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Is there any way for this site to filter out the Spyware contained in some of the links posted by members? Or could we ask members to test a site for Spyware before posting it? I have picked up a bad case of Hijacking from somebody's link.
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Perhaps you could spell out the instructions on how to check so folks could apply their own prophylactic?
Also, maybe let us know the problem link so that it can be fixed/avoided/locked off, and anyone who followed it will know to run their own diagnostics?
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Hi jacking doesn't even really exist if you don't use IE, I use Opera (the best damn browser on the planet) and I have never had that problem, it's also alot more secure in tons of other ways (#1 of which is that it isn't made by microsoft)Comment
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Food for thought
Eric, Ihd not heard of Opra until now. Will check it out.
Lynneski, I can't pinpoint the exact link, as I ran several in the same session. But it was immediately after that I started having problems. Maybe somebody's website I surfed to, or one of Martin's insanities? I'm not blaming them, , just surmising.
Yahoo has a new Anti-spy tool which can be added to the Yahoo toolbar. I have installed it and hope it will cover me from now on. The hijacker I found is called HuntBar, and it slipped past my P-Cillin software no trouble It is. according to various sources, a hard one to completely eradicate.
My point is that it seems more reasonable for the sender to scan for problems, rather than everybody else having to do it.Last edited by worldwidese; Sep-23-2004, 04:27 AM.Comment
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“Beware of spyware. If you can, use the Firefox browser.” -_USA_Today
Your browser needs changing. Doesnt matter what you choose, getting rid of Internet explorer, is two thirds your problem solved.Last edited by martin ewen; Sep-23-2004, 08:47 AM.Comment
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Could someone please explain what this thing called "spyware" is?
Is this something I'd have to have a PC to understand?
I use Safari on Mac OS X.3. I've never heard of spyware. Can something actually invade your computer through a browser? Yikes.
Jim
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Jim, how lucky to use a Mac!
Here is a link, (hopefully Spyware free!LOL) which will give you an insight into the perils we poor PC owners have to deal with. Damn Microsoft!
Quote"Spyware apps are usually bundled as a hidden component in mis-labeled "freeware" and shareware applications downloaded from the Internet." End Quote.
Not true in my present case. I am careful NOT to download "Freeware" after having had a bad experience with "Precision Time" on my other computer, also a PC.
Last edited by worldwidese; Sep-23-2004, 01:38 PM.Comment
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Spyware is a program that that watches internet usage in order to figure out what you buy, so that it can send you targeted spam, I'm pretty sure that spyware CAN exist for mac's now, but it still isn't as prevalent. Hijacking is code on a website, or a spyware program, that replaces your IE homepage, so that when you open IE, you get barraged with a bunch of porno (usually), hijacking, like I said, does not exist if you don't use IE.
BTW: Don't knock freeware/shareware, some of the best stuff out there is freeware, just scan for spyware, cuz it comes with alot of stuff besides freeware (IE is inherantly spyware, so is AOL), and use a firewall.Last edited by Doctor Eric; Sep-23-2004, 02:18 PM.Comment
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PC anti-spyware free or demo enough to use to troubleshoot
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Macworld UK of April 2005 points out that Spyware is not an issue of concern for Macintosh users.
Well that's one less thing for me and Jim to worry about.
RexComment
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MacWorld
I'm not sure you should trust them- they're a bit biased!. I think that now that now that Spyware has pretty well been conquered for PC users, it will start popping up on Macs.Comment
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not over, read article
now that Spyware has pretty well been conquered for PC users
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Yes of course the magazine is biased towards Mac users, but you should understand that the article was written about all kinds of internet security measures that you should consider for your macintosh and the things you might want to buy to take care of them. In other words they have an interest in telling you to buy software in order to please the software manufacturers who advertise in the magazine. Firewall and virus software are recommended along with advertisements for those products, but there is no CURRENT need for mac users to worry about spyware.
As you point out, who knows what malicious things people might come up with in the future, but you should also consider the fact that there are extremely few instances of Mac related viruses. And many of those are aimed at users of Microsoft Office for Mac.
The short answer is still that Mac users have little to worry about in terms of security in comparison to PC users.
RexComment
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why
Hey Martin, why did you post a link to register with Fairfax digital?
I have a distinct feeling I'm missing something here.Comment
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%^(##@$
Sorry gav (and others) I must have a cookie from them that gets me straight through.
If you get one of those 'register here' pages, copy the url and paste it into the slot here
If it doesn't work the first time, go back to the bugmenot page and click 'It didn't work' and they'll give you another name and password.
It asked me for reg when i clicked to and took 2 attempts before I got it.
Hassle huh.
heres the copy. but only part as I don't want to get jim into trouble with fairfax.
A study by the German Honeynet Project estimates that over a million internet-connected computers, the majority of which are running Windows XP and Windows 2000, are infected with bots and can be harnessed by crackers to launch attacks.
The group said that once an attacker had compromised a machine, he or she normally installed an IRC (internet relay chat) bot - also called a zombie or drone - on it. IRC is a means of real-time communication over the net, either one to one or in forums called channels.
The Honeynet Project is a non-profit research body of security professionals dedicated to information security. The name derives from the fact that they use computers called honeypots to attract attackers; data is then collected and analysed.
The compromised machines form a botnet which can be remotely controlled; each botnet consists of tens of thousands of machines and can thus pose serious threats, the researchers said.
Given that huge number of people have broadband connections, even a botnet of 1000 PCs would yield considerable bandwidth and also, due to IP distribution, make filtering by those under attack very difficult, the study said.
An analysis of the traffic captured showed that most of it targeted ports used for sharing resources on machines running all versions of Windows:
Port 445/TCP (Microsoft-DS Service) used for resource sharing on machines running Windows 2000, XP, or 2003, and other CIFS based connections. For example, it is used to connect to file shares.
Port 139/TCP (NetBIOS Session Service) is used for resource sharing on machines running Windows 9x, ME and NT. This port is also used to connect to file shares.
Port 137/UDP (NetBIOS Name Service) is used by computers running Windows to find out information about networking features offered by another computer. Information retrieved can include system name, name of file shares, and more.
Port 135/TCP is used by Microsoft to implement Remote Procedure Call (RPC) services. An RPC service allows a program running on one host to cause code to be executed on another host without the programmer needing to explicitly code for this.
The researchers found that traffic on these four ports amounted to more than 80 percent of the total traffic they captured. Using tools like nmap, Xprobe2 and p0f, they found that most of the affected machines were running Windows XP and Windows 2000, Systems running Windows Server 2003 and other versions of Windows followed, far behind.
They said that the botnets could be used to launch all kinds of comon attacks - distributed denials of service, spamming, sniffing traffic, keylogging, spreading new malware, Google AdSense abuse, attacking IRC networks, manipulating online games or polls and mass ID theft.
They said they had tracked over 100 botnets during the last four months, some of which had died. During this period, they said 226,185 unique IP address had joined at least one of the channels they tracked.
The botnets they tracked ranged in size from a few hundred PCs to one with up to 50,000 compromised machines.Comment
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