Spyware and Malware (Full Version)

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pinksugarsub -> Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 3:09:14 PM)

i am a complete technotard, so please bear with me.  Within the past couple of weeks i reformatted my pc (with a tech support person helping me).  i have since been noticing the pc slowing down and thought maybe i was just leaving it turned on too long, so i began turning it off and restarting it a lot.
 
i just ran Ad-Aware and it found 45 major items.  i am running Spybot as i write this, just in case.  i have a security suite (including anti-spy, anti-virus, pop-up blocker, etc.) provided by the 'net isp.  i am told i cannot or should not run any other such programs because they will counteract each other.
 
What i wanna know is where is all this spyware and malware coming from?  i generally hang on the same sites and never visit porn sites (i've heard they're terrible for adding spyware).
 
Can A/anyone suggest anything to help?



Level -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 3:22:50 PM)

I know for a fact that you get some off of Alt, if you go there; you may get them here, as well, I haven't checked. They're everywhere, it seems.



outlier -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 6:30:28 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: pinksugarsub

i am a complete technotard, so please bear with me.  Within the past couple of weeks i reformatted my pc (with a tech support person helping me).  i have since been noticing the pc slowing down and thought maybe i was just leaving it turned on too long, so i began turning it off and restarting it a lot.
 
i just ran Ad-Aware and it found 45 major items.  i am running Spybot as i write this, just in case.  i have a security suite (including anti-spy, anti-virus, pop-up blocker, etc.) provided by the 'net isp.  i am told i cannot or should not run any other such programs because they will counteract each other.
 
What i wanna know is where is all this spyware and malware coming from?  i generally hang on the same sites and never visit porn sites (i've heard they're terrible for adding spyware).
 
Can A/anyone suggest anything to help?


pinksurgersub,

Please provide some information on the type of computer you are using.
Also the operating system you have installed.  Also the "security suite"
provided by your isp.  Having this information will make it much more
likely you will get information you can actually use.

Outlier



MadRabbit -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 6:42:17 PM)

1. Stop looking at porn!

2. I prefer System Mechanic. I think its the shit. Its easy to use regardless of how much techo knowledge you have. You can do a search for System Mechanic 7 on Yahoo or Google and find a 30 day free trial. It will get rid of the crap without much trouble as well as fine tune your computer in many other ways so it runs better.




bandit25 -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 6:51:45 PM)

System Mechanic totally hosed my desktop.  I use Adaware, but I know some ppl who like system mechanic.



SirStephan55 -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 6:54:40 PM)

I use Webroot Spy Sweeper and the latest version of Norton Internet Security. Combination has worked great.



SirStephan55 -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 6:55:47 PM)

Been on Alt for years - never got anything from there - either spyware or malware or anything else. Never got anything here either.



farglebargle -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 7:42:31 PM)

IF *all* your important files and documents are sitting in My Documents, then just copy that off to a USB drive, and blow away the machine, restoring it back to factory-fresh.

It's usually LESS time consuming and MORE effective than trying to deal with it any other way.




Griswold -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 7:48:56 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: pinksugarsub
What i wanna know is where is all this spyware and malware coming from? 


(Germany)



bigskycountry -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 8:08:11 PM)

Quit using internet explorer, download and start using firefox already.



subrob1967 -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 8:25:01 PM)

Avast, Avast Avast... Download and use it...It's free, and it works very well.



bigskycountry -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 8:44:41 PM)

Hijackthis is also a killer application. Download it, run it, then go here: http://hjt.networktechs.com/ , and paste the list into the parser and it will tell you what to delete.



farglebargle -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 8:47:08 PM)

I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.



minnetar -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/18/2007 9:17:50 PM)

i am not a tech guru but i love researching sites and all the new software. There are alot of unneccessary programs that boot up when you start your computer - that might be the reason for the slowness.  i have given up on trying to find spyware.  i use a program called trillian.  If you run a spyware program, it will continually come up as spyware and it isn't.  i just use an anti virus program.  Sorry but i am not that scared of folks seeing which sites i visit lol.

minnetar



Level -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/19/2007 2:11:37 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: SirStephan55

Been on Alt for years - never got anything from there - either spyware or malware or anything else. Never got anything here either.



All I can say is that if I run Ad Aware, then immediately go to Alt, then run Ad Aware again, spyware comes up. Every time.



DomKen -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/19/2007 7:08:31 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Level

quote:

ORIGINAL: SirStephan55

Been on Alt for years - never got anything from there - either spyware or malware or anything else. Never got anything here either.



All I can say is that if I run Ad Aware, then immediately go to Alt, then run Ad Aware again, spyware comes up. Every time.

Banner ads are the culprit in almost all cases of the more common forms of spyware. More than likely Ad Aware found what are called tracking cookies from your visits to alt. doubleclick and the other banner ad outfits use them to build a profile that says, without necessarily identifying you, you went to alt, amazon and where ever else they have banners that you've visited. These demographic profiles are then used to target banner ads. The evil crap comes in when these banner ad companies send out spam email which includes a banner ad which if opened and read on a computer that displays email with html as a webpage allows them to associate all of their tracking cookies on that computer with the email addy the spam was sent to.



Level -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/19/2007 7:16:51 AM)

Sounds right, Ken. Doubleclick is one of them for sure, if I remember right.



farglebargle -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/19/2007 7:54:32 AM)

Firefox + Adblock lets you tell the computer to ignore the stuff from *.doubleclick.net, &tc.




DesertRat -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/19/2007 9:55:22 AM)

Some of the sites that really load on the spyware might surprise you. I read my news online, so every morning while drinking my coffee, I go to Weather Underground, NY Times, CNN, Alternet, Dilbert, and a couple more. When I'm finally awake enough to shower, I run AdAware. After every morning reading session, AdAware finds at least eight spyware cookies--most mornings it finds 12-18. If I cut my morning reading short and just go to NY Times and CNN, I'll still walk away with 6-8 spywares.

Sometimes I'll get a couple from collarme, sometimes, none at all.

Bob



DesertRat -> RE: Spyware and Malware (5/19/2007 10:05:27 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: farglebargle
Firefox + Adblock lets you tell the computer to ignore the stuff from *.doubleclick.net, &tc.


I've used Firefox but found it slow and unable to deal with some of the work-related database sites I need to access. I tried IE7 and liked it, but it also freaked out on those database sites. I'm getting good results with a fully updated IE6. It's fast, no popups, and AdAware and SpyBot take care of spyware/malware. That's what works for me.

Bob



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