Computer geeks!! :o)

[ruck'n'reefer]

Thanx you for the responses. I uninstaled all spyware detection software, my antivirus and firewall. Then reinstalled my anti virus and firewall. It seems to be working again. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I hate having to mess around with my computer!!! I could be sticking my hands in my tank!!!

[Quinn]

Stop using Kazaa and surfing crappy pr0n sites and you won't have the spyware problems.

[ruck'n'reefer]

well i don't have kazza, so... I guess we figured my problem, well my computer problem any way.

[Samw]

Originally Posted by teevee

Stop using Kazaa and surfing crappy pr0n sites and you won't have the spyware problems.

I use Lavasoft Ad-aware for spyware removal.

Oh and I also block off all 3rd party cookies

http://www.spywareinfo.com/articles/cookies/

Not sure if there is any benefit to having 3rd party cookies enabled at all.

[LostMind]

if you want to avoid spyware and adware, forget about email and stop surfing the net basically

Its not just pr0n sites... humour sites, gaming sites, help sites... you name it, they got garbage waiting for your pc.

I love the net.

Take SamW's advice and install ad-aware. Its free. And decent.

[Quinn]

I very politely disagree. I am running WinXP build 2600 and have not patched, ever. I do not have any spyware detection applications or anti-viral software. As far as I know, I do not have any spyware, and it's been well over a year since I last reformatted. I do not have any problems other than one relating to my video card. I feel that this is simply due to smart surfing. However I am on dialup at home and this may be a factor.

At my previous employer, we had a seven computer network on DSL with only Norton Antivirus running. We never had problems with spyware and trust me, I spent a lot of time surfing the net. This was a Win2k/Win98 network, however.

Everytime I talk to someone who has problems with spyware, they either are using freeware like Comet cursor (which may or may not contain spyware, I don't really know), downloading a lot of "free" screensavers, using Kazaa or similar bloated file-sharing applications, or browing a lot of warez or porn sites that they find on Google by typing in "hot girls" or something similar. I get this a lot at my current employer.

This is not valid research but I think my anecdotal evidence disputes yours significantly. I would of course be very interested in knowing more precisely the true source of spyware for the average computer user.

[Samw]

Originally Posted by teevee

I do not have any spyware detection applications or anti-viral software. As far as I know, I do not have any spyware, and it's been well over a year since I last reformatted.

You'd be surprised. If you don't have spyware detection software, then you don't really know that your computer is spyware-free.

Anyone that has cookies enabled probably has spyware on their computer, as spyware can also come in the form of a cookie.

http://www.pestpatrol.com/Support/Ab...re_Cookies.asp

"A "Spyware cookie" is any cookie that is not used only by a single site for its private interactions with its users, but is shared across sites. When multiple sites read from the same cookie, or when they pass info from the cookie on to another site, those sites effectively share information. "

"A newly discovered flaw in the way that Internet Explorer handles Web site cookies could enable an attacker to view and edit a user's personal data contained in the cookies. The vulnerability affects all versions of IE. "


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware

"Nevertheless, to the extent that a Web site uses a cookie identifier to build a profile about the user, who does not know what information is added to this profile, the cookie mechanism could be considered a form of spyware."


Run Ad-Aware. I can almost guarantee it'll find 10's or 100's of spyware on your computer. Most spyware are harmless. But I bet you have them and didn't know it.

[Samw]

Oh yeah. And I don't think Spyware is the reason why ruck'n'reefer couldn't maintain his password. I was just going off-topic with the Spyware forked thread.

[Quinn]

You're right, I can't prove a negative. You can also fault me for thinking of spyware in the wrong context. I have absolutely no doubt I have hordes of cookies on my computer, potentially recording my every click. However, as of yet, they haven't caused me any grief. When I think of spyware, I generally think of those nagging omnipresent popups, the programs on your Add/Remove list that you've never heard of, and the processes constantly running in the background with names like "web22828" or "fjs1799". I suppose this is a combination of rather obvious spyware and adware. When I saw the thread veering off onto the spyware topic, this is immediately what came to mind, and is what my rant pertains to.

[Quinn]

Alright... the pie is on my face. I just checked my program list and I had something called "girlshost" on it. Norton says it's some kind of porn launcher. Upon trying to uninstall, Windows said it was already gone so I removed the icon from the programs list. Checked the registry and there's nothing listed for it... dunno what it is/was doing there. Anyways I guess I'm not invincible after all.