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Spyware in Kazaa, Limewire, Grokster
BigMacMike writes: "The San Francisco Chronicle (via the sfgate.com website) has a story that Kazaa, LimeWire, and others have secretly hidden software in their applications that track users' browsing habits." Not the first time. The corporate response is that they literally didn't know what was in these secondary applications that they were providing to be downloaded and installed alongside their primary program. Believe it if you wish.
Does it really matter all the much? Most of the stuff spyware could obtain from my uses would be pretty useless anyhow.
Does anyone know if this applies to Mac versions of Limewire?
Take your pick. Let people know what you download, or don't download things. Free music has a price, and it's really not all that bad if your computer doesnt have anything REALLY incriminating on it. No, I'm not saying spyware is good, I'm saying that given the choices, it's not THAT bad.
:)
That and linux kazaa run as a restricted user would yield some interesting spyware data
I am !amused.
... for downloading all that pr0n...
hope limewire doesn't sell this info to my girlfriend...
"honey, this jenna jameson person has alot of stuff on your computer, do you work with her?"
If you don't like spyware, try out MusicCity Morpheus. Almost the same thing as Kazaa, but on the front page, they guarantee "no spyware". I'd say to vote with your $$, but since both services are free, you'll have to vote with banner-clicking.
The future isn't what it used to be.
This isn't the first time either... I understand that LimeWire also tries to install the Gator spyware software. This is why I wouldn't use Proprietary Software if you're concerned about privacy, you never know what you're getting.
Did anyone else notice that when you're running Kazaa, there's often a tiny (approx 5 by 5 pixels) 'button' in the top left of the screen? Even if Kazaa is minimized to the tray.. Anyone know what -that- is? It doesn't do anything when I click on it. Happens on all the computers with Kazaa I've seen so far.
As for people who whine and bitch when they just keep hitting 'Next' in the install program without noticing the screen that lets you turn up all the different crap Kazaa installs, I have no sympathy.. but if they're actually -hiding- stuff in the program that you can't turn off in setup, I wanna know!
mogorific carpentry experiments
I was under the impression that it was illegal for companies to install this sort of spyware. Is it legal for companies to write software that reports back to the creator. If so, is it illegal under the DMCA to block those reporting mechanisms in your firewall?
use Ad Aware and discover what we already should have known. Bearshare and AudioGalaxy do, too. Big deal.
Zonealarm shows it's doing funky stuff.
The solution to this is: don't use them. Or, use a version of them that doesn't have the spyware. Limewire version 1.3 is a little slower but doens't have ads or spyware (but 1.7+ does).
-- Kevin
Unitarian Church: Freethinkers Congregate!
IMO, spyware is the single issue that is going to weigh heaviest in the scales in the eventual switch of businesses (and sensible users) from CSS to OSS.
It's a real shame, though, that most businesses can't seem to see any value in the internet beyond collecting data about consumers.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
another program that gives a user access to the gnutella network comes with 3 spyware programs to spy on users...
.free , .shop, .game and .xxx, etc, etc.... also, as they have to query an alternative DNS to let you access these sites, they will be able to track every visit to new.net-"powered" sites.
:-\
first being Onflow Media Player... it is a Flash-like browser plug-in which displays animations and transmits user behavior information (not further specified) to the Onflow central servers.
second being SaveNow... SaveNow displays context-related shopping pop-up windows in IE... the context information seems to reside on the client side so that no information has to be transmitted to the central server
third being New.net, which is an alternative Domain Name Service which allows you to connect to TLDs like
not to mention all of these programs have silent auto-updates...
why can't we all just use FreeNet?
"The ones who dont do anything are always the ones who try to pull you down" -- Henry Rollins
Interesting that legit companies are using the kind of tactics once reserved for the more 'underground' elements... and that they're using p2p (read: illegal file sharing, regardless of the flame war that it might start) all that much moreso.
Guvegrra?
This past week there was an article on some other source (can't remember) that focused on the whole issue of whether it was a trojan (last paragraph of this story).
As I recall, the spyware also sent the urls that users visited to a machine with an odd domain name (something like 2001-007.com) EVEN IF PEOPLE WANTED TO AVOID INSTALLING THE SPYWARE. This is why it was called a trojan.
I'm not sure if it turns out the software wasn't sending the info (reporter error) or if they've glossed over that fact...
Either way. Blah. Spyware is why I don't play Snood anymore. They use gator which does all sorts of lame stuff to hide itself on install.
Look, if you have to trick users or hide your program, then it probably isn't a "valuable bonus program." Stupid marketing bastards...
Buy Hex-Rated Stuff, fight the DMCA!
If the information they collect was useless, then they would not collect the information.
