At 09:08 AM 8/12/04, you wrote:
How does adware get on your computer? I have Norton installed, and it has
never poped up saying that it found a virus or worm trying to get on my
system. I have a spam blocker on my server which gets rid of a lot of
them, and use Netscape for my mail, and never open any attachments. I use
Netscape as my browser, and any time I do have to use IE, I do not have
Vbasic installed on my system.
I also have Zone alarm on my system. Am I missing something?
Adware gets installed by you when you download and install any of the
hundred of thousands of free programs out there such as Bonzai buddy,
waterfall screensavers, Kazaa, Webshots, etc. They bundle adware in with
those programs and install them in the background without your knowledge.
You give them permission when you accept the licence agreement. Nobody ever
reads the licence agreement. They just hit the accept button and install.
These programs run quietly in the background and many don't even show up in
the task list when you hit cntrl-alt-del! When you uninstall the program
that put the adware in, it leaves the adware running and does not remove
it. If you read the Kazaa licence you would find that you actually give
them permission to install whatever software they please on your computer
by remote control! Weather bug is another one with a similar licence to Kazaa.
Some websites push active-x controls onto your internet explorer browser.
They then install what is known as a BHO, a browser helper object. This is
a program that loads and runs whenever you run internet explorer. There is
no easy way to see these BHO's without using a program like Spybot or
Hijackthis. These BHO's are the source of many peoples popup problems. They
belong to the class of malware called browser hijackers. They can reset
your home page and force you into certain search engines, send you popups
based on your browsing habits, track your internet usage, and even collect
your passwords!
My advice is to not install any of the free programs. There are some free
programs that don't install adware but they are in the minority. Better to
google a program before installing it to see if there are any known adware
associated with it. ALWAYS install Microsoft critical updates as soon as
they are available. And run Spybot and Adaware regularly.
David Bearrow
www.addaphonejack.com
--
The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver.
Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org
To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com
Silver List archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html
Address Off-Topic messages to: silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com
OT Archive: http://escribe.com/health/silverofftopiclist/index.html
List maintainer: Mike Devour <mdev...@eskimo.com>
