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hi all there
well it's a matter of laugh so lol but i wan to know what are spyware's and adware and how there infections could be disastrous, are they differ from virus infections,
i m asking it because i have read alot about new spywares, people geting into trouble, etc, never have come to know what are spywares or may be i never got struk with one allthough some of my friends do got hit by them but all i got from them is "help me i got it and need a remover".
Lokeshdb_ms
OK
1. Spyware.................as the name implies, it spies on you and collects computer usage information. Mostly this is for dubious "market research" purposes, but could also be used to target you for SPAM or even collect personal information, passwords, credit card details and so on.
2. Adware.............this is used to "serve" adverts to you as pop-ups or whatever. It also has the nasty habit of hijacking your browser start page or re-directing you to sites it wishes to advertise.
3. Diallers..............you forgot those ;) these attempt to connect you to premium rate sites (usually pornographic) so you end up with an enormous telephone bill. The perpertrators get a slice of the action from the telephone companies. I class these separately, as they neither spy nor advertise..........they just steal :mad:
Hope that helps
yep
thaks a lot nihil
is it illegal to use spyware's.....
ok
if spyware's can collect our some personal information can they also prevent us from using certain featues of windows becose one of my friends got stuck up with one and he cannot use internet can not launch yahoo messenger,etc he had use panda spyware remover,
so is he got stuck with a spyware or a virus.
are porn sites illegal?Quote:
Originally posted here by lokeshdb_ms
yep
thaks a lot nihil
is it illegal to use spyware's.....
ok
if spyware's can collect our some personal information can they also prevent us from using certain featues of windows becose one of my friends got stuck up with one and he cannot use internet can not launch yahoo messenger,etc he had use panda spyware remover,
so is he got stuck with a spyware or a virus.
is hacking someone's email address illegal?
is hacking someone's computer illegal?
is stealing & using someone's credit card information illegal?
Depends on your local law.
In some of the countries law doesn't say a word about spyware(at some places law doesn't even recognise credit card theft and misuse as a crime there is no definition and preventions for this crime).....shocked ?
Don't be these are facts.
OK
1. Spyware can be used for identity theft, credit card fraud and the like.
2. Diallers run up your telephone bill, and steal your money that way
3. Adware is just a nuisance and an annoyance
Now,
None of this stuff is tested in all the environments it invades. It is not aware of other applications running, or other versions of its own type.
This can cause conflicts, deadly embraces or a massive degredation of system performance, due to the amount of resources being used.
The law is pretty unclear and/or inconsistent throught the World but such activities are illegal in the EU and in the USA (I believe) the problem is that most of the perpertrators operate "offshore" and are difficult to trace/catch anyway.
A lot of recent versions will alter system settings and disable running applications like firewalls etc. This leaves the victim vulnerable to all sorts of other attacks.
I hope that legislation will catch up with reality, but as usual I am afraid that it is the tortoise chasing the hare :(
Spyware and Adware....
Very nice to know what they operate and most importantly "how"?
"Prevention is Better than cure" Right?
Everyone of us string Google looking for some cool programs and applications {Without generalization}, I guess most free programs do this. Actually, these innocent looking programs mostly include Spyware and Adware, which installes itself whithout your authorization. It can get installed through ActiveX controls as well.
As nihil stated it can be used in many ways to monitor your online behaviour and gain access to your personal information, including Credit Card number rapiding the identity theft.
P2P aplications also playes a key role in spreading these kinds of applications.
Why Adware...
IMHO, companies created this kind of programs in order to hijack users web browser and redirect them to the desired product of Ad. We all know that the rate of TV is going downhill as the internet is becoming popular more and more. Another fact that today you can create your own ad-free TV station or radio station. So this kind of applications is becoming a more reliable for those "Intrusive" marketing agencies... This does not imply that I justify thier acts, nope. Users must be fully aware of what is going to happen. There is pleanty of ways to call people to watch ads, like Viral Marketing "like Send this page to a friend" Or "Invite ot tell a friend about us". Google and AO are a very nice example....
Here is quote might be of useful
Click Here to find moreQuote:
Here is a brief breakdown of what some of these newer adware/spyware programs can do once they are installed on your computer: In addition to doing a detailed check of your browser history, they install a wide assortment of DLLs and other executables files, they send a continuous data stream to the parent marketing company out from your computer and leave a backdoor open for hackers to either intercept your personal data or enter your computer, they can install other programs directly on to your computer without your knowledge, they can send and receive cookies to other adware/spyware programs and invite them into your computer (even if you have cookies disabled), and they can add Trojan horses into your system which perform a wide range of "mischief"on a users system including changing your home page and downloading unwanted images and information.
Many spyware and adware programs are fully independent executable files which are self sufficient programs which take on the authorization abilities of the user, they include auto install and auto update capabilities and can report on any attempts to remove or modify them. These programs can hijack your homepage, reset your browser favoirtes, reset your auto signature, disable or bypass your uninstall features, monitor your keystrokes on or off line, scan files on your drive, access your word processor, e-mail and chat programs, change homepages inaddition to displaying advertising content on or off line. Many of these spyware programs can read, write and delete files and in some instances sometime even reformat your hard drive and they do this while sending a steady stream of information back to the advertising and marketing companies.
if so much a spyware or an adware can do then wat's the difference remains between a virus and them.
then how could you define a virus. what left for a virus if a spyware can make backdoors for hacker, can play with computer settings & can manipulate them, ....... auto executable........can block access to certain points or network......get auto update ........etc,
so
if a spyware is capable of doing all most every b*** **** (sorry for that).why do we still call them as spywares and not as viruses becose as said by "black custer" they do come as attachment with an program and do not need any authentication to get into system.