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
Yes, this has been old news for awhile.If you're looking for P2P sharing then go for something like Morpheus.What they did was wrong, but it could have been worse, such as if they tracked what you downloaded i.e. bomb manuals, next thing you know you're getting a visit from Uncle Sam...
Download the acclaimed Ad Aware program (link provided) here. It searches your registry and all your drives for running and installed spyware programs. It works great.
Added to which, whilst I agree that spyware is Not A Good Thing, it seems kind of weird that the companies producing distributed filesharing applications would be intending to monitor precisely what said applications are used for. That would presumably make it harder for them to claim innocence when the RIAA come calling? Or so it seems to my addled mind.
First - the worst spyware/malware/virus.
/. says that a majority of people are using ie 5.0, opera allows you to change its settings so it looks like it is ie (for the fucking sites that wont let other browers in) I switched, i dunno about others..
Fucking Bonzai Buddy
I swear that fucker resides in the MBR it is such a pain to get rid of. Once it is gone, windows is unstable (yeah, yah troll on, 2k is damn stable before this shit is installed)
Second, the exec lies thru his teeth.
And the clicktilluwin "not do anything until activated" motto is pure bullshit, this thing starts sending data from the moment it is installed beside limewire.
Of course, http://www.lavasoftusa.com/index.html is an awesome prog - ad aware lets you know what shit you have on your system and then removes it usually quite effectively. To be honest, shit like this might actually be a good arguement for open source, how many "features" are installed in popular programs that we have no idea of - i.e. they have been integrated into the program. Its also a really fucking good arguement for using opera (BTW, you know
One last thought: Clicktilluwin
It was classified as a trojan horse, because that is what it is - think of this - if the av manufacuters bent over a desk for these fuckers (declassifying this "program" as a trojan), you think that they would protect you from the FBI?!?!!?
Shit, if the threat of a lawsuit is all it takes, someone could make a virus, sue all the av companies that made solutions, and then sell "protection"...
1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcf
I've seen the discussions on the Fasttrack forums about this problem. The creators have consistently denied knowledge that the programs were indeed spyware. My question: when the sales people from these spyware vendors were offering Kazaa et al money to include these programs in the clients, what did the Kazaa creators THINK the purpose of said programs were? It seems just a little too easy to claim total ignorance on this.
---
I didn't want to leave this space blank.
This is not an issue, afaik, if you're running any of these apps for linux.
This was discussed on The Register a couple of days ago.
From the article:
"We sometimes bundle advertiser applications with our installer in order to help pay for our costs here at Grokster. We are normally given an installer from the advertiser which we run during the installation of Grokster. We have no access to the source code of these third-party installers and so we rely on what our advertisers say these programs do. To the best of our knowledge, this particular advertiser simply placed a link to a free online lottery on the desktop. We were never informed that it installed or was a Trojan."
If you run a leaky os, what do you expect?
So how can a user tell if this tracking program has been installed on their machine? The article was awfully skimpy on details...
"Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!"
from The Register as well about this.
I noticed this several weeks ago. An application called something like whagent.exe would crash during my kazaa sessions.
My only guess was that it was not fairing well after I put in place measures to block known spyware apps.
I simply removed the offending program and now I'm probably a little less spyware free. I have grown to expect such things from useful free service providers, but on occassion I've been known to circumvent their efforts.
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
I wrote an article on Kuro5hin entitled The Spyware Invasion when I found out that there was a piece of Spyware(WebHancer) on my machine that was logging EVERY URL I VISITED. It turns out that this company sells these statistics that they obtain from over 16 million unsuspecting users to businesses for over $12,000 a pop.
What bothered me in particular about this approach is that I know a few websites that log users in with their pasword in the URL (Slashdot is one of them) and I wondered exactly how many of my passwords and userIDs had been sent to webHancer over the past weeks I had it unknowingly running on my machine. Of course, I quickly ran Ad-Aware on my machine and changed all my online passwords.
PS: The offending application that installed this spyware was AudioGalaxy.
Because if we all used FreeNet it would crash like a Microsoft built cessna flown by John Denver.
Note taken. But the gripe here is the fact that they have been secretly doing this. I don't mind seeing an ad here or there when I visit a website or have to register to get a service because I know where that information is going. But if they have been secretly doing this, it makes you wonder what else they have installed on your computer.
I mean, according to your reasoning, it would be perfectly ok for the developers of limewire (per se) to install a keysniffer to log your password for your online banking site without telling you that they are doing that.
_______________________________
"I'm not Conceited...I'm just a realist..."
AD-AWARE (current 5.62) is one of the BEST ad removal tools for windows computer, grab it at Lavasoft. It's free, it has updates (download the latest definition file after installing the 5.62 version) and I've tracked it's every move with a filesystem scanner, and it doesn't put thrash anywhere in your system.
