Who is your computer talking to?

[Mike2822425]

Re:Time for some honesty.

I know its a contraversial subject BUT you do not get Iffy/ emails unless you or "some one else" clicks on a connection. I know they are a pain in the bum ( especialy if SHMBO) finds out you have been surfing "Tania from Estonia" but the system works only on "hits" derived from YOU.

I am 60/ and last Xmas my son who is "some thing in computers" said "Dad dont down load anything," and what is this "shit" you have been looking at. I smiled and blamed it on the computer. With his expertise he was not impressed, and called me a dirty old man.

Look inside your lives for the problem NOT the computer.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Heckler]

i remove garbage like this as part of my business, spybot is the tool that i as a pro use, adaware is part of the strategy also.
spybot is the only tool that will get rid of some of this rubbish. just deleting cookies will not get rid of some of it. spybot was the only tool that got rid of a a particularly nasty bit of software that cost a client 800 quid in 0906 number dial ups.
so i agree with you whole heartedly
stu



<hr width=100% size=1>http://www.beneteau-owners-association.org.uk

 

[Sybarite]

Re:Time for some honesty.

Sorry but I do hope you realize that you cannot possibly be a member of this forum if you have any other outside interests.

John

Ps any good URLs to share?

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Birdseye]

Re:Time for some honesty.

sadly, you are wrong. I once opened up a hotmail account for my daughter, and before I even had a chance to tell her (or anyone else) of its existence, or use the account in any way, it started to get porno e mails. The mistake that I had made was to make up the address using her names (eg jane_smith@hotail.com). The porno mailers have programmes that make up millions of e mail addresses from common names hoping that a reply will confirm that the addy actually exists.

spybot seems to remove some spyware, but IE/OE seem to allow it allback on the next time you boot up. so whats the point?

<hr width=100% size=1>this post is a personal opinion, and you should not base your actions on it.

 

[MainlySteam]

Also, as far as I am aware, no outside intrusion has gotten through our router also (over around 6 years). Obviously we are very unlikely to have been the object of any concerted attack but concur it seems to be an effective barrier for most of us.

John



<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[MainlySteam]

<<<And where in my post did I claim to be the apparent authority??>>>

Nowhere, because you didn't and I have never stated that you did.

If you read my post properly you will see that I was the one that said that you were the apparant authority. I would have thought that you would have regarded that as a complement.

John

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Peppermint]

Re:It\'s a theory But!

I don't get dodgy emails much. I am,compared to other people I know, under spammed. This stuff is not coming in through email.

The stuff I'm getting is not removed by deleting cookies it takes a scan with adware to get most of it and Macafee flags up whats left.

I only found out about it because I heard it dialing on my old modem (disconnected).

Looking at the trail the dodgiest site this computer has visited is this one.

I suspect that some of the autodial stuff is hidden in normal commercial sites.



<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Benbow]

Re:It\'s a theory But!

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

Looking at the trail the dodgiest site this computer has visited is this one.

<hr></blockquote>

Ahh what touching naivete !



<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[pheran]

Re:Time for some honesty.

'Fraid you are wrong on this one. There is a plague of totally unsolicted emails at the moment advertising Viagra and similar products. Most seem to emanate from the US. Discussed yesterday on Southern Counties Radio

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue>A convert to steel boats and displacement cruising - the only way to go</font color=blue>

 

[aztec]

Re:It\'s a theory But!

hi, don't normally come here but...

i concurr after having a large bill from BT (i don't use BT billing as i'm with NTL!.. upshot is that a dialer was intalled, this came from a site allegeing to suply kids with free screensavers for their phones (soft target if you ask me!)

the worst of it is, that these tossers are stealing probably to finance criminal activities, they go to grat lengths to preventing normal users from detecting hidden files and deleting successfully... i had tried seven times to remove the dialup file... in the end, i came back to my machine to find it connected!!!

report ALL infringements of this type to your phone line supplier, and tell them that you want to report it to icstis (?) they will give you the URL and/or the phone number.

