Spyware Terminator & Web guard\Crawler

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

Thanks for the information MA

I dont use it, but now I know not too, and can advise others to steer clear of it too.

 

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

Thanks MA getting rid of it right now! Shame on them.

 

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

I use Spyware Terminator and I don't see the problem. I've never had problems with it. I use several anti-spyware and they didn't detect anything.

 

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

You should really look at Google, Yahoo! and MSN more closely, as Crawler is really no different from those three companies:

http://www.google.com/privacy.html
"Google's servers automatically record information when you visit our website or use some of our products, including the URL, IP address, browser type and language, and the date and time of your request."

http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/details.html
"Yahoo! automatically receives and records information on our server logs from your browser, including your IP address, Yahoo! cookie information, and the page you request."

http://mobile.msn.com/device/en-us/privacy.aspx
"We may collect information about your visit, including the pages you view, the links you click and other actions taken in connection with Microsoft sites and services. We also collect certain standard information that your browser sends to every website you visit, such as your IP address, browser type and language, access times and referring Web site addresses."


The Crawler toolbar is no different than any other toolbar in the world so labeling it any worse than Google, Yahoo! or MSN toolbars is inappropriate.


On a side note, Spyware Terminator is offered in a version without the toolbar. On another side note, the included software is called Web Security Guard. It is a security product meant to compete with McAfee SiteAdvisor (http://www.websecurityguard.com). The product is dependent on the toolbar to function.


Where your problem lies with Spyware Terminator I do not know as MajorGeeks does list other software titles with included optional toolbar installs. See flashget: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download461.html. It includes Google Toolbar, so why don't you remove it?

 

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

Hello,

I am the product manager of Spyware Terminator and I want to clarify this situation.

We recently started to bundle Spyware Terminator with our other security tool called Web Security Guard (WSG). It is great tool for online privacy similar to McAfee SiteAdvisor, please check this web page for more information: http://www.websecurityguard.com/cr_more.aspx
It is completely optional and if you do not want it you can choose not to install it.

Web Security Guard uses Crawler Toolbar because we use its technology as a platform. Crawler Toolbar is 100% safe and we have TRUSTe certification as one of only eight other software titles (Please check http://www.truste.org/pvr.php?page=td_licensees).

If you do not want to download the bundled version of Spyware Termiantor we provide a version without WSG (http://www.spywareterminator.com/dnl/files/28/SpywareTerminator.exe).

 

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

If this was a generic toolbar intended to steal sensitive data, or if this package was not clearly marked on their website, then there would be a problem.

I dont see this as a problem because the /298/ download link (the one you found to be bad) is clearly marked to include their Web Security Guard product on their download page.

http://www.spywareterminator.com/dnl/landing.aspx
"Download FREE Spyware Terminator & Web Security Guard"

Not far below that is a clearly marked version that does not include it.

"...you may want to download free Spyware Terminator without its enhancement, Web Security Guard..."

I hardly find this to be a spyware related practice. This is just a case of a company trying to bring awareness to another one of its products.

It is like Google Earth including an option for Google Desktop, or something of the sort. However with Google, no one says anything because Google is Google, and everyone just brushes it off.

Unfortunately because of Crawler's previous business practices it is given a different eye than the one given to Google and Yahoo!

 

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

I was just going to bring up McAfee SiteAdvisor.

What Spyware Terminator is doing is not really different than what McAfee does...or I should say "did".

If you go and download McAfee AntiVirus it gives you the option to install SiteAdvisor. However no one complains about this because 1) McAfee has been doing good for the antivirus community since the late 90's and no one tends to think McAfee is bad (though people are negative towards its capabilities because of its fairweather results on more recent antivirus tests done by independent sites like www.virus.gr), and 2) SiteAdvisor is the gold standard in website rating tools.

Thank you for putting ST back up. It does not deserve to be removed, it is one of the few great antispyware programs that remains free.

 

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

The beauty of Major Geeks, though not perhaps the beauty of MA, is that not only do they care enough to test the products but are also open to discussion. And the whole process is visibly transparent to the outsider.

One of the first things I look for when called to a pc that is misbehaving is the installation of toolbars, perhaps multiple toolbars. It is (un)suprising how often removing these clears or nearly clears the problem. My vote is definitely against toolbars. I just did a job yesterday for a lady who wanted to see more of her stuff on the screen and less paraphenalia around the edge!