It scans Registry, cookies, files, dlls, and it found the Kazaa backdoor installed in my system. Usually when you put a software you can remove it's tracking bugware and the main software will still run (I remember posting an article here over a year ago about bearshare having that same type of crap that Kazaa is using right now but it got rejected). What's interresting about Kazaa is if you remove the offending DLL (which is Cydoor bugtracking stuff), Kazaa won't start anymore, this really shows how BAD they want to track your moves.
While I don't have anything against software companies making a buck by selling tracked info, I do have something against companies being hypocritical about it. When you install Kazaa, it offers you a lot of "free stuff" that any above average users knows that it means advertising stuff, spamming and tracking. This is okay in my book at LEAST it's part of the installer and if you don't know and say yes, well that becomes your problem. What I find really hypocritical is i've unselected EVERYTHING exept "Kazaa needed files" and it STILL installed that bugware thing, and it's not mentionned anywhere CLEARLY in the installer. People get pissed at microsoft activation process which is clear, known and way less intrusive than that, but they let that pass in exchange of leeching free MP3, vids, p0rn and warez. If one day the big suppliers of content on that services have an FBI raid at their places, they'll scream justice and claim that FBI couldn't use the informatin that Kazaa was getting from them because it's not constitutionnal. Well I'd say, make up your mind, if you want P2P and privacy, go to some other service, an example, Download winMX, run Ad-aware in case there's anything installed with the newer versions, and it will probably still run after the cleaning process (I use winMX I love it). Don't support crooks like Kazaa and bearshare that are trying to look friendly, on your side, and pro this and that, while they turn around and sell your browsing habbits without your knowledge.
Also, notice when you're not uploading or downloading, but kazaa is running.. your drive burps every 5 seconds.... I'm still trying to figure out why.. it doesn't stop even after an hour.. it's not "windows-typical" drive burping.
Anyways... hope that helps anyone out there.
--- Metamoderating abusive downgraders since my 300th post.
Don't be so ignorant. End users have more rights installing software than the creators of the software do. You are saying that if they decide to do so, they could install keyloggers to trap your credit card info, so they can pull money off your card, in order to compensate themselves. Don't be so foolish.
They create software. They are not and should not group spyware with their apps. Plain and simple, if they can't afford to keep their software project up without spyware, then either find another way to fund the operation, or don't start at all. What happened to people actually using their heads and devising a CLEAVER way to make money off of their software, without resorting to dirty tricks?
And if you think they didn't know what they were getting into, you're wrong. How can you claim total ignorance to an app packaged along with your app??? That's deception at its finest, gentlemen.
Slashdot.. Land of nerds, trolls, and FlameBait..
I quote:
It has come to Lime Wire's attention over the past 24 hours that one of the bundled software installers included with LimeWire 2.0.2 for the PC is now considered a SpyWare/Trojan by various anti-virus software packages. We have received complaints from our users and we have worked quickly to resolve this issue by putting out a new beta immediately yesterday and rolling LimeWire 2.0.3 for the PC into production at 3:30PM EST today (Jan 1. Note that this did not affect LimeWire 2.0.2 P (LimeWire PRO) users.. We will be communicating further with LimeWire 2.0.2 PC users as information becomes available.
Workaround for all of this nonsense: don't download the Windows-specific version, get one of the ones without an installer (such as the Linux or Solaris versions) from here and use that instead. It removes one layer of laziness as you have to install the JRE and make the icon yourself, but it does mean that the ONLY code that LimeWire can install and execute on your system is a) visible and b) written in Java, which means it can't do anything too evil (read: anything platform-specific).
Hope this helps...
Here's a (dutch :P) site about this thing, with more details
http://www.zdnet.nl/News.cfm?id=14504
The article says that LimeWire 2.0.2 and Grokster ask on installation if you want to install a certain 'service' or program called 'ClickTillUWin'. Whether or not you confirm or deny this request, it secretly DOES install it on your pc. This so-called online lottery game contains the trojan. If you go to clicktilUwin.com you'll see that there are possibly more programs 'infected' by this trojan (check the partners section).
What is basically does (according to the above article) is install a file called Dlder.exe. When you start the p2p program it came with, dlder.exe will automatically start too and download a second piece, called explorer.exe (and no, not the same one windows users normally have). This program then does some things to the windows registry and sends usernames and your ip adress to http://www.2001-007.com.
