Adware

[sincereheart]

My computer passed all the security checks with flying colors! That is, until, Norton AntiVirus 2005!   It found some Adware... Problem taken care of. But creepy that nothing else found it! I double-checked (and more) and searched under the different names and ran a few more scans. Seems all clean now!  

This threat can be detected only by Symantec products that support expanded threats.

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/adware.hotbar.html

[2nd Timothy]

If you surf at any length you will always find more adware on your PC, even if nothing more than the annoying tracking cookies.   I would compare surfing+adware to bugs on the grill of your car from driving.       It comes with the territory...

Grace and Peace!

[Gracey]

Hotbar, huh?

Well, in the past Spybot Search & Destroy detected Hotbar stuff. Hotbar isn't new, unless of course it's a new "variant" of Hotbar...yep, went back and looked and of course it's an "updated" version. Don't know about this version, but you actually did have to download the old hotbar stuff....course, once it was there, just try getting rid of it  

If you use SS&D or Adaware and haven't updated them lately, you probably should.

[sincereheart]

I would compare surfing+adware to bugs on the grill of your car from driving.

LOL! I gotta get to those next!  

course, once it was there, just try getting rid of it  

So far I THINK I have!  

I know adware has been around awhile - but like everything out there it does have a dark side! And I know I'm a bit... ummmm.... paranoid   but I didn't like it on there!  
We don't use any of the IM's and I block most all cookies and I block even more Active X controls. If I can't get there without them, I move on!   There are a few exceptions, of course, like CU!  

[Gracey]

I would compare surfing+adware to bugs on the grill of your car from driving.

LOL! I gotta get to those next!  

course, once it was there, just try getting rid of it  

So far I THINK I have!  

I know adware has been around awhile - but like everything out there it does have a dark side! And I know I'm a bit... ummmm.... paranoid   but I didn't like it on there!  
We don't use any of the IM's and I block most all cookies and I block even more Active X controls. If I can't get there without them, I move on!   There are a few exceptions, of course, like CU!  

Yep, me too (cookies, that is). I also don't like anything on my computer that I didn't specifically put there....these days I'm pretty careful about what I download and research it thoroughly FIRST! Back in the days I tried to get rid of hotbar (that was my pre-it security days) I downloaded it along with some other program...didn't know any better. Now I do. Still....there are some things that are "bundled" into other programs that they don't tell you about and you don't know til after you download and install it....unless of course you've got something like a registry protector. I download less and less these days...even some of the stuff you pay for comes with garbage in it.

Gracey

[2nd Timothy]

I would compare surfing+adware to bugs on the grill of your car from driving.

LOL! I gotta get to those next!  

course, once it was there, just try getting rid of it  

So far I THINK I have!  

I know adware has been around awhile - but like everything out there it does have a dark side! And I know I'm a bit... ummmm.... paranoid   but I didn't like it on there!  
We don't use any of the IM's and I block most all cookies and I block even more Active X controls. If I can't get there without them, I move on!   There are a few exceptions, of course, like CU!  

I agree SH.  I didn't mean to sound like we should ignore it....lol   I guess what I meant was, dealing with it should thought of as maintenance rather than absolute.  

Grace and Peace!

[Ralf]

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
it's the best spyware killer out there

-Ralf

[Gracey]

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
it's the best spyware killer out there

-Ralf

I respectfully beg to differ Ralph  ; Adaware is fine for adware, and "some" spywares, but Spybot Search & Destroy is the best out there for killing/removing spyware (there's a definitive difference to "spyware" and "adware"). To my knowledge, there isn't any one single combined product out there that takes care of everything. Layering is the way to go.

I combine the best of "all worlds"....Adaware, Spybot, Spywareguard and SpywareBlaster, as well as IESpy-ad....and a few others, lol.  

Ya can never have too much protection today; ya just gotta know what works with what, and what clashes.

Gracey
peace!

[Ralf]

I respectfully beg to differ Ralph  ; Adaware is fine for adware, and "some" spywares, but Spybot Search & Destroy is the best out there for killing/removing spyware (there's a definitive difference to "spyware" and "adware"). To my knowledge, there isn't any one single combined product out there that takes care of everything. Layering is the way to go.

I combine the best of "all worlds"....Adaware, Spybot, Spywareguard and SpywareBlaster, as well as IESpy-ad....and a few others, lol.  

Ya can never have too much protection today; ya just gotta know what works with what, and what clashes.

