The Adware Conspiracy.

Accidently downloaded adware/spyware and found you homepage hijacked by someone offering to sell you a solution ?

Me too.

I know there are solutions including browser change but I'm a lazy skinflint and why should I be held hostage by these criminals ?

Who are these people ?

Do they have respectable business fronts for selling adware/spyware or anti-virus solutions ?

If they do and they take advantage of this criminal activity to sell their solutions shouldn't they be named and shamed ?

The last thing I'd ever do would be to pay for and download anti-adware from someone who'd infected my computer.

Adware is an increasing problem and those offering the solutions are in the main those causing the problem.

If your computer gets infected with adware find out which companies are advertising on the pop-ups or on your hijacked homepage and post the info here.

Together we can investigate these companies and if they find out that they are financing criminal activity perhaps they might withdraw their support and if they don't then they can go on our wall of shame for companies we suggest members and visitors should never under any circumstances buy anything from.

[edit on 5-6-2005 by John bull 1]

Well if you try emailing lavasoft who amde a great adaware removal tool they can probably give you a list of sites etc. Also Symantec have a online database with virus threats etc. and I think they might have alot more information on them.

Here's some ways to beat adware:

1. DO NOT use Internet Explorer. Use Mozilla, Firefox, or Opera instead.

2. Whenever you download software from the Internet, READ THE LICENSE AGREEMENT when you install it. Don't just click 'I accept' and continue. If a program includes adware it will mention in the license agreement that by installing this software you allow the installation of third party software onto your computer. When I see a statement like that I cancel the installation, delete the program, and find an adware-free substitute for the software.

3. Download Spybot- Search and Destroy. Take a few minutes to figure out how to run the 'Tea Timer' and do it. The Tea Timer on spybot will run in the background and notify you whenever any adware or spyware is installed and prevent the installation. I also schedule Spybot to do a full system scan at 3am and Norton Anti Virus to do a full scan at 4am.

4. Download Adaware and run it at least once a week. Adaware seems to get stuff that Spybot misses and vice versa.

5. Find an old copy of AdSubtract. AdSubtract configures an http proxy for your internet connection back to the AdSubtract database, which holds thousands of advertising sites. It strips the ads out of the web pages you veiw and the adware you run. The older versions of AdSubtract were free, the new ones cost money, but the old ones are still supported and still get updates.

6. Go to Mikes Ad Blocking Hosts File and download his installer. This will append to you windows host file a list of thousands of internet ad sites and put 127.0.0.1 (your local machine) as the IP address for them. When your browser downloads a page with an off-site add in it, it will check your host file before it goes to DNS. Since the ad server is in the host file with 127.0.0.1 as the IP address your browser will query you local machine for the ad. It won't find it off course, so it will skip the ad and keep drawing the page.

Between AdSubtract and Mike Skalla's ad blocking host file, I very, very rarely see an add when I surf the internet. I can't stand getting on line at work or at a friends house and seeing all those blinking ads. It drives me nuts. I don't know how you people put up with it. An added benefit to using these two programs is that web pages load much faster. There is nothing worse than being on dialup and waiting for a large flash advertisiment to download.

I've been a part-time "white hat" spam hunter for about... glah... 8 years and we've seen adware problems grow more severe duirng this time. I use IE (used others, like IE much better) but I cruise with a lot of security and I don't permit downloads (cruise with moderately high security.

I still get a lot of tracking cookies from sites, but those are easy to blow off.

And if a site says you need some sort of software to view it/use it, DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE SOFTWARE! Go somewhere else.


...and it's all in the name of marketing.

[edit on 5-6-2005 by Byrd]

Originally posted by Byrd
I've been a part-time "white hat" spam hunter for about... glah... 8 years and we've seen adware problems grow more severe duirng this time. I use IE (used others, like IE much better) but I cruise with a lot of security and I don't permit downloads (cruise with moderately high security.

I still get a lot of tracking cookies from sites, but those are easy to blow off.

And if a site says you need some sort of software to view it/use it, DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE SOFTWARE! Go somewhere else.


...and it's all in the name of marketing.

[edit on 5-6-2005 by Byrd]

where in spybot is the tea timer cause I did a quick check in the index and didn't see it. Haven't heard of that on there before now.

A guy I know is trying to set up a site to handle Viruses and Adware
No front page yet, and the BB is just getting started it is Here maybe you will find what you need there...