Symantec (the guys of Norton Antivirus) have called this thing a trojan horse and all of their antivirus applications will regognize it as one. The above article also states that other antiviruscompanies have also already updated their software (waiting for you to press the 'update button' that is :)
I personally run Ad Aware to get rid of all other Spyware except what KaZaA needs. If you delete KaZaA's spyware, it will stop running. I guess it's a trade-off of privacy versus convenience. But I don't blame KaZaA, except for not letting people know they are being tracked. They have provided FREE software which is really good. I just wish they'd make money some other way.
Happy downloadin'
sig--we don't need no goddamn sig
Well, how about you set an example for them?
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc /data/w32.dlder.html
:)
For a desribement of the trojan in grammatical correct english
One important question is the value of the data they collect. Will advertisers buy such 'black market' data? Or is the data collected by the developers 'just because they can?'
It is really in these companies' best interest to risk losing the faith of their users for this data which probably won't make them any money?
Limewire is GNU licensed, and therefore open source. If you have a problem with spyware, then roll your own version. I don't even think the source code has the spyware, so all you have to do is compile. Now as for other closed source software that doesn't tell the user of it's misdeeds - I can't defend that.
LS
There is a fine line between being a cultivated citizen and being someone else's crop. - A. J. Patrick Liszkie
There is a linux kazaa client in early beta, but it works ok and contains no spyware.
You can find it here: kazaa media shell
Maybe something will be added in future releases, we will see.
One Potato Only Please
It's been put up here lord knows how many times, but here goes again. I use the Lavasoft software Ad-Aware to check and clean my system on a regular basis. Not only do I use it, if I have a friend who is having problems with their system, I usually will run it there as well. nine times out of ten they have a program that is running in the background, that Adware classifies as "Spyware". Removing the "spyware" components my the friends system often fixes the problems they are having. It always finds things that shouldn't be on their system. We can debate cookies forever, but I'm talking about software that serves ads, sends information, or otherwise takes control of your system or partially takes control.
The old sage about not installing software from unknown sources applies more than ever, I don't know who these people are, but from reports I've seen and heard I wouldn't even consider installing them.
. If I do download software and install it (it inevitable) I scan the download for viruses and trojans, backup my registry, install it and then run Ad-Aware. If Ad-Aware detects anything from the program, i uninstall the sucker. Then I reboot and run the old registry as well.
That's the stupidest lie I've ever heard! :-) I meant really...we're shipping with software we have no clue about...hyuk hyuk!
Blah. I'd disagree with the fellow who says this is a death knell to closed source software though, since, a) most folks don't care and b) the number of people who use this type of software is in the minority.
Derek Greene
It seems the spyware is windows only. Also worth mentioning is that you can compile Limewire from CVS and doing that you will not compile the spyware. However...
Limewire (for Windows) installs spyware even if you uncheck the box!
Got friends?
The lost of privacy was bad enough, but SaveNow seems to work by hooking into Windows Explorer and intercepting a great many application events. For a long time I blammed the resulting performance hit on a combination of my own excessive system tweaking, buggy Explorer plugins, and MS software bloat. It wasn't until Explorer froze up totally that I realized some background process was interfering with it, and found the culprit by process of elimination.
It strikes me that this is not very different from activities that have gotten people sued or even arrested. It's all there -- unauthorized access, theft of services, malicious action. Perhaps it's time we gave Mister Ashcroft a call!
Free music doesn't have to have a price.. it's not like there is some kind of trade-off between free music and spyware, dictated by the laws of physics. As a user and a software developer, I think spyware is unethical and I won't support its use or use it on my computers. There's perfectly good peer to peer software that doesn't have spyware (Morpheus) so that's what I use..
Spyware doesn't just contain the risk of compromising system security. It actually degrades the system performance as well.
I installed BearShare last year, not knowing there was spyware. It was only when my system started slowing down(sluggish games , slow window redraws) that I noticed that it has a loaded a spyware(SaveNow).
I have kept off installing any new software from then on untill I have verified that the software does not contain spyware.
This is especially important now that my family does electronic transactions thru the same computer too.
It is a pity, because of this, I generally distrust free-beer software these days.
I'm not totally positive this is entirely true but I've noticed an anomoly whilst running LimeWire on Windows. When it launches a little 2x2 pixel entity pops up in the top left corner of the screen. It can be clicked and moved around the screen but doesn't respond to anything else I've tried except Alt+F4 which makes it go away (I assume closes it). It also doesn't shot up in task manager as an individual process so I'm further assuming it is a thread in the LimeWire process contained in the JVM. I haven't cared enough to further try to figure out what it is. Is it mentioned in LimeWire's literature and has anybody else seen it?
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
Grokster and possible trojan
Clicktilluwin DLDER Trojan"
Yesterday, a program called "ExPlorer" kept on crashing when I shut down my computer, and a small, unremovable box would appear in the corner of my screen at random times. I suspected a virus, but my software would not detect anything. So, I went to work myself. When my computer started crashing and my Internet connection stopped working, I opened up System Information and located a second explorer.exe in a hidden directory called Explorer.
