Deceptive software, also known as spyware, now accounts for more than 50 percent of the Windows failures reported to Microsoft and is becoming an important industry concern. Microsoft's partners report that spyware is the number-one support problem and is costing the industry millions of dollars a year in support costs.
Earlier this week, Microsoft and other companies detailed to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the steps they're taking to reduce the threat and problems spyware causes. The FTC, which has received many complaints about spyware, is working on a policy for combatting deceptive software. At the FTC Spyware Workshop held Monday in Washington, D.C., Microsoft presented its antispyware efforts, which include consumer education, technology, and the publication of industry best practices. The company is hoping to avoid what it calls first-response legislation, which it believes won't do a good enough job to thwart the distribution of deceptive software.
The use of spyware has increased recently because the programs are being bundled with popular shareware software or are downloaded with unsolicited junk email. Most spyware is just a nuisance for users; it can change a computer's home page and generate random pop-up ads. But some versions of spyware perform dangerous operations, such as dialing toll numbers and using other illegal methods to capture user information.
Microsoft's new antispyware tools include features in the upcoming Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and offerings from MSN. The new SP2 features include a pop-up ad blocker for Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), a new IE toolbar that will suppress unsolicited software downloads, a redesigned download experience that will make software identification easier, and improved security tools for viewing and controlling browser add-on programs. "These enhancements help put you in control," Jeffrey Friedberg, director of Microsoft's Windows Privacy Group, said. The company's MSN Premium service includes McAfee Security's Virus Guard, which detects and removes deceptive software.
Microsoft also recently launched a Web site that provides information about how to avoid and remove deceptive software. The site lists the following five tips you can take to avoid spyware: - choose an appropriate Web browser security setting - don't accept downloads from strangers - look for signs of deceptive software on your computer - detect and remove unwanted software - keep Windows up-to-date
End of Article
What about spyware coming from purchased products. My wife purchased a scanner recently and it came with a cd-rom with some applications that she installed. I noticed the computer running a little slow and my network lights were active when I was not on the internet. I ran SypBot search and distroy and it found Cdilla and Wintanget. Both came from the scanner application cd. After my kids installed Battlefield 1942 we also found adware that was slipped onto the system by the installer. The article mentioned web surfing as a source, you should also mention any software instllation needs to be checked by a spyware/adware scanner utility.
steve April 21, 2004
Great tools, finally we will be able to get rid of third party sofware and stick only to Microsoft progs to maximize our protection. Keep up the good work.
andre carbonneau April 22, 2004
Paul, you are one funny man. Just the title of this article put a big smile on my face after a hard day at work. I couldn't help but laugh. I try to avoid tearing apart these artciles as much as I can, but I just can't help it with this one. The words "Microsoft" and "anti-spyware" just do not belong together. They never could and never will. Here's what this article should really say:
Deceptive software, also known as spyware, now accounts for about a huge percent of the Windows installation and is becoming an important industry concern. Microsoft reports that spyware really does exist in their software and is costing the industry millions of dollars a year in support costs, which Billy Gates couldn't care less about.
Earlier this week, Microsoft lied to the US FTC about the steps they're taking to recude the the thread and problems spyware causes. The FTC, which has received many complaints about spyware, is working on a policy for combatting deceptive software. At the FTC Spyware Workshop held Monday in Washington, D.C., Microsoft presented its antispyware efforts, which include further bulding in of spyware into the Windows operating system, and more deception. The comapny is fool people once again, like it's been doing for the past decade.
The use of spyware has increased recently because Microsoft has been bundling a lot of it with its recent versions of Windows, and other companies have been following in their footsteps. A lot of spyware is not just a nuisance for users, it spies on their activities and keep history that users think they deleted.
Microsoft also recently launched a web site ( forums.microsuck.com ) that provides information about how to remove deceptive software. The site lists the following tips you can take to avoid spyware: - do not use Internet Explorer, which keeps a log of all sites you visit even after you clear the history and cache - do not use Windows Media Player, which transmits to Microsoft the names of movies and songs you play - do not use Microsoft Word, which hides text that you delete instead of actually removing it from the document.
Don't try to deny it Paul, you know it's true and that there's plenty of proof.
