Spyware Warrior

[suzi]

Edit by Suzi on June 28, 2004 - I removed the first post in this thread and locked it because the list was outdated. The updated list by Eric L. Howes (developer of IE-SPYAD), is below.

http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm
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Former Microsoft MVP 2005-2009, Consumer Security
Please do not PM or Email me for personal support. Post in the Forums instead and we will all learn.

[wawadave]

hello suzi good info.
have a nice day!
_________________
RFID tags! SPYWARE
Tired of proprietary Cor-pirationware?
http://www.openoffice.org/
Installing Vista http://tinyurl.com/2l9qyd

[nomorespyware]

Thanks Suzi! I would also like to add that the company BuySmarter at buysmarter.com manufactures various bogus programs such as InternetAntispy, S Scanner, ComputerShield, VirusGuard, and PopupGuard. If anyone sees a product with the BuySmarter label on it, do not use it! BuySmarter also extensively uses ZendMedia to market their products through hijacks.

nomorespyware

[suzi]

Thanks, Dave and nomorespyware. Let's keep the list updated as others are discovered.
_________________
Former Microsoft MVP 2005-2009, Consumer Security
Please do not PM or Email me for personal support. Post in the Forums instead and we will all learn.

[wawadave]

Spyware cures may cause more harm than good





By John Borland
CNET

Web surfers battling "spyware" face a new problem: so-called spyware-killing programs that install the same kind of unwanted advertising software they promise to erase.

Millions of computers have been hit in recent years by ads and PC-monitoring software that comes bundled with popular free downloads, notably music-swapping programs. The problem has attracted dozens of companies seeking to profit by promising to root out the offending software. But some software makers are exploiting the situation, critics allege, turning demand for antispyware software into a launch pad for new spyware attacks.

A small army of angry Web users has set up a network of websites where they post reports of antispyware programs said to prey on consumers by installing offending files. Some of these charges could get a hearing soon, as public-interest group The Center for Democracy & Technology plans to file complaints with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission against specific companies.

"If people feel as though their privacy has been violated by a company that claims to be protecting them, that clearly is an unfair and deceptive practice," said Ari Schwartz, an associate director of Washington-based CDT. "You would think that an antispyware company would hold itself up to the highest standards."

The boom in spyware, adware and other PC hijackers has led to increasing calls for regulation from lawmakers, including presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and from public-interest groups.

Many software makers have turned to advertising as a way to make money from consumers who are reluctant to purchase programs. The same approach has been taken by some antispyware companies, even though they promise that their products will root out unwanted advertising from others. But the failure of some to disclose their practices has raised the greatest outcry.

Like viruses, adware and spyware programs can sneak into a user's computer hard drive with little or no warning and can hide their tracks in ways that make it difficult for even the most sophisticated computer users to find and permanently delete.

As adware and spyware have spread, demand for applications that clean up infected hard drives has grown, drawing a large group of competitors eager to profit. More than 50 programs claiming to erase adware and spyware are available on-line, and many of these are offered as free downloads. Several major Internet service providers, including EarthLink and America On-line, have also moved to provide spyware-removal applications to their subscribers.

But as these programs proliferate, some software makers face mounting criticism that their products install the very things they promise to defend against. Some antispyware companies have pointed fingers at rivals and have added competing programs to their list of applications that contain adware or spyware. These lists are used to identify and sweep out offending software during antispyware scans.

One such tool facing allegations of abuse is SpyBan, an antispyware program that has been downloaded some 44,000 times in the last four months, according to Download.com, a software download site owned by CNET Networks. Download.com removed the software this week, noting that SpyBan had failed to disclose and explain all the software components included in its installation, a violation of the website's policies.

Numerous competing antispyware companies, including Spybot-Search & Destroy parent PepiMK Software and Sweden-based Kephyr.com, have identified SpyBan as a potential source of unwanted spyware — notably a program listed by many spyware cleaners as Look2Me. Download.com had also independently warned that Look2Me might be installed along with SpyBan.

"I classified SpyBan as a Trojan Horse, since it gives the impression that it will protect your privacy, but does the opposite — installs spyware," alleged Kephyr's Roger Karlsson in an e-mail interview.