Surely any half decent program should be able to stand on its own legs without relying on some other installation? What happens when the toolbar is updated and prhaps a conflict occurs? This is the root cause of some of the problems I've seen with other progrmas that use toolbars as a crutch.

Have at them MA

Studio T

 

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

MA, I would like to know this. If I have had a version for over 6 months and I keep updating it (which I do), will it end up with the crawler installed? I like it cause the real-time shield has caught a few things, which shows that it does work, but I don't need no stinkin' crawlers. (unless I'm going fishing)

 

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

MA:
Crawler.com was previously a malware vendor, but these darker days are well in the past. Crawler has have been clean for nearly three years. Everyone currently working on Spyware Terminator has never been afiliated with malware companies, including the old Crawler. Spyware Terminator was created as an apology for our previous business pracitices. We are working very hard to create a great free product that can be comparable to any paid antispyware software title on the market. So far we think that we have succeded in creating such a product.

Web Security Guard is another tool that we are working just as hard on to bring even more security to the end user.

Spyware Terminator will never become a rogue application. A handful of websites which identify us with our previous business practices gives Spyware Terminator the negative reputation it has on the web.

People are also confusing Crawler Toolbar with malware called "WareOut" which installed itself to a file similar in name to the one we use (CToolbar.exe).

 

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

No. The update function in Spyware Terminator only downloads the following items:
Spyware Terminator application updates
Spyware Terminator Realtime Shield updates
Spyware Terminator definition upates
(if ClamAV is enabled) ClamAV component updates
(if ClamAV is enabled) ClamAV definition updates

 

Thanks MA, just did a Reg scan for crawler.com and found two instances, but don't know for sure if it is for blocking it or what. If I find out it came from this app, I'll post back.

 

If you dont mind me asking, what were the results?

 

Major Attitude, have you had a chance to fully research the added toolbar, & if so, what's the verdict?

I'm all for folks turning over a new leaf, but those that have must understand that some of us still fall back on the old adage "Once bitten, twice shy."

I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I'm also more than willing to let our illustrious Major Attitude be my "beta testor" in this regards.



:duck

(thanks!)

 

Re: Spyware Terminator delisted

The auto-update just started installing the new version last night while I was at home. I got here this morning and it was waiting for me. It did indeed offer the Web Security Guard with the toolbar; but it was not forced on me, I had to say yes. I am going to be brave and give it a try. After a week or two I will come back and report any findings I have seen to the rest of the community here. Just for a note I have only been using Spyware Terminator with ClamAV. Nothing else was installed prior to this update. It all seems very above board so far as they gave you plenty of chances to say no to it before it was installed.

George

 

Well, I tested Web Security Guard and it is a nice idea, but needs lots of work before it will get another chance on my system. Sometimes when going to a site it would make the browser gray without an option to do anything. Looking through Spyware Terminator's forums turned up a solution though not elegant by any means. You had to open Task Manager and kill NavigForm. Then it would release control of the browser. I'm not sure if the Crawler Toolbar or Web Security Guard was the problem, but it would not be easy for a general user to figure this out. I say stick with the smaller download, I don't think the bigger download is worth the effort at this point.

George

 

Maybe this post should be in the Malware Forum, but given that there seem to have been issues with ST, I chose this thread:

During an ST update AVG reported and archived the the installation of "Trojan horse Downloader. Generic5.WUF".

Just a false positive, or is there need to worry? Thanks.

 

For best support, start your own thread. This one's dead.

 

Never say die!

Come on people, the thread lives!

 

No,No,No you can't use other threads,cos if ya want good solution for your problem START YOUR OWN THREAD.This is for your own good.:major

 

This is a false positive.

You can read about it on their forums:
http://forum.spywareterminator.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=2940


Summary of that thread:
Updating from 1.X to 2.0 can not be done using the built in method, you need to run the setup file, either downloadable from ST.com or from the update download.
However, because of the size of the download, dialup users and users with other similar slow connections run into problems while downloading this file. To address these users and to make the update process easier, a small downloader, about 25KB in size, was released which would download the setup file in resumable fashion.
The file is not malicious and just downloads a Spyware Terminator upgrade setup file from http://www.spywareterminator.com/Dnl/files/27/SpywareTerminatorSetup.1.exe.