[SEL] Spyware

[bill at antique-engines.com]

Watch out - some "anti-spyware" out there is actually spyware in itself -
it installs some of the very stuff you get it to remove!
How in the world do people think that someone can release FREE software?
Uh-huh - it's supported by marketing and advertising - "spyware" that it
installs.
EVEN spyware removers in some cases install adware and spyware!

There is pretty much no such thing are REAL free software.
And in some cases, software from vendors you trust installs such stuff,
however, on the other hand, some is FALSLY detected as "spyware". I've
seen keyboard drivers from Dell falsly found as spyware, and people in
thier zeal to rid the world of spyware often falsly accuse such software,
but once it's on the web as spyware, facts lose out.
Anti-spyware software sometimes is a bit agressive in what it finds.
Some of this stuff is simply checking for updates, checking in with a host
web site to see if new drivers and software is available.

Others, such as those so-called "Free" toolbars, skins for IE, search
utilities (such as Google desktop search, Yahoo desktop search, etc.)
contain real spyware.
Google desktop search sent our security people into a real frenzy when a
lady here installed it and it started hitting on every server in the
state, attempting to login as administrator! We now no longer allow ANY
search toolbars. They are pretty much a joke anyway, there is always
another way without installing adware and spyware.
The only anti-spyware I really trust is spybot search and destroy. This
guy really HATES spyware with a passion and has dedicated years of his
life to removing it. I've run many packages and this one routinly finds
stuff the others don't, however, none is perfect!
The "wintools" package is one of the hardest in the world to find and REMOVE.
It uses tactics that should be ILLEGAL!
CWSHREDDER is pretty much the only automatic way to get rid of it. I once
spent over an hour removing it from a system - it runs multiple threads
that don't show up in services or process lists. Kill a file and running
hidden processes rebuild it again before your eyes.

Anyway, if this WAS a good product, you can bet Microsoft will ruin it and
make it LESS effective. They have a great history of that. They even
managed to ruin the anti-virus they licensed from Norton/Symantec years
ago.

Like when Microsoft bought the Hoover Vacuum company - the first time in
history one of their products didn't suck.  :-)

A joke, ok?

Anyway, just posting this stuff as knowing all about it is part of my job
with the state and it helps me to learn and keep up in an area that
changes by the hour.

Bill



> Hi Guys
> Apparently MS acquired this software from a 3rd party and are now
> developing it.
> Don't know why anyone would think the statement related to YOUR computer
> was "shonky".
> It was made in good faith. Several of my friends have tried it, and in
> most cases it has found spyware, even though they ran various other anti -
> spyware programmes.
> There is no compulsion to try it. Choice is yours.Unfortunately I do not
> get any commission from MS.
> I sent the message out of a desire to help others.
> Brian Taylor
> Hervey Bay Historical Museum
> 13 Zephyr St..Scarness
> Web Site: http://herveybaymuseum.museum.com/welcome.html
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