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October 28, 2005
Deceptive Internet Ads - Spyware
Beware net users: There are many pop-up ads and net sites offering you "100% free" services like a free virus scan, a free registry scan, one that was reported to me even had a free comprehensive medical evaluation with over 300 questions, but the hook is at the end of loading these scanning programs or filling out many pages of some questionaire the very last page has a little surprise. You can view the medical results or make the needed fix with the registry or software, but only if you pay and usually it's around $40 bucks. It's a gotcha ad!
Sometimes these companies will have placed an invasive spyware program in your computer for their marketing purposes, so even if you remove the orignal program, they still have you on their radar.
My suggestion is, be very suspicious of anything for "free" unless its from a trusted, certificated "shareware" site, even then I've found some problems.
Posted by Post Scripts at October 28, 2005 08:21 AM
Comments
Or you could switch from such a vulnerable OS to something more secure, such Mac OS X or Linux.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/
http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/
Posted by: Derek Curry at October 28, 2005 11:06 AM
Wondering if I could still run my programs that were designed for Windows XP?
Posted by: Jack Lee at October 28, 2005 01:38 PM
Maybe not, although with more trouble than it is probably worth, you can get many Windows programs to run under Linux using a program called WINE. You can also run an instance of Windows inside Linux or Mac OS X using an emulator, such as VMware or VirtualPC.
Rather than mess around with emulators or WINE, it is more likely there is available for Linux or Mac OS X a functionally equivalent program to whatever you are running on XP.
Switching to another platform won't be effortless, but I think it's worth it to avoid being such a malware target.
Posted by: Derek Curry at October 28, 2005 02:25 PM
Here is a spy ware product that comes free at first but the full version you must purchase. I have had this going with my XP and found it to be very effective. Cleaned up my computor and has kept it clean ever since. I have the full version that I purchased after trying the free version. WWW.spywarebegone.com
Posted by: Harold Ey at October 29, 2005 03:47 PM
"Spy-ware" is one of those words that has many meanings and many actions from cookies to key stroke readers. I have 2 or 3 anti-spy ware programs installed on my computer and have them set to update and scan automaticlly so they are not much of an issue for me. Spy-ware is something to be taken seriously and people should research what they dont understand until they have an understanding of what they are dealing with. I recommend PC World.com it is the free online version of PC World magazine. It will spell out in basic terms everything you need to know about spy-ware and anti-spy-ware programs. It will also give you a list of programs they have tested and reviewed from best to worst. They will also list them as free or buy only or trial. You can click on them and download what you need. I have Micro Soft's anti-spy ware, it works well. I also have Spy bot search and destroy, its free and works well it also always does well on the chart from best to worst. If your new to scanning for "SW" dont get too excited if your first scan shows tons of hits. Most will be cookies but some will be more than likely malicious in nature. You can also have a look at ZDnet.com they are a great place to find info on bugs and fixes.
Posted by: Toby Stahler at November 2, 2005 01:40 AM