(Not intended as a site plug - just as an up and comming resource)

Yes, I understand the original proposition.
I had a blank page hijacker that appeared to originate from the start up that assiged itself a randomised letter, so that if you deleted the start up URL it generated a new letter and replaced itself. A trojan kept replacing itself as a follow-up The content was all anti-virus, hack. hijack material
Adware Away could never wipe out the code involved. The Properties linked to a Russian site. At the time I had an anti-virus program that had some links to Russia and an anti-hacker link to that place also
I only resolved the problem by restoring to factory-state
Avoid Russian-based protection would be my advice

I have always thought that writing and distributing software that installs itself or any other programs without the express consent of the PC owner/operator should be punishable by death!

I hate adware/spyware. I had some malicious spyware install itself on my computer about a year ago. I ran Nortons, Adaware and spybot, but none of them could catch it. It finally caused my hard drive to basically eat itself.

I had a friend who's a computer wiz try to get my artwork, etc. off of the old hard drive, but every file on it was corrupted. I back up everything now and run nortons and spy sweeper weekly.

My original thinking was this.

There may be respectable companies paying these SOBs to advertise their anti-adware or anti-virus.

IF YOU YOU FIND THAT ADWARE IS ON YOUR COMP CHECK TO SEE WHICH COMPANIES ARE ADVERTISED TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION

If it's a respectable company then we can complain en-mass and try and put pressure on them to change this form of advertising.

Don't check who's given it to you. Check who they are promoting.

named and shamed... i can do that! i kept getting directed to a site called puresight. i installed sybot, but that was corupted as well (!) after long phone calls, my internet imploded on itself. i would not wish this HELL on my worst enemy. i had to reinsall windows... has never been right again...

This place ?

www.puresight.com...

Originally posted by John bull 1
This place ?

www.puresight.com...

yes.

I'll contact them and ask them for a statement about the allegation that they financially support ppl that deliberately infect computers with adware. If not I'll write a story for our Google friendly ATSNN exposing them.

Any details you can give would be good.

Contact Us

Corporate Headquarters
300 Ave. Palmeras
San Clemente, CA
92672
USA
Tel: 949-498-3236
Fax: 949-498-5247

North American Sales Office
300 Ave. Palmeras
San Clemente, CA
92672
USA
Tel: 949-498-3236
Fax: 949-498-5247
Email: [email protected]

International Sales Office
16 Basel St. P.O.B 4145
Petah Tikva 49130
Israel
Tel: +972-3-928-0400
Fax: +972-3-921-7594
Email: [email protected]

R&D Center
16 Basel St. P.O.B 4145
Petah Tikva 49130
Israel
Tel: +972-3-928-0400
Fax: +972-3-921-7594


Technical Support
Email: [email protected]

General Inquiries
Email: [email protected]

Press Inquiries
Email: [email protected]

Originally posted by blue_sky_9
i installed sybot, but that was corupted as well

Can you elaborate on that please?

Sounds as if you are saying Spybot IS an adware?

Hopefully it's just stated wrong or I am reading it wrong, as I am fully aware of the countless crapwares that will render a newly installed anti-ware as being useless.

Misfit

Originally posted by John bull 1
Accidently downloaded adware/spyware and found you homepage hijacked by someone offering to sell you a solution ?

that's just one possibility

'they' might get paid by hijacking your homepage & sending you to that there, new, porn site or whatever.....the new homepage site will just deny any involvement, saying it was just pranksters!

'they' might put trojans out there to commandeer your computer to become part of 'their' network of spam generating computers.
therefore, imo, all spam website-destinations should be assessed a fee
because like 'litter' it needs to be taken out of the environment....
call it (the fee) as a cost-of-doing-business.

just my thoughts...btw, i'm with you on major-- casteration type penalties,
on the low-lifes, who have committed aggrevated felony, against my 'extended' person!!!

Before scanning to repair, you need to take the machine into 'SAFE MODE'
It has a lot better chance of catching and fixing whatever.
I use:
Spybot Search & Destroy
Adaware
Pest Patrol
Microsoft Beta Spyware scanner
Norton Antivirus
Hijack This

And still some slip by.
Banjo

"cwshredder" can often get rid of those pesky ones that change your homepage...

Originally posted by Gazrok
"cwshredder" can often get rid of those pesky ones that change your homepage...

There is also a secondary cwvariant app that can be run along with shredder.

Damn crapware programmers, otta be hung by their ***uhremuguhb***

Misfit

Originally posted by liquidskin
where in spybot is the tea timer cause I did a quick check in the index and didn't see it. Haven't heard of that on there before now.

If you don't have it, get v1.4.

www.softpedia.com...

When you do the install, it will let you choose to install teatime or not.

Spyware Doctor is another good program to add to your arsenal:

www.download.com...


[edit on 05/6/15 by GradyPhilpott]