A C.G. computer poll: How much spyware/adware have you found

'cause I run Linux, and Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware only run on Windows, that I can tell. I won't have any of the most malicious stuff, like CoolWWWSearch, but I daresay I've got a fair few tracking cookies in there.

for Linux? I haven't been able to find any as of yet.

Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, of course, but hey.

So it's very easy to see if something undesirable is running.

Common sense, really.

I'd pay good money for an application that knows what to look for. I have too much shit to do. Do you? :evilgrin:

Oh, I use Linux - Red Hat Fedora Core 4. I ditched Suse (aka shitse) a long time ago. So much the better for having done that...

Seriously.

When I hear people complaining "I've got so much spyware!" and whatnot, I just think "learn to use your computer properly." It's really not that difficult.

Or maybe I'm just lucky, I dunno.

I don't like some of the default options on *any* of them.

Why?

more running programs.

I'll do that next time. Thanks.

A 'quickscan' or whatever that crap is seems pointless.

with the porn sites. x(

but who knows what those sites are leaving on my computer!

security settings *most* of them are from porn sites.

I just don't know why he doesn't go there instead. I don't think there is such a thing as spyware on DVD players, right? :rofl:

:rofl:

Maybe the mods should delete that post.

working on it already.

Do they really think that by f-ing up my computer I will buy something from them?

:banghead: :mad:

Four of them (at least) to be exact.

Keyloggers, the worst of the bunch, will steal passwords and transmit them to another computer. In fact, I read of one the other day that if it sees you log into a certain bank, it will transfer the money into another account. Nasty, huh.

Then there are the hijackers. They replace your default search page with another one and theoretically collect some money for page hits.

And then you have the popup generators. Pop up ads that are clicked on lead to revenue.

Finally, the zombie spammers. They install software that sends email. Lots of email. Estimates are that 40% or more of the spam in the world is being generated by people who have no idea they are doing it.

The purpose of spyware is never to make your computer run badly, well almost never. It's just the fact that they are written poorly and then multiple processes and different types of spyware conflict and cause havoc and the computer becomes a boat anchor.

Yeah, it wasn't so bad when there wasn't money to be made from viruses and such but now that there is money in it, it will never end.

*sigh*

I was wondering: what is the advantage of running anti-spyware tools in safe mode? What programs do you suggest for pc's? I've got a Mac but professional curiosity is getting to me. Thanks.

of the Spyware/Adware detection software cannot detect some processes if they are running. Good free software to use is Ad-Aware and Spybot. The ones for purchase are Spysweeper and ZeroSpyware.

that don't otherwise in the Normal Mode?

Thanks.

so no problems for me!

:thumbsup:

Alright, OK, the real answer is "ten or less"...but there's probably a bunch of crap I haven't found yet. Damn stupid adware....

But I am a professional.

I have removed about 15,000 instances from others computers in the past month.

Hell, had one in the other day that had 2,000 spyware hits and about 500 virus hits. Was amazed I got that one back.

that they can actually start!

Sometimes I think some people just shouldn't be allowed to use computers.

About a week ago.

Mac System 9 is the reason.

Redstone

Never finds anything. I'm damn careful anyway; never accept cookies from any site I don't want them from, stuff like that.

Aprt of that routine maintenance includes deleting anything from my System folder that I don't recognize the provenance of.

Redstone

236 known spy ware. 15 known viruses. Not on "my" machines, but on machines I have been paid to fix. Yep, you can get paid to clean up after fools who never clean their machines, or use any sort of protection.

of customers, because people never learn.

Redstone

maintain their system properly.

Mac user

to popular belief, *no* computer is 100% safe.

And even those can be dealt with by a spending five minutes with your browser settings, never accepting cookies for a site you don't trust, and one simple setting in your QuickTime preferences (if you have OS9 or earlier).

Nobody gets to put anything on my computer that I don't allow them to, except a few software installers, and I manually delete the extraneous crap from the installers immediately.

Don't know about Windows or Mac OSX, but System 9 is damn easy to keep clean, if you just pay a modicum of attention.

I do run Windows in emulation, but haven't seen any junk crop up there either (according to Ad-Aware) If I do get a nasty in the Windows partition, I can just throw out Virtual PC and replace it from a backup.

Redstone

To the Mac, it's just another application.

I back up twice a day. I've had Virtual PC go haywire once or twice, and instead of taking a bunch of time to figure out what was wrong, all I had to do was re-load it from the last backup (remembering to copy the preferences as well).

That's also how I can use in on my desktop and laptop computers without having to go through the installation rigamarole twice.

Just one of the MANY reasons I haven't "upgraded" to System 10. Can't do that with X.

Redstone

I extracted around 1800 files from a friend's PC with AdAware. Is that a record?

Haven't run them in over a month.

a couple tracking cookies at most. No spyware or ad-ware.

Ha ha! I am immune to spyware. Immune!!!

:popcorn:

I don't know how, but none.

And I'm seriously unconcerned about the possiblity too. They couldn't get spyware running at the system level anyway, only at the user level.

Are you at least running firefox for windows?

I got a spyware at work (Windoze XP), because the company for some insane reason insists we use the security nightmare called internet explorer.

I spent 2 days tracking that down and ridding my system of it -- it was so new no one had heard of it except one spyware site.

I installed firefox immediately, told IT to go * themselves, and have had no problems since.

It is important for Internet Explorer users to clean their temporary files regularly. This can be done by bringing up the Tools menu, clicking Internet Options, General and clicking on Delete Cookies and Delete Temporary Files. Doing this on a daily basis will mean fewer instances of spyware on your computer especially tracking cookies.

detection software. You might also want to get Spybot and Microsoft's AntiSpyware.