After a few reboots, I managed to stop the program from running, and then examined its raw assembly code. From the plaintext I could decipher, it seemed to be calling some website called "2001-007.com". Renaming the file to virus.exe (in anticipation), I rebooted again, found my connection working, and visited the site.
2001-007.com is another name for ClickTillUWin, the website that comes with Limewire. Insert your own annoyed reaction here. The smegheads at ClickTillUWin had designed spyware that acted in all effect like subseven or some worm.
So, if you think you've got a virus on your Windows computer but can't detect it with the usual methods, don't panic; get Ad-aware. You'll be better off for it.
Some people are on lines which charge for data transfer volume, leased lines and corporate ADSL in germany for instance, charging upto 35DM per gigabyte, but spyware would have to transfer a lot of data to start costing the victims money.
Perhaps someone should reverse engineer the protocols used by these tools, and create a program for people to run, which sends random/garbage data back to the central server.. It would be amusing to know i am visiting http://ybgqjXimzgsrcgggz2Bjzt7mminfhy/jJsb94Vag a lot...
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
I wonder if they'll try to sneak it into Gnapster... Oh wait... I could read the sourcecode and see it there....
another example that Open source is better.
(Besides, Gnapster on OpenNAP servers is useful (would be more useful if people would get a clue and open the ports on their firewall to actually share those files.)
and the only thing I would love to see changed... if you disconnect, the server erases that you existed and all your shares instead of listing them... that is a pain in the butt.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I see a lot of people don't care about SpyWare. I think everyone should. Maybe it's not that bad, but it's the principle - What they are doing is spying on you. Monitoring you.
If you don't do anything about it, it's only gonna get worse. Feed them a crumb, and they'll take the entire arm! Or whatever the saying is.
Cexx.org has a nice article on how to neutralize spyware.
For those interested, KaZaA utilizes spyware by the name of CyDoor - That article on cexx.org explains what it does.
For those of you who care about privacy, and can't live without KaZaA, this may interest you: Dummy Files for use with KaZaA - or ANY other app that uses the CyDoor spyware rendering it harmless.
They Uncymesh file on the same page kills the spyware when i.e. KaZaA is not in use (when it is it's active!).
All in all I can recommend going through cexx.org, lots of interesting stuff. And yeah, support Ad Aware!
Intentionally Anonymous Counter Exploiter
Has anyone seen anything like spywire snuck into open source software?
The only way I see to do it would be to include spyish code as a 'feature'. We need to be very careful when accepting such features.
We can't believe that just because something isn't secret that it isn't malicious, no matter how innocent the reason may seem.
-twb
As the previous post mentioned above "Ad-aware" is a great program to snif your winblows boxes for spyware.
The January issue of "Smart Computing" has a great article describing which programs are spying on you and some other recommended programs to protect your machine.
A friend of mine keeps getting CometCursor installed on her laptop without her permission. She runs AdAware every so often to find and remove it, but it keeps reappearing.
She suspects it's being installed covertly by some Web sites she visits (though we haven't yet isolated which ones). She surfs with IE, but even so, it seems highly improbable to me that something like CometCursor could be downloaded and installed behind the user's back.
I know CometCursor is spyware, but does anyone have more details about this particular behavior?
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
Use Morpheus. I have known about Kazaa and it's spyware built-in for quite some time now, yet Morpheus is better as it doesn't have spyware and it also allows you to download MP3s larger than 128 kbit.
Getting older versions of Limewire also allows you to defeat the spyware.
The last Mac version of Limewire I tried (18 or 1.8, I think) didn't install any "spyware," per se; there was no piggybacked Trojan. But, according to my firewall's log from back then, it did try to "phone home" about seven times a day, and hunted for another open port when it failed. So, "Trash" is your friend.
Your mouth is like Columbus Day.
but I didn't run Windows, so I didn't speak up.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak up.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Last week? These programs have had spyware installed along with them for months (or longer). It's certainly nothing new or exciting. Get a copy of Ad-aware if you're paranoid. It seems to be pretty good at cleaning that stuff up.
When I installed LimeWire 2.02, I requested that ADP wasn't installed, but it is still running in my task manager.
Does anyone know what this program is?
psxndc
The emacs religion: to be saved, control excess.
Downloaded LimeWire the other day. When first I ran the program, I remember the auto-protect thing scare the hell out of me when it found a bug it classified as 'backdoor.trojan'. The file was 'dlder.exe', created in a temp directory called 'RarSFX0'.
As for spyware and adware, if you are using one of these programs chances are that you aren't doing it for legal reasons from the get-go. Do you really think that you have any rights while breaking the law???
