So angry...

I am so angry right now I just need to vent. These people/companies that produce spyware/malware and hijack browsers are really pissing me off.

Most of my friends and relatives are not well-versed in computers and their usage. I try to teach them what I can, provide them with the tools to keep their computer as clean as possible, and still I end up spending time trying to get rid of some dirtball's spyware program that has brought the PC to a standstill.

I really feel for the average user out there, they must be pulling their hair out.

I'm happy to help my friends and relatives out, each time they get a lot better at fighting the battle themselves. But still, I find myself baffled at what happens.

The latest machine I'm cleaning belongs to a good friend of mine. He was told about a magical wonderful program (not mentioning any names) that allows you to download all sorts of goodies from the internet. Not asking me for advice first, his computer is full of garbage now. Another lesson learned and another free dinner for me. Still, I can't help get angry with the creators of these bogus programs. Why can't we put them all in jail?

Heck today our company got a rash of bogus *unnamed* bank emails that looked legit but in fact was just an attempt to farm account info. Pisses me off to no end.

 

Jamiko, Feelings the same here, I am always going to the rescue,,The average or beginning computer users will get slammed by any and every sort of trogen or bug,,,,from a DOWNLOAD program,,or a email forwarded from a friend , of course a friend, also beginning user is not knowing that they are spreading the wealth of the variable forms of these computer intrusions.


I recieved a rather CONVINCING SPOOF email from ebay just yesterday at 5AM, in the morning when checking email for the day,,,,and to tell the truth ,,,you could not tell if it was real or not !!! except a very close look at the subject matter in the emails HEADER..I reported it to ebay,on the spot ,and they shut down the server,with in 20 min to think all who could have got THAT EMAIL ALIVE AND WELL and ,to think how many average people who would look at this page,,saying your account is past due, and can loose the ability to sell on ebay,,not,,knowing what a email header is ,,,or, either viewing the email in a simple mail box, not displaying anything other then the content of the email itself,,,the average or beginning user would be subject to identity theft, bank info ,,,and god knows what else,,glad I put forth the efforts to email them promptly !!!!!

The bottom line is keep on your toes,,most major corporations on the internet NEVER ask for any private information !!!!

And if you know a friend is buying a PC please advise them of the potential dangers, and do them a favor and set up some safty nets for them,,,will be worth a great deal of trouble down the road !!!

PS and YES people should be held responcible, Glenn

 

OPPS LOL

And if you know a friend is buying a PC please advise them of the potential dangers, and do them a favor and set up some safty nets for them,,,will SAVE a great deal of trouble down the road !!!

 

Yeah, it rankles my hide too.
Though I've never been stopped, some of the people I know around have been, and mostly through opening email and going to some sites.

I have two email accounts that have been clean for several years. One is for my family and the other is for my friends.
I have a few others that I use for reg on forums of different kinds. Once a month I'll dump my junk, sometimes as many as five hundred a month. I never open anything unless I know who it's from.

spyware writers & users should be fired, then basted and baked.

 

That's good advice, Glennk, but I've found most people had rather go about their business and call me or someone else to get things back in order. Some of them never learn.

 

Yes many time very true badgas !!! This is a comprehensive list of were to report specific internet troubles, I hope this helps all, Glenn


DeepSight Analyzer Resources This is a list of resources that may be helpful if you have or think you have experienced a computer security incident. Linked documents will open in a secondary browser.
ARIN Whois QueryThe ARIN whois search can be useful for determining the identity of an attacker by determining who owns the netblock that the offending IP address belongs to.Allwhois.comAllwhois.com hosts a vey complete whois search page that will allow domain lookups for any top level domain. This is useful for determining the technical and administrative contacts to direct further inquiries to.Response Teams by LocationThis list of response teams by location can help you locate a group in your country to turn to for further assistance in investigating the incident.Responding to IntrusionsThis document published by Carnegie Mellon SEI serves as a very comprehensive guide to such topics as establishment of security policies, preparation for responding to incidents, analyzation of available information to characterize an intrusion, communication between significant parties involved, collection and preservation of admissable evidence, and more.Incident HandlingRik Farrows presents a sound introduction to Incident Handling and setting up an Incident Handling Team. He also touches upon involving and contacting law enforcement.Law Enforcement and Incident HandlingA guide to dealing with evidence and law enforcement agencies after an intrusion, including whether to involve LE or not at all, by Robert G. Ferrell.The Immediate Steps of Incident HandlingThis article covers the topic of response, including matters of scale, operational constraints, appropriate countermeasures, legal concerns, and hints for proper implementation. While not technical in nature, this study of response procedures might give you some insight on how to handle the more ambiguous elements of systems security: human factors, policy, and time.Steps for Recovering from a UNIX or NT System CompromiseThe CERT Coordination Center in conjunction with AusCERT outlines the essential steps from start to finish on what to do in the event of a system comprimise in a UNIX or NT environment. For those looking for a crash course on Incident Handling, this is a good place to start.SecurityFocus Incident Handling Focus AreaThe Incident Handling Focus Area offers comprehensive response and reporting techniques that help minimize the latest computer vulnerabilities, viruses, and other security breaches, as well as the latest methods and techniques for handling and managing corporate and legal responses to Information Security break-ins or emergencies.SecurityFocus Intrusion Detection Systems Focus AreaA dedicated area that delivers the latest comprehensive information on Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS). Caters to network and security administrators who install, manage, and configure these systems as well as security product and service vendors who design, build and install intrusion detection systems.Who ya gonna call?Security related real world scenarios that a network administrator may face are depicted in Carole Fennelly's piece on Incident Response. She goes on to suggest possible solutions for each situation.

 

I thought the US was going to prosecute spyware makers: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3721262.stm

Wonder how this works outside of US jurisdiction

 

"Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

 

I knwo how you feel beleave me this crap is pissing me off IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE A FREE PROGRAM THAT DOES EVERYTHING THOSE 50$ and 70$ programs do. My comp is screwed up yet agean thanks to spywhare and crap ive had to reformat 4 times in 1 year thanks to this and im well fed up. If I could get my hands on the people who do this to my computer they will feel a pain and suffering worse then any evil you could posably imagine.

 

About time right? I too spend alot of time on other folks machines cleaning up the crap they continually allow on there. I was just out to my sister-in-law's yesterday & I kid you not, removed just over 6 gigs worth of crap. Seems like they had every free internet offer available on there.

Zone Alarm & AVG were both disabled. There is still some kinda bug on there I cain't seem to get rid of. Supposed to go back over today, but I don't think I'm gonna make it. I try & try to tell them these things need to be running, but they turn them off & frankly I'm done with 'em.