It's too easy to say "well don't go to any sites you don't know" but is that not why we search for info using search engines?

be under no illusion this IS theft, and makes these b******ds many millions of pounds (or dollars) where that money goes is unlikely to find a cure for cancer!

have a nice day, regards, steve.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Mike21]

Re:It\'s a theory But!

You can get a block put on your phone to prevent access to premium rate lines,
Had this done after son ran up large bill looking for ringtones for his mobile.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Keith]

I use the zonelabs pro which you have to pay for, its a bit of a pain in the bum to set up but once its up and running nothing gets through,spybot now actually is redundant as it never picks anything up as nothing gets through, i also run symantec and avg all at the same time, it slows the computer down quite a bit but were broadband anyway so can afford to lose it, i would urge anyone who is serious about protecting there computer (and there interests) to look at paying for the protection, yes it will work out somewhere around forty pounds a year, but when you consider most of us do our banking online pay our bills, buy with our visa card, all this information is asking to be hijacked if your security is even the slightest bit dodgy......its all about peace of mind.....i paid for it and have been extremely happy with the results.............keith

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[MainlySteam]

Just a question - I don't know the answer on this but is Spybot not appearing to pick anything up because it deletes the things automatically using its immunise feature, or does Zonealarm actually intercept them (given that Zonealarm lets cookies through, etc.).

I would be interested in any responses on that, but as I will be away sailing for a couple of weeks in a few hours I will have to catch up with them when I get back.

Thanks

John

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Mike21]

Unfortunately a lot of spyware and adware are now incorporated into cookies, although most firewalls should stop them dialling out.
Deleting cookies should get rid of most of them, still probably worth running spybot etc occassionally to ensure they're all removed

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[l'escargot]

A cookie is a small text file that holds readable information, it is not a program or an .exe file. Nor are they spyware or adware. As such they cannot have any dire effects on your computer. What they do hold is information on sites you visit and your activities on those sites. For instance the cookie for this forum remembers your log in and which posts you have and have not read. They are a minor privacy issue for the paranoid.

Deleting cookies will not get rid of spyware, adware, viruses or stop dial ups being installed on your machine - you need specific software tools for this.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Keith]

I run spybot every other day and nothing is found, the zonelabs pro only lets through anything you authorise you are also "invisible" to the websites you visit and it has an aggressive firewall as well, i also delete cookies every day, pain in the rear but worth it, where before zone alarm i used to get loads of spam, now i get very little, i am not a computer genius, far from it, bit of a neanderthal really, but i rely on my computer and can do without the hassle other people are going through, incidentally stopzilla might be worth a look at.........keith

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Metabarca]

Is all this stuff an issue for Macintosh too, or can I feel smug, superior (and safe)?! Clearly if these nasty are .exe files, then they can't affect me but I'd like to be sure.

<hr width=100% size=1>Adriatic links here: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html>http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html</A>

 

[AuntyRinum]

I've had Zonelabs installed on my present computer for about a year.
I was altering the settings this morning and noticed the following message on the Overview/Status page.

"47,625 Intrusions have been blocked since install
664 of those have been high rated"

Any Internet user will have a similar number of intrusions and, if they are not protected by software like ZoneAlarm, then their computer is constantly being scanned by other computers without their knowledge.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Keith]

like i said, i just use a computer, i'm not that knowledgeable but if i think i can contribute i will put in my twopenn'orth, but as for mac's i haven't got a clue!!!!, all i can tell you is my computer is connected to the net for a minimum of twelve hours a day and for a lot of that time it's left running unattended, the post before this says it all, look how many intrusions its blocked on his computer, he's been attacked more times than the US troops in Iraq!!!, sorry i don't know the answer but i'm still a newbie to this computer stuff, hell on our toshiba laptop i used to crash it a minimum of once a week... i didn't have a clue!!!!! (still don't a lot of the time).................keith

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Mike21]

Have McAfee internet security running, connect via a broadband router with a NAT firewall, so intrutions are blocked, and any program trying to dial out is blocked, but have had warnings flash up by the anti-virus on a couple occassions of .exe files being included in cookies. These could be false warnings, but delete temp files anyway just to be certain

<hr width=100% size=1>