Seriously people you can't really argue how these companies are "bad" when you yourselves are using these programs for completely illegal purposes. All these programs do is suck bandwidth and violate copyrights.
Granted there are legal reasons to use these programs, but the other 99% of the traffic is no where near legal. If you don't like the spyware then don't install the programs... if you want massive amounts of mp3's and pr0n then go ahead and download them, but be aware ... they are going to throw ads at you that will maybe score them a buck or two.
On a side note I'm actually tired of Napster clones always making the page on slashdot and this will be the last comment I make to such a story because all we're doing is helping to promote copyright violations and fuel the fire that made the DMCA possible.
Ignore the "p2p is theft" trolls, they're just uninformed
This (free registration required of course) is the Times article I read. I'll paste in some relevant points: So while we shouldn't excuse these companies for doing something wrong, I think we should at least accept their apologies and believe them when they say that they did not intend for it to be as bad as it is.
And as for the spyware in general, I never install it personally, but I say if people choose to install it and as a result it helps these software companies to make some money, then I see nothing wrong with them including it with their installation programs (of course with an option not to use it).
The first ever Ultimate Frisbee video game: here (now
be funny if the marketing companies suddenly realizied that millions were visiting goatse.cx about 100 times a day....imagine the commercials....
I submitted this same story a week ago, when the original alerts came out. It was, of course, turned down with no reason given.
I guess it's not what you submit, but who submits it?
Whatever.
Haven't we known this for months and months and months? I thought so. :/
Perhaps someone should reverse engineer the protocols used by these tools, and create a program for people to run, which sends random/garbage data back to the central server..
They encrypt the data sent using public key technology. Ironically it has made it hard for the RIAA to work out what is being done by whom without breaking the DMCA. The actual files are sent unencrypted P2P unfortunately.
Of course, a DOS attack probably could just send garbage to work. This is probably not the right way to deal with spyware, IMHO.
Does any file sharing program available today encrypt the actual files transmitted? Just wondering.
Michael
There is no cryptographic solution to the problem where the intended receiver and the attacker are the same entity.
i hear all the /.'ers condemming software spyware but then they seem perfectly comfortable with Tivo logging their viewing habits then selling it to advertisers ?
I submitted this story two days ago :-)
Anyway, I'm glad it got up.
Colin Dean Go a year without DRM
Use a hardware firewall. Software firewalls are just as secure (or insecure) as the operating system they run under. I wouldn't run a MS operating system on the Internet without one, and I'm an MCSE. Go ahead, flame away...I passed my last test and got the last of my Borg parts yesterday.
However, I did have the cojones to get the Hotmail address "PenguinistaMCSE." So far MS hasn't said boo to me about it. Heh heh heh...
Actually I wouldn't run ANY computer without a hardware firewall on the Internet. Period.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
The big throw was that the ads that were being served up always seemed to come from different places. One day, I decided to look into it, and discovered that all the ads were being downloaded from VX2.
VX2 is a very devious piece of sofwtare, logging every one of the sites you visit, and then popping an ad every once in a while. If you surf quickly, throttles itself; surf slowly, and it pops for every site. Quite devious, really.
I recommend downloading some of the software that's already been mentioned (e.g. adaware) -- they do a very good job of getting rid of all sorts of garbage.
I run proxomitron at work, I noticed that i kept hitting google when I was working on a company website. Later I noticed Google was already indexing my website. Like most users I trusted google wouldnt bounce my URLs off google, but they did.
Also, I started using Tiny firewall and started to block alot of software. Couple things I noticed, alot of m$ software trys to talk to the net. Office, Explorer, Windows Networking (not plain tcp/ip), m$ hardware drivers for mouse and keyboard, media player.
Also using a firewall stopped alot of freeware programs that grabs ad's worked great, they just couldnt get the banner ads or talk to the net.
We also use firewall software on our Sun production boxes we use EFS, encyrpted firewall software. It has a nice ACL list you can really lock down traffic. Only open port 80 for web traffic, and only to the load balancers, only allow SSH on the control network. Sometimes while your putting in a new network, the firewall ruleset is very basic, locking down the boxes help add a some security, and everything is logged to a logging server.
-
I was so naive as a kid I used to sneak behind the barn and do nothing. - Johnny Carson
Kazaa and Morpheus both use the same P2P network, notably the one made by FastTrack, a company based in the Netherlands. So, if you want to use the network without spyware, give Kazaa a miss and grab Morpheus instead. Also, I think Morpheus has a Linux client available (I may be wrong on that though).
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
Almost forgot: to disable Morpheus's advertising, add:
127.0.0.1 ads.musiccity.com
to your hosts file. Done and done.
