Bill would require notice before 'spyware' added to computers - California

Bill would require notice before 'spyware' added to computers

The Associated Press


Last Updated: May 18, 2004, 05:25:15 PM PDT


SACRAMENTO (AP) - Consumers would have to be told before information-reporting "spyware" was added to their computers if legislation approved Tuesday by the state Senate becomes law.
The measure by Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Culver City, was sent to the Assembly by a 36-2 vote.

Murray said consumers can unknowingly add the spyware to their computer systems when they buy software.

"These programs track what Web sites you visit, may steal your passwords, access your financial information, log your keystrokes, bombard you with pop-ups, track your purchases and remotely report your activity and personal information to a third party," Murray said

"The scary part is that this is all done without the user's knowledge or consent. You may never know the software is there, let alone what it is doing. Adding insult to injury, much of this software is designed to be nearly impossible to uninstall."

more... http://www.modbee.com/state_wire/story/8588218p-9455311c.html

I googled their names and found that I had a couple of those suckers spying on me. I still haven't figured out how to delete them, but I shut them down immediately after I turn on my computer and make sure that none of them are running while I am on the Internet.

One of those spyware programs was put on my computer by SBC DSL. They say it is for trouble shooting but several anti-spyware websites say it is actually used to track the websites you are using so they can gear their advertising according to that.

(which I have, constantly updated).

2. How do you search for it?

None of these programs helped.

I hit CTRL ALT DEL to open the task manager to show all the programs that were running. I wrote down all the names of the programs (like cfd.exe, qttask.exe) and googled them (I am not an expert, so there might be an easier way to do that). There are several anti-spyware websites that explain what all those programs do. I am at work and don't have the links and I can't remember their names (they are in my favorite folder at home).

Those anti-spyware websites give tips on how to disable/delete them or if they shouldn't be touched because they are important programs you need to run your computer.

As I said, I am not an expert. Maybe someone from DU has some more tips?

Try Start>Run and type msconfig. Check the Startup tab for anything suspicious. Check off any programs that aren't critical, and restart your PC. When you are back at your desktop, you will receive a message notifying you of a customized startup. There is a box you can check off to prevent the message from appearing again upon startup.

You may also try some reg hacks if you're comfortable doing it. Be sure and back up any keys you may edit. I would look in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE>Microsoft>Windows>CurrentVersion>Run and see what is configured to run on startup.

You can also search for the executables, and physically delete them. Use caution.

Spyware is terrible. It infected my computer and it cost me lots of money before I was able to solve the problem. Specifically, I had my Web browser (Internet Explorer) home page hijacked.

If you are having spyware problems, here is a wonderful Web site for solving those problems. These are a bunch of guys in the Netherlands who know how to get the job done. Simply log on, tell them what your problem is, and they will walk you through solving it.

Here's the link:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/

This is a problem that will not be solved by laws. It will be solved by people being careful about what they download and running anti-spyware software.