A CNET test of SpyBan on Jan. 29 found that the software did remove some adware components but also confirmed that it led to the installation of a file that Spybot and security firm Symantec identified as Look2Me. Symantec lists Look2Me as a spyware application, while its rival PestPatrol defines the same application as an adware program.

"Look2Me is a spyware program that monitors visited websites and submits the logged information to a server," Symantec reports on its website. According to PestPatrol, Look2Me is categorized as "software that brings ads to your computer. Such ads may or may not be targeted."

Information and links on SpyBan's website disappeared late on Monday, following inquiries from a CNET reporter. An e-mail to a generic "info" address at the SpyBan website elicited an initial reply, but the company did not reply to questions about its software.

Prior to going dark, the SpyBan website contained no information about its corporate parent, and the domain name database — Whois — that typically contains contact information for companies contained none for SpyBan.

A Look2Me license agreement found on a cached Google Web page identified Minneapolis-based NicTech Networks as the software's "owners/authors."

A trace of SpyBan.net's Web domain name late on Tuesday showed that the site was hosted at the same Internet address as NicTech Networks. The SpyBan e-mail also originated from that IP address. Repeated calls to NicTech were not returned.

The effects of spyware and adware programs vary. Some spyware programs run quietly in the background, sometimes capturing what a computer user types or what websites are visited. Some of these applications, which are called keystroke loggers, are so potent that they can record user names and passwords for the most closely guarded websites, including on-line banks.

Far more common are "adware" programs, which can operate unseen in the background. These periodically pop up windows with advertisements, change a Web browser's home page, install unwanted search toolbars or add bookmarks to a browser. Many of these software programs track Web surfers' habits on-line and send the data to their parent companies.

Security experts say it is difficult to keep up with spyware programs, which constantly shift their way of working inside a computer to evade detection and which generally contain many times more programming instructions than an average virus. The confusion is underscored by differences in how security firms describe specific programs.

"I doubt anyone knows precisely what these things do, apart from the authors," PestPatrol researcher Roger Thompson said. "They are really complex. Viruses are easy compared to these things."

There is little doubt that millions of PCs have been infected with spyware and adware programs.

A recent unscientific EarthLink survey gives some indication of the spread of the problems. The company offered its subscribers a free on-line spyware-scanning tool, similar to an antivirus scan program. In the course of 426,500 scans, EarthLink found more than 2 million adware files installed and more than 9 million "adware cookies" — a type of cookie that tracks people's surfing habits.

A few independent antispyware companies, such as Lavasoft's Ad-Aware and Spybot, have been around long enough and have been used by enough people to have gained a reputation as safe.

For the most part, Net experts warn consumers simply to be careful, to make sure that they trust the source of any software they install on their computers and to contact authorities such as the Federal Trade Commission if they think that their privacy has been violated.

"My first advice, if you get spam advertising a piece of software: You should really think twice before downloading that program," the CDT's Mr. Schwartz said.




_________________
RFID tags! SPYWARE
Tired of proprietary Cor-pirationware?
http://www.openoffice.org/
Installing Vista http://tinyurl.com/2l9qyd

[carlieann]

Gr8 info,

[Cruzin]

Good info Suzi

A suggestion......Why not make a sticky or the like of, somewhere in your forum for easy reference to bad or poor anti-critter software. Before I download anything i always check the forums to see what others have to say. This could provide myself and others a quick reference on what not to download.

Keep up the good work all.
_________________
It's all star dust

[suzi]

[Nick]

Probably should add Spydeleter to the list. Since it's Spywiper junior, maybe list it like this: Spywiper/spydeleter
_________________
Nick's Security Ticker

[suzi]

[wawadave]

[muf]

Could you also add Pal Spyware Remover to the list now.

Thanks,
muf

[suzi]

muf, welcome to the forum.

Do you have a link to info about Pal Spyware Remover? It sounds familiar, but I need some info before adding it to the list.
_________________
Former Microsoft MVP 2005-2009, Consumer Security
Please do not PM or Email me for personal support. Post in the Forums instead and we will all learn.

[muf]

Thanks for the welcome suzi. Took my time but i got round to it in the end.

About this Pal Spyware Remover. Actually, the info was from your main site. First page a few items down as follows:

April 17, 2004
New Rogue - Pal Spyware Remover - Don't Try It!
Pal Spyware Remover - Review: Don't Try and You shouldn't buy!

