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Spyware & Scumware: Part I

© Brian & Dee Hughes

In my four years of writing for Suite101 I have often quoted my wife, Dee, who, as most of you know, runs a couple of freeware websites, one of which is for young children. Every once in a while something really gets Dee up on her "soapbox" but, with my lack of hearing, I can usually ride it out. Not this time! This time she said "Internet Thieves-in-the-Night! read that lot!!" Well I can't duck reading &, having read what she'd written, I have to agree with her that we need to spread the word.
Brian

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Part I: Internet Thieves Are False "Friends"!!!!

Can you believe that anyone would knowingly or willingly install programs that are CAPABLE of doing ALL of the following & WILL do MOST of it!
Make your computer unstable
Regularly crash your browser.
Compromise your computer's security.
Alter or bypass your firewall settings.
Retrieve system, hardware & software information.
"See" every single webpage you visit. (including secure pages!)
Transmit unknown data back to an unidentified server.
Make changes to your browser.
Alter your browser preferences.
Be re-installed remotely without your knowledge.
DO continue to work without their host program running.
Continue to work after their host program is UNinstalled!
Are beyond the average user's ability to get rid of completely without expert help.

Do you really want this stuff on your system?!?!?!?
If you do it's FREE!!

Maybe you know what's happening on your computer. Maybe you installed KaZaA & chose to install it's add-on TopText. Or you installed Surf+ to help you find things easier on the web. Or you use Gator for keeping track of logins, passwords & filling in forms, & you accepted it's add-on Offer Companion. Or you installed a "free" program that's advertiser supported like the free version of the Opera browser or the download manager Go!Zilla.

But, to quote Steve Gibson... " Internet companies, whose apparent "business model" is the exploitation of consumer trust & ignorance, are sneaking their spyware systems into our machines for their own purposes."

The intention of these programs is to send back information about all the web pages you visit so that advertisers will pay for that information & "get to know you" to be able to show you "relevant" ads. With the latest refinements they also know when you are about to buy from, say Amazon, then they pop up an ad for their website & try to hijack you away!! They say what they're doing is not illegal & also that you consented to what they're doing by installing their program!