply	No, they're not. Like it or not, Gator and friends DO present EULA dialog boxes and such; that blue, underlined text in the "Security Warning" box takes you to the EULA for Gator and the time thingy, for example. This shit doesn't "accidentally" install itself; you DO click "OK" at some point. Of course, if you'd like to propose a concrete example of silently self-installing spy/adware, be my guest. Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Blog]
Post #128,627 by orion 12/3/03 12:22:08 PM Reply	Sorry to dissapoint you I always click "No" when I see Gator and other pop-up boxes. Yet Spybot still finds this crap installed on my hard drive. Not to mention tracking cookies I did not approve of yet there they are. So I did not agree to any EULA yet it shat all over my hard drive anyway. :( *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #128,629 by pwhysall 12/3/03 12:28:50 PM Reply	What crap? BE SPECIFIC. Without saying WHAT you've installed (yes, YOU) you're just handwaving. Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Blog]
Post #128,642 by andread 12/3/03 1:24:28 PM Reply	Re: What crap? Surreptitious installation of spy software isn\ufffdt new; but EMail PI claims its the first to hide the installation in a greeting card. [link\|http://www.msnbc.com/news/828942.asp\|from this article] I've been down this road with my son many times He knows not to accept offers to install this or that that pop-up from web sites He knows that you can uncheck boxes when installing software to limit what gets loaded on the machine Yet he has been victimized by many BHOs (as HijackThis calls them) that 'help' the browser or hijack the home page Some of these are really devious and hard to remove a legitimate program can be uninstalled from Control Panel you wouldn't need to run 2 or 3 types of s/w to find out what is running here's an insidious example: searchdot.net not only does it hijack your homepage and launch pop-ups that are not blocked by standard pop-up blockers because they are considered user requests but it also uses a script that replaces the homepage everytime you reboot no matter how often you change your homepage or edit your registry the script is (or was, these things 'evolve') named msoffice.hta so even if you see it when running HijackThis you tend to leave it there also it is placed in the \\windows\\fonts folder which is passed over by standard searches in Windows so it you know it is there and search you don't find it so what's your version of tech support: "my computer crashed" "have you done anything since buying it besides turn it on or off" "yes" "fuck off" A Play I Some Music w/ Papa Andy Saturday 8 PM - 11 PM ET All Night Rewind 11 PM - 5 PM Reggae, African and Caribbean Music [link\|http://wxxe.org\|Tune In]
Post #128,645 by Nightowl 12/3/03 1:32:59 PM Reply	Re: What crap? Wow... makes me glad I don't open ecards using the browser (by clicking on the links), and not until John is here watching, as a rule! When and if I ever open one, and only in Yahoo, I go to the site and enter a code, plus, I never open one I don't know the recipient of. Man... and people used to tell me I was paranoid because I wouldn't open ecards until John got home. Turns out I was rather smart. Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
Post #128,712 by pwhysall 12/3/03 6:05:32 PM 12/4/03 1:18:58 AM Reply	Ignore Dunno what I was thinking when I posted this. Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Blog] Edited by pwhysall Dec. 4, 2003, 01:18:58 AM EST Expand All History
Post #129,121 by orion 12/5/03 1:08:37 PM Reply	I didn't install a thing except maybe Spybot. I doubt Spybot would install Gator. I have Spybot remove it, and surf the web. Another Gator screen comes up viewing a web page and I click "No" when it asks me if I want to install it. I run Spybot again and it finds another copy of Gator on my hard drive. This also happens for other software like Alexia, etc. I always say "No" and yet Spybot finds it on my hard drive anyway. Maybe the programmers watch too much "Spongbob Squarepants" and the "No means yes" episode? :) *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #128,619 by Nightowl 12/3/03 11:54:02 AM Reply	Just one more reason.... I'm glad I don't use IE or EVER download anything without John here. Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O}

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