Site: palsol.com

Just tested it and it is one that in order to clean the detections you need to pay the 29.95 USD. said by my forum member webhelper.

Review:

1. Doesn't scan registry
2. Doesn't scan inside of compressed files
3. Site is all ad hype without any real support.
4. Check for update stated it was the current version
5. Found 23 objects.
6. The program looks only for file names that are in its database.

More info here: http://spywarewarrior.com/viewtopic.php?t=1151

Posted by Suzi at 11:00 PM | Comments (0) New Spyware Warnings

Whoops!

[suzi]

No wonder it sounded familiar. Will add them shortly.
_________________
Former Microsoft MVP 2005-2009, Consumer Security
Please do not PM or Email me for personal support. Post in the Forums instead and we will all learn.

[wawadave]

hello
spyhunter the fake spyware removers company has now started selling fake fire walls
steer well clear of ENIGMA there scam ware!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.Enigmasoftwaregroup.com/products.shtml

p.s
that link to there site stay well clear of it unless well protected!
_________________
RFID tags! SPYWARE
Tired of proprietary Cor-pirationware?
http://www.openoffice.org/
Installing Vista http://tinyurl.com/2l9qyd

[CalamityKen]

Thanks for the info.

Enigmasoftwaregroup are in IE-SPYAD and hpHOSTS file.
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Install IE-SPYAD and SpywareBlaster updated regularly available in the following links .
How did I get infected? http://boards.cexx.org/viewtopic.php?t=957
Calendar Of Updates http://www.dozleng.com/updates/index.php?&act=calendar
member

[suzi]

[Nick]

That firewall is on download.com. So far, 100% thumbs up reviews for it including this one:

[wawadave]

you will probly find the thumbs up people are the scumware writes and his friends.

and pssss
i need my mice to work agian any ideas?
_________________
RFID tags! SPYWARE
Tired of proprietary Cor-pirationware?
http://www.openoffice.org/
Installing Vista http://tinyurl.com/2l9qyd

[wawadave]

heres a good link to follow up on the firewall
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,7962242~mode=flat?hilite=Enigma
_________________
RFID tags! SPYWARE
Tired of proprietary Cor-pirationware?
http://www.openoffice.org/
Installing Vista http://tinyurl.com/2l9qyd

[Nick]

Need to add Xoftspy per webhelper's investigation:

http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewtopic.php?t=1154
_________________
Nick's Security Ticker

[wawadave]

thx nick webhelpers real good at digging up the dirt on these people.
_________________
RFID tags! SPYWARE
Tired of proprietary Cor-pirationware?
http://www.openoffice.org/
Installing Vista http://tinyurl.com/2l9qyd

[suzi]

[spywaregladiator]

Can anyone tell if the following spyware removers are legitimate? Or should they go on this list?

1) Spyware BeGone by MicroSmarts Enterprise at hxxp://www.spywarebegone.com
This one perpetually finds 5 spyware files on my machine, and demands payment in order to remove them.

2) Spyware X-terminator by StompSoft at hxxp://www.stompsoft.com/
(This one claims to be powered by Pest Patrol. Did someone hack Pest Patrol and then add on bad spyware/extras?)

3) SpyBouncer by SRC Technologies at hxxp://www.stingware.com
This one found 100+ spware problems in my registry. I manually deleted them all, then a few days later it found another 100+ problems.

4) NoAdware at hxxp://www.noadware.net/

5) X-Cleaner from http://www.xblock.com

Thanks

[Nick]

The only one I know is good is the last one, Xblock. The others look suspect and the noadware one is already in IE Spyad's list, so I would stay far away from that one.

Will look into them more later, but I think they all look like crap except the Xblock one, which is a good one.
_________________
Nick's Security Ticker

[spywaregladiator]

Thanks Nick.

I also heard from another source that Xblock is legit so it sounds like you're right there.

One more thing...this may sound silly/dumb....but where is IE Spyad's list? Is that the list at the beginning of this thread (because that one doesn't list Noadaware)?

[Nick]

IE-SPYAD puts over 5000 sites in your restricted zone so you'll be protected when you visit innocent-looking sites that aren't actually innocent at all.
http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~ehowes/resource.htm#IESPYAD
_________________
Nick's Security Ticker

[spywaregladiator]

I found another bogus/rogue spyware remover list here:
http://pcpitstop.ibforums.com/axslinger/helpfiles/bogus.htm

So NoAdware, Spyware BeGone, and SpyBouncer are all on it as bad.