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
I found an nice free website that will run a JavaScript in your browser that detects various kinds of spyware and directs you to instructions on how to remove it. He also offers the source up for free so webmasters can help combat this scourge by hosting the script on their own pages. (That way all your site visitors will be warned about they spyware as they visit your site). It doesn't seem to detect this one though.
I dug this up when I discovered a few months back that AudioGalaxy had secretly installed a similar application called VX2 on my PC. The odd thing was that Audio Galaxy wanted to install BonziBuddy too, but it let me choose. But no choice with this other one. Fortunately it was easy to remove and AG runs fine without it.
SongSpy, now in version XE Beta 2.0, is installing a very nasty spyware app called FTapp without users' knowledge whatsoever - not in the license agreement that users have to agree to when they install SongSpy, nor in the FAQ on their website.
In fact, their FAQ says this (here):
"What is your privacy policy?
"We're still working on pulling together a formal policy in full-blown legalese. But rest assured that we ourselves are privacy zealots and won't be doing anything remotely devious with the information you provide us. Also, we take pride in how little we know about what you are doing on SongSpy, you aren't tracked, logged, or monitored for analysis by the client software."
I looked up FTapp with Google and found nary any info, except for a virus entry for FTapp in McAfee's Virus Information Library. FTapp's entry in McAfee's Virus Information Library says the following:
"Virus Characteristics: This is an advertising/user monitoring trojan. Once running this trojan may track your web browsing activity and/or display advertisements.
"Indications Of Infection: Presence of the file FTAPP.DLL
"Method Of Infection: This trojan is installed via an executable.
"Removal Instructions: Use specified engine and DAT files for detection. Use the ADD/REMOVE Programs Control Panel in Windows to remove this program."
In fact, an entry for FTapp is in the Add/Remove Program applet of Windows' Control Panel. But, if you try to remove it, it says that there was an error and asks if you wish to just remove the install entry from Add/Remove Programs. Thus, FTapp CANNOT be uninstalled this way; it will remain.
At the time I discovered FTapp on my system, I assumed that the next step was to just delete the (unhidden) folder C:\Program Files\ftapp. I've done this and haven't had any problems yet.
The folder C:\Program Files\ftapp contains two files: FTapp.dll and FTapp.mon. Viewing the properties sheet for FTapp.dll didn't reveal much, but opening FTapp.mon was my greatest cause for alarm. In it appears to be lots of websites I've visited recently.
SongSpy users cannot even contact SongSpy, either. Their support, in its entirety, is the FAQ, and the only way they have set up to be contacted (here) is at staff@songspy.com, and only for business proposals or if someone is from the media (hint hint).
Also, iMesh 3.0 was just released this week, and it contains something called FTPBack/FTP_back/FTP Back. Also stealth, it's installed automatically during iMesh 3.0 setup and without users' knowledge and is set to run at Windows startup using the Windows Registry's Run key...
I'd like to set my private dns server to resolve them to 127.0.0.1 - I am especially interested in the kazaa one, since I use morpheus. I've already redirected sites like auto.search.msn.com, since every incorrectly url typed into IE is sent there.
here is a really comprehensive hosts file that blocks morpheus,bearshare,hotline and 10,000 advert servers, daily updates, instructions and works on all platforms including Linux/beos/macs ;)
A friend of mine worked at webHancer for a while. Trust me, there's a nice dialog that:
1. tells you what webHancer is
2. tells you what webHancer does
3. asks you if you want to install audiogalaxy with or without it.
I've installed audiogalaxy several times, and all you have to do is uncheck the check box. But most people click "Next" without even reading the dialogs.
You consented to it. That doesn't make it spyware, it makes it ignorantware.
What I find most disconcerting about this entire situation is that if I do something like this I'm a "bad girl" and face possible charges under vague federal law but when a company does it nothing happens to them - they issue an "apology" and it's over.
-------
I don't have a solution, but I certainly admire the problem.
First of all I wonder how people get shocked about those companies making evil things...
Second is, I sure wonder how Gnucleus ( http://www.gnucleus.com ) which is a full open source program works perfectly on win32 platform isn't mentioned on messages.
The coder guy(s) say now it has even multi-source downloading, just like fasttrack.
There is also another problem, as those programs are closed source, how come they won't have _native_ spying? e.g. Morpheus sending current URL of IE easily from urlmon.dll to that dutch company? I mean, anyone checked it yet?
The only snood that i know of is an at least 3 years old mac game (that i have since seen windows incarnations of) that works kind of like a reverse tetris. does this goofy (yet addictive) game have some kind of extra, hidden functionality within the executable program?
1st a quote..
