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05 Jun 02 - 04:25 PM (#723793) Subject: TECH: Spyware - Is it a problem From: GUEST,Jim Howells This may have been better as a follow-up to the Downloading Music thread, but it maybe warrants its own. After reading the above thread, I downloaded and installed KaZaA. Someone also suggested that I use Ad-aware to get rid of the 'nasty' bits. However, having had Ad-aware purge my system, KaZaA no longer worked. So I had to reinstall it and leave the 'suspect' files there. According to spychecker.com the main concern about Spyware is that: it still remains the fact, that you have a "live" server sitting on your PC that is sending information about you and your surfing habits to a remote location..... To be honest, I couldn't care less who knows about my surfing habits, I have nothing nefarious to hide. I also have a ZoneAlarm firewall, and every time a program asks to be able to act as a server, I say 'never' Does this stop the spyware working? My main concerns are: Will any outgoing information will slow my connection down? Does 'spyware' make my machine more liable to being hacked? Sorry if those are stupid questions, but I don't know the answers (so they're not stupid to me!) Thanks Jim |
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05 Jun 02 - 04:29 PM (#723798) Subject: RE: TECH: Spyware - Is it a problem From: MMario depending on how mych spyware - yes; it could slow down your connection. As far as making you more vulnerable - yes, potentially it does. My biggest complaint was the piece of spyware my sisters computer picked up that had the computer dialing up ON ITS OWN to connect to the ISP. |
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05 Jun 02 - 05:12 PM (#723832) Subject: RE: TECH: Spyware - Is it a problem From: GUEST,Jim Howells Thanks Mmario, ZoneAlarm always tells me if a program is trying to connect to the 'net. I always tell it not to. Surely that protects me from the type of problem your sister had? Jim |
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05 Jun 02 - 07:29 PM (#723920) Subject: RE: TECH: Spyware - Is it a problem From: Devilmaster Kazaa has spyware ingrained into its downloads.... You could download Kazaa lite, which claims to not have spyware included, but still uses a dummy file in place of the spyware program. Ad-aware will still try to delete the dummy file, but kazza lite tells you what the file is, so don't allow ad-aware to delete. Steve |
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05 Jun 02 - 11:46 PM (#724047) Subject: RE: TECH: Spyware - Is it a problem From: mack/misophist Zone Alarm should do the job for you. The company says so out front. |
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06 Jun 02 - 08:42 AM (#724230) Subject: RE: TECH: Spyware - Is it a problem From: MMario yes - your firewall should protect you. |
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06 Jun 02 - 06:03 PM (#724751) Subject: RE: TECH: Spyware - Is it a problem From: Bonnie Shaljean The following newsletter articles make interesting reading (but note the early April dates):
ZdNet Newsletter 3/4/02
Kazaa BV, which builds the underpinning for several popular file-swapping services, won a Dutch court case--and now is not liable for copyright wrongs committed with its software. . .
MEANWHILE, IN THE NETHERLANDS, software firm Kazaa BV was cleared of copyright liability by a Dutch court--which means a lot more file swapping in everyone's future. The news shot Kazaa to the No. 3 spot on the Tech Index. Kazaa BV makes the software that runs Grokster and Sharman Networks' KaZaa. (Yes, the naming scheme here seems designed to confuse.) The court shielded Kazaa BV from violations committed by users of its software. This ruling effectively puts the company behind a protective wall, two steps removed from the crime and free to create globe-spanning networks for file sharing. Copyright hegemony may be rising in the U.S., but record and movie companies will have a tougher time enforcing ownership rights in the rest of the world. Time for the RIAA to take aim at some new windmills.
AnchorDesk newsletter, ed.David Coursey
3/4/02
5/4/02
9/4/02
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