To prevent and remove spyware, adware and dialers, download and install the following, they are great at removing and some at preventing. :)
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html < this one prevents them from being installed in your web browsers.
http://www.download.com/3000-2094-10...ml?legacy=cnet < this one removes them...
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/ < this one also removes them
The best of all, all of them are free of use :) /* With no adware included */ lol
just to make a slight correction - in the UK at least the telephone companies (eg BT) are simply relaying a charge for premium rate numbers. The actual call charge is set by the premium rate profider which is governed by a different body than the normal telelcommunications industries (they are governed by Ofcom and premium rate lines are governed by Icstis)Quote:
he perpertrators get a slice of the action from the telephone companies.
From working in the telephone industry have came across many people who think it is the phone supplier who is charging them for Premium Rate calls (hence why they would callup the likes of BT to discuss premium rate call charges even tho they could do nothing about them) when in actual fact the company you should contact if you ahve any disputes is Icstis.
v_Ln
lokeshdb_ms,
Most probably, to efficiently identify threats and what they are capable of, these categories have been implemented to also help in speeding up the process of at least introduce to users how to prevent it or help in explaining things so that we would understand it more.Quote:
if a spyware is capable of doing all most every b*** **** (sorry for that).why do we still call them as spywares and not as viruses
If you could take a look back at Computer History, you would have heard Viruses, Trojans, Worms, Spywares, Adwares, Keyloggers, Dialers, etc. New b*** **** comes up and should be categorized for the purpose of us understanding it clearly and easily.
Yo!
lokeshdb_ms
Strictly speaking a "virus" has to "infect"....... it spreads by attaching or inserting itself into the Master Boot Record or an executable, or even by embedding its executable body into an apparently non-executable object.
No criticisms folks..............I just tried to compress maybe 30 pages into 3 lines :D
In general, I suggest you look on all bad stuff as "malware"............the damage is different, the methodologies are different.............but you don't want them on your box? and you need different tools to deal with them.
Cheers
EDIT: sorry val~ I forgot to respond, you are quite correct for the UK, I was being much more general...........most people would not understand the difference between those who "charge" them and those who "bill" them. I was saying that the TELCOS do the "billing".........just like a bank will handle a direct debit, fraudulent or otherwise?
thanx pals for such great replies,
it help me a lot to get rid , of my confusions.
and nihil i will keep that into my mind.
/*the damage is different, the methodologies are different.............but you don't want them on your box? and you need different tools to deal with them.*/
in a nutshell:
spyware=bad
^_^
originaly ...
Ad-ware - was the software that distributed advertising banners to a users PC
Spy-Ware - was the software that relayed the users browsing habits to some advertising Co.
Trojan Horse - Was a program promoted one function but delivered a lot more. These are normaly associated with Remote control software, keyloggers.
Virus - Was a program that had a primary purpose of spreading from machine to machine. that is to replicate.. the pay load varied from a simple hello message to destruction of the users system.
Worm - A malware program that propagates with out the users intervention
RAT or Root Kit - see Trojan horse
Keylogger - see trojan horse
HiJacker - Part of the current blight, this software will HiJack various aspect of your PC, from Browser Home page, to your Shell/Gui
Parasite - What some of us refer to the spyware/adware of old and the easy to remove shite of today.
Malware - the reference we use for all software that results in undesirable operation (over and above those inherient in the operating system) of the users PC
Dialerware - the stuff that installs the dialers
Now:
What we are removing from peoples machines isn't plain spyware, it isnt plain adware .. it is Malware at it finest.. it is a combination of poorly tested software, malware of the virus and trojan variety, throw in some stealth technology, the ability to render useless the protection that users place in their machines to protect from the "true" virus's to allow the resident malware to install the rest of it's package..
I propose a new name for this damageware.. I would love to call it ****ware, crapware, or screwedWare.. but may of us will be useing it when talking to friends and relitives..
Bugware? nah too microsoft
MolasisWare.. to discribe how well the data flows after infection
JesusWare - All you can do now is pray
NukeWare - sometimes the best way to remove it
CrashWare - too Windows 2.2
SeltBeltWare - it is a rough ride..better strap in
AlienWare - in cyberspace no one can hear you scream (not to good with a PC manufacturer of same name)
UFOWare - Unidentified ****ing Objectionable Code (or Universally FO)..
CondomWare - what could be the thin last line of defence.. or ya better ware one(could also refer to where this **** started from)
hmm I add to my list
Dumbware - to describe the end user of the software - the authors rely on the dumb
Scumware - supplied by Scum
RapeWare - It screws the computer and the user into submission, and now is doing the same with the Law by sueing the Anti-spyware co's
Allow me to be frank...
/nick Frank
Okay, to me, Spyware is any software installed when I want to view a website, a movie, anything. It is software that I dont want, that you wanna give me because you will make money or some sort of monitary gain from it being on my PC. Idownload is guilty, because I dont want their stupid search bar that causes 800 popups when i use it. Spyware pisses me off beyond all things past. Spyware is worse than Spam.