"F-Secure Virus Descriptions
NAME: DlDer
ALIAS: Trojan.Win32.DlDer, Troj_DlDer
This two-component trojan was discovered in the end of December 2001. The trojan being installed on a user's system constantly upgrades its main component that connects to 2001-007.com website and reports user's ID, web browser a user is using and all URLs that a web browser and all its child windows open. The trojan violates user's privacy and opens a security hole in a system by downloading and activating executable files.
The main component of the trojan is Explorer.exe file that is located in Windows folder in \Explorer\ subfolder (do not mix with the original Windows' Explorer.exe). This component is constantly upgraded by the second trojan component that has the name 'DlDer.exe' and is located in Windows folder.
The DlDer.exe file is most likely dropped to user's system by ActiveX applet or Javascript code that a user doesn't notice when he is browsing Internet. The exact way how this file is dropped is not yet known. The case is under investigation.
The DlDer.exe file when it is started downloads Explorer.exe file from a website and puts it to \Windows\Explorer\ folder. Then the trojan creates a startup key for Explorer.exe file. On next System restart the Explorer.exe file is activated and it creates a startup key for DlDer.exe file and starts to connect to 2001-007.com website and report user's ID, web browser and all URLs that a user visits to there.
We recommend to delete both trojan components from an infected system. If these components can't be deleted (locked files) they should be deleted from pure DOS (in case of Windows 9x system) or renamed with different extensions (EXA for example) with immediate system restart (in case of Windows NT/2000/XP system).
[F-Secure Anti-Virus Research Team, December 28th, 2001]"
Now some links
Astechnica Forum - "Is download.com infected with a virus???"
Arstechnica Forum - "explorer.exe and Explorer.exe"
Computing.Net Forum - "How to delete trojan in explorer.exe"
Gnutella Forum - "p2p Trojan info"
they probably wont mod up a helpful windows post, so the answer for windows users is in the subject line. ad-haters might like to add all these:
127.0.0.1 ads.x10.com
127.0.0.1 ads.musiccity.com
127.0.0.1 207-87-18-203.wsmg.digex.net
127.0.0.1 Garden.ngadcenter.net
127.0.0.1 Ogilvy.ngadcenter.net
127.0.0.1 ResponseMedia-ad.flycast.com
127.0.0.1 Suissa-ad.flycast.com
127.0.0.1 UGO.eu-adcenter.net
127.0.0.1 VNU.eu-adcenter.net
127.0.0.1 a32.g.a.yimg.com
127.0.0.1 ad-adex3.flycast.com
127.0.0.1 ad.adsmart.net
127.0.0.1 ad.ca.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.de.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.fr.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.jp.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.linkexchange.com
127.0.0.1 ad.linksynergy.com
127.0.0.1 ad.nl.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.no.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.preferences.com
127.0.0.1 ad.sma.punto.net
127.0.0.1 ad.uk.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.webprovider.com
127.0.0.1 ad08.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 adcontroller.unicast.com
127.0.0.1 adcreatives.imaginemedia.com
127.0.0.1 adex3.flycast.com
127.0.0.1 adforce.ads.imgis.com
127.0.0.1 adforce.imgis.com
127.0.0.1 adfu.blockstackers.com
127.0.0.1 adimage.blm.net
127.0.0.1 adimages.earthweb.com
127.0.0.1 adimg.egroups.com
127.0.0.1 admedia.xoom.com
127.0.0.1 adpick.switchboard.com
127.0.0.1 adremote.pathfinder.com
127.0.0.1 ads.admaximize.com
127.0.0.1 ads.bfast.com
127.0.0.1 ads.clickhouse.com
127.0.0.1 ads.enliven.com
127.0.0.1 ads.fairfax.com.au
127.0.0.1 ads.fool.com
127.0.0.1 ads.freshmeat.net
127.0.0.1 ads.hollywood.com
127.0.0.1 ads.i33.com
127.0.0.1 ads.infi.net
127.0.0.1 ads.jwtt3.com
127.0.0.1 ads.link4ads.com
127.0.0.1 ads.lycos.com
127.0.0.1 ads.madison.com
127.0.0.1 ads.mediaodyssey.com
127.0.0.1 ads.msn.com
127.0.0.1 ads.ninemsn.com.au
127.0.0.1 ads.seattletimes.com
127.0.0.1 ads.smartclicks.com
127.0.0.1 ads.smartclicks.net
127.0.0.1 ads.sptimes.com
127.0.0.1 ads.tripod.com
127.0.0.1 ads.web.aol.com
127.0.0.1 ads.x10.com
127.0.0.1 ads.xtra.co.nz
127.0.0.1 ads.zdnet.com
127.0.0.1 ads01.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads02.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads03.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads04.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