Editor's note: Well, for starters, I didn't write this article. --Paul
X April 22, 2004
Or just don't use IE.
Name(required): April 22, 2004
Typical.
I expect someone like X to go on about a whole heap of rubbish about Microsoft. I know he/she wrote it in jest, but it's obvious they beleive a lot of their own press.
I'm sure X was the first person to complain about lack of DOS program support in Win 3.1, lack of Win3.1 support in Win95, lack of Win95 support in Win2K and then complain bitterly about how buggy all of them are.
"There is just no pleasing some people" - Life of Brian.
The problem isn't Microsoft. The problem is that for most PC users, all they know is what is installed when they first buy the PC. They don't know about installing popup blockers, about tweaking settings, about buying firewalls or anti spy ware software.
I bet when the service pack comes out there are going to be a heap of complaints about Microsoft being anti competitive for other firewall and antispyware software houses.
I remember how Exchange used to have an archive option and delete option. If an email was purged there was no way to retreive it. Because of complaints MS had to change the software so that a delete doesn't realy delete the email and it can be retreived by the admin. Same logic applies to Word. Everyone likes the revisions and ability to see changes overtime. But if someone forgets and text is revealed (that they didn't wish to be revealed) its the end of the world and all Microsofts fault. We had a case like that here in Australia for a press release by a major party. It was revealed that a tax cut promise was deleted for the final press release.
Y April 27, 2004
Or how about this one:
When installing a fresh copy of windows (choose any), if you run Spybot or Adaware, you'll find that Windows comes with spyware (there's an Alexa registry string which is found to be spyware for god knows what reason.)
Not only that, the latest copy of Windows Media Player has some kind of spyware component in it too (even if it is for "friendly use", spyware is spyware)
And what about when the so called "DRM" comes into place? Nothing will stop Microsoft from spying on your computer.
Don't you just love the irony of the situation?
Migishu April 27, 2004
Yea, and just wait until swastisofts trusted computing initiative kicks into high gear. Their solution to spyware will be to allow them to spy on eveything you do or install on your system to ensure that it is digitally signed with microsloth's approval before installation.. I really don't want to switch to linux becuase the interface sucks and the management tools are a total kludge, but at this rate we won't have much of a choice in the future. I can see the license agreement on upcoming windoze systems already.... "By accepting this agreement, you surrender all First, Fourth, and Fifth ammendment rights to Microsoft"
Live free or die!
BigT May 05, 2004
Microsoft's new antispyware tools -probably- include... a ton of holes you can drive a truck through. Even -if- there are no exclusions for MS and its' partners' "data collection" software, would anyone like to bet on the existence of some security vulnerability in the antispyware tools that some future worm will eat for lunch? Geez. I'll keep using SpyBot S&D and SpywareBlaster, thank you very much. Still, I will welcome the popup blocker and the suppression of unsolicited software downloads, along with the other security enhancements in SP-2... I'll take what I can get.
Rich Parkin May 05, 2004
Well, put it this way everyone, Microsoft is much like that of the Government, only stronger. Their Operating Systems are installed into 98% of Buisness, Educational and International companies, and Microsoft keeps them all under the thumb by constantly bringing out "Fixes" for something that should have been "Fixed" when it was released or "Improved" from the previous version of windows. Spyware is the least of our worries. Note the almost shocking amount of processing power with the new systems:
Breakdown of requirements and adaequate resources:
XP: Processor: 1GHZ+ Install Time: 70 Minutes + Startup Time: 30 Seconds (Rising dramatically with prolonged use) 256 MB Ram (Rising to 512Mb after prolonged use) 1.1Gb of disk space (System Restore, Page File, Dllcache etc) Restricts access to system, even for administrators.
So as we can see, Windows is "Talored" to modern day fast computers, and I have not noticed any speed difference from the Windows 95 era. So, expect more exciting "Feartures", less privacy... well, there is none anyway as far as the Net is concerned, and expect Microsoft to have more patches, flaws, and bigger thumbscrews ^__^
Ricki May 05, 2004
Do I really need antispyware program? Just scanned my 5 yr old computer, found only 1 adware....if I don't download shareware or play games, must i spend $40 to "protect my computer"?
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steve April 21, 2004