Perhaps this list should be combined with the one in this thread.

Only one I'm unsure of now is Spyware X-terminator, but it looks very much like the other rogues.

Thanks

[Mariner]

Oh, yeah, NoAdware definitely one for your list. Had a guy trying everything and then some to get rid of Hooks and pop-ups. This baby is right up there with the worst of 'em.

Dontcha just love those endorsements, l cracked up! Now, once more....with feeling

A salutory tale for you:

"I discovered my computer was infected with Spyware. I searched the net for a solution. First I tried SpyHunter and at first it seemed OK until I saw it disabling my Anti-Viurs program. I stopped the download immediately and my purchase did not go through. I then tried NoAdware. It seemed OK and I purchased it. An infected backup file downloaded with it and added to my problem. I then turned to an established and well known company, McAfee. It's software cleaned up the NoAdware problem, but it missed a few hidden files. Also my firewall kept fighting with it at every attempted update. Then I stumbled upon an excellent review of Webroot's Spy Sweeper. I purchased it and it met my needs. It cleaned everything up. It's running quite well and seems to be shielding everything. McAfee, Symantec and Webroot contacts on line were great and quite understanding in assisting me through this crisis.
Now the real problem. McAfee has refunded my purchase but NoAdware responded to my request for a refund in a very aggressive and threatening manner. They do not issue refunds. Their company name is hard to find and they don't understand customer satisfaction. This was quite the nightmare and frustrating waste of time for me because computer-whiz-I- am- not. All above anti-spyware software, except my Webroot Spy Sweeper has been uninstalled and deleted. I consider that returned. It's quite reasonable for someone who knows very little about computers to shop around for the suitable software. Relative to other software suppliers, the sellers of NoAdware and their product left me quite disappointed. They disputed the problem with their software, they refused to refund me for a product that simply did not do the job. They threatened and intimidated me out of seeking a refund reputable companies will grant."

Have the link, have all details. Note: The views expressed in the above extract are those of it's author and not of this or any other site or party. They are but the personal experience of the author re their dealings with the purveyors of so called anti-spyware products and programs. Period.

http://www.noadware.net/?hop=diginfo

Note no privacy policy, no EULA (that l could find) Rack it up!!

I'll gladly add more as and when l find them.

http://computercops.biz/

[Nick]

I added NoAdware to the list.

At some point, I hope to redo the list and make it easier to read and update and have some more info about the bad entries.
_________________
Nick's Security Ticker

[Nick]

Major update to the list in the first post.
_________________
Nick's Security Ticker

[wawadave]

thx nick!
_________________
RFID tags! SPYWARE
Tired of proprietary Cor-pirationware?
http://www.openoffice.org/
Installing Vista http://tinyurl.com/2l9qyd

[Cruzin]

Anyone have any ideas as to how this page can get linked to via the various search engines Would be nice to see it on the first page when someone searches for adware and spyware removal.

If this page or Suzi's blogg would get mega hits, would Suzie be prepared for denial of service attacks or such?. I think enigma would look like a big , old, fat spam cat compared to some of those insidious swines
_________________
It's all star dust

[wawadave]

Cruzin
to make it show up insearch engines you need to post the link in many forums blogs etc. like in your sig like i have gone for hear that way theres 1500 posts of mine that have spyware warrior forum in them. might be more now.
and than do many searches for the link you want in as many diferant searches and search engines as you can. i have not done that for here as susi said page ranking for here was top five if it drops i will tweak the searches again.
_________________
RFID tags! SPYWARE
Tired of proprietary Cor-pirationware?
http://www.openoffice.org/
Installing Vista http://tinyurl.com/2l9qyd

[Mariner]

Don't see SpyWare Eliminator on your list. It does not work -as per their claims, they use scare tactics to encourage you to buy and, it can damage your system.

I have run through their FAQ's and if anything goes wrong, it's your fault or, that of your PC, never their's.

Just try going through the motions of making a purchase; back out, then see by how much they are prepared to knock off the price to get you to buy there and then.

Then, factor in their affiliate program and take a look at what an affiliate makes per sale. Could rant on but....it's all been done elsewhere.

[Nick]