Ad aware kills bots and spyware it's good. and if you buy it instead of using the free version it even works as a pop-up blocker

But I've found that a combination of AntiVir for virus scanner, Ad Muncher for pop-up blocker and ad remover for browsing, and ad aware for when I need to clean out the things I picked up that slipped through.

Hehe it even picked up when I had 007 Starr running. If you don't know what 007 Starr is it's a monitoring program that logs convo, keystrokes, takes screenshots of whats happening. useful if you are worried about other people using your computer ^_^'

Oh and another thing... it's Ralf not Ralph ^_^

-Ralf

[Gracey]

Uh, sorry, my fingers just automatically go to the correct spelling.... Ralf.

I know what 007 is. (I know a little about keyloggers, not a heck of a lot tho.) I myself have not had occasion to really use a keylogger, although I did try one. There's no one else here to use my computer, and even if they did....they wouldn't find much of interest.... , (only name they'll find in there anywhere is JaneDoe, or Gracey, no credit card numbers, no bank accounts, no current addresses, etc. Even have my software registered under another name.) but it helps to know a little about them when checking other's computers. (Hijack This is a nifty little thing for catching stuff too...but you have to know what you're looking at...although I suspect you might already know about this program.)

And I have paid ad-aware, also...not nearly as good as free spybot, imho. I have a ton of experience, rofl, having picked up enough "junk" in the past to bog down a super-computer. Took me a year to learn the security measures I know now, and a lot of practice....and trial and error, and, even some pretty good training came of it.

Everybody has their preferences....ad aware is good (in fact, it's great at what it does), but spybot is better for spyware AND FREE (means I can recommend it to people whose computers I end up fixing, without worry that it won't be "updated" regularly)....except, as far as i'm concerned, you really need both....what one misses, the other catches. If you put all your eggs in one basket, you'll end up with....scrambled eggs! (sorry, couldn't resist).

One of the most important things I learned....never rely entirely on one program (like an awful lot of peeps I know think if they've got Norton, that's all they need). I've seen my own antivirus (NOT Norton, or Macafee  ) disabled a few times by a trojan that slipped past my defenses. If I hadn't something else to find it with, I'd have been toast.

Anyhow....wasn't trying to put down adaware....I personally think it's a necessary part of every computer's defenses, i've just come to know that it's not enough by itself.

Cheers....  
Gracey

[Ralf]

007 Starr isn't actually only a keylogger... it's a monitoring program And despite the fact that I have a password on my account, only one account, an encrypted drive to put all my personal data on (chat logs and personal thoughts).
As for having to pay for ad aware... the only thing paying for it does I think is just a pop up blocker
and... as for security.. I generally run without a firewall at all and have ever only had 6 viruses on my computer in about a year and a half... 3 of those viruses I deliberately put on

heh as if you'd rely on norton

Oh and just fyi my name isn't ralf but it's better than another of my nicknames online and I hardly ever remember my real name

-Ralf

[2nd Timothy]

I generally run without a firewall at all and have ever only had 6 viruses on my computer in about a year and a half... 3 of those viruses I deliberately put on

 

[Ralf]

if you are wondering why I put those viruses on they were just different variations of the Eclair (sp?) virus. The eclair virus' only purpose is to set off all the virus scanners it can it's not a malicious one.. Well I only put on 2 variations of the eclair virus.. The other virus I put on there was windows

And the other couple viruses were sasser A and B variants and ms blast.. all of which I got from my ISP about 10minutes after I connected to them and left it idling -_- I wasn't happy

-Ralf

[InChrist]

Only 3 viruses in a year and a half?? 1 in 3 years was enough for me to be mad. Even though it was cought by my AV and deleted.

Like most I have a firewall. And glad to have it. I have had several high rated attacks in the last few years and without the firewall I would be in big trouble.

God bless the firewall.  

[Shammu]

Only 3 viruses in a year and a half?? 1 in 3 years was enough for me to be mad. Even though it was cought by my AV and deleted.

Like most I have a firewall. And glad to have it. I have had several high rated attacks in the last few years and without the firewall I would be in big trouble.

God bless the firewall.  

1 in 3 years? I have been on the net for, the past 5 years. So far I have had 1 in 5 years. That was last year, I use AVG 6.0 it caught it right off. I also use a Sygate firewall ver. 5.5. I use Ad-ware 6.0 it catches the other bad stuff. I don't use windows explorer, for my internet. I use Mozilla Firebird, which has a built in pop-up blocker. Guess what, its all free.