Spyware and Me

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2003-09-26 01:48pm

I have noticed that lately the spyware folks are getting more and more insideous. I use my laptop mostly for browsing, and lately it seems to be INFESTED with spyware.

Everytime I run a program like Spybot or Ad-aware, the programs seem to come back. Cleaning house in the Add/Remove Programs hasn't helped either. To make matters worse, this isn't just random popups but IE homepage mods, Desktop shortcuts for casinos, the works. Seriously, I feel like I've been violated here.

It isn't so much the spyware itself that bothers me but the fact that this is being forced on me despite the fact that it is obvious to these marketers that I want to remove it. That makes them even more despicable then the telemarketing fiends; really, is there anything lower than an internet spammer who take control of your PC?

Now I have to wipe my PC, and I can't even keep most of my files since one obviously has some kind of sleeper program on it that is causing this. FUCK!

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2003-09-26 02:00pm

Start by getting rid of IE.

Homepage-hijackers have a hell of a lot more trouble with less stupid browsers.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2003-09-26 02:23pm

www.tomcoyote.org/hjt Hit this.

then www.mozilla.org

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2003-09-26 02:28pm

I think this time I'll just kill the XP installation since the factory sent it totally detuned anyways. But I think I will load up a third-party browser to make my life a little easier and give Microsoft the finger while I'm at it. Is Mozilla the best for XP? How about Opera?

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-09-26 03:05pm

I hardly ever get spyware. I use IE and run Spybot every so often, but I pretty much only get cookies that I then clear out.

I tried Mozilla for a few hours, but I didn't like it. Too much like Netscape, and I hated Netscape...

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-09-26 03:21pm

I'm running Firebird 0.61 at the moment, which is essentially a lightweight Mozilla.

greenmm · Post by **greenmm** » 2003-09-26 04:11pm

It all depends on where you go.

Me, I play online at Swirve.com, and it seems like every third to 5th ad tries to ad spyware to my computer.

I really hate PADS by n-Case, though. Not only does it automatically install itself on your computer without asking you for permission, but you have to:
-- be connected to the computer to use the Add/Remove Programs option to uninstall it
-- download a separate uninstall program from their website
-- still be connected to the Internet to run the uninstall program, even if it's running from your HD