Slashdot Mirror

Unfortunately, Microsoft may get away with this under the guise of concern for security. There was a time (and perhaps these are still out there) when links to fake codec were used to compromise the victim's computer. (For an analysis of one of these, please see http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?showtopic=5302 )

Most of us here know how this scenario unfolds: user is trying to view some form of media, often of "questionable" morality (either pr0n or "pirated" video) and the site claims that the user must install a new codec or upgrade to a new version of Flash or Quicktime or whatever and "kindly" has the link right there. It may even have the simple "click here" puzzle-piece link to install the proper codec/player so you can see the multimedia clip. Victim clicks, wanting simply to see the media clip, and presto!, the victim's machine is now a spam-spewing zombie.

Of course, the link could install other things, too, but the point is that the "fake codec" ploy is common enough that Microsoft could easily claim that they are only allowing "approved" or "signed" codecs out of concern for security. They may state that third party codecs are allowed, and will permit Quicktime (for fear of a suit and driving people to Apple) and Flash/Shockwave, but other third-party codecs could be blocked through some combination of testing and/or certificate/signing fees.

This one is too easy, and it just might work.

(I find it strangely amusing that the captcha, given that these fake codecs are often seen in relation to pr0n sites, is "explicit".)

click here, an account of where iSearch forced pr0n links on a family computer used by kids.

http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?showtopic =44037 Check this thread out from Lavasoft's own forums..."Hotbar" and "not a threat"...used in the same context? That's like using "not evil" to describe "Satan"!!! Perhaps Lavasoft is another one getting ready to sell out...?

Hey there Anonymous Coward! Someone else ran into this at the lavasoft Ad-Aware forums. Same exact problem I had.

This is no FUD. Just becasue you "have never seen this before" doesnt mean it is not there.

from Lavasoft: sites.zip These are the sites blocked by Ad-watch in Ad-aware Plus/Professional. It was updated four days ago.

It does not (as Kazaa does) tell us how many people are currently on-line. They claim 15,000,000 (whereas Kazaa routinely has about 3,000,000 at any given time) -- but no proof.

It requires reboots to install and uninstall. This is going overboard -- ZoneAlarm installs a service, and does not require rebooting after installation.

I set it to put my files (both incoming and shared) on my G: drive, and it's downloading to my K: drive (where the OS is installed). The G: drive have 6 GB free so it can hold a few movies -- but the K: drive only has 80 MB free, so it's going to fill up in a few minutes and I'll let you know how it handles the error condition.

I don't see a whole lot of content on the system, either. (I wouldn't be surprised if I had been keylogged. Good thing I run ZoneAlarm!)

Well, I didn't wait for it to fill up the drive as it started to slow down after a period of time. So I exited it, uninstalled it, then ran Ad-Aware. Lo and behold, Ad-Aware found some spyware.

Mostly it was "navexcel" which I don't know much about but here are some links: PestPatrol knows about it; there's a forum discussing it, and another here ; and perhaps more but I couldn't find them...

Sigh. What was that about checking URLs? :) Lets try that again.

Is now a good time to mention that Ad-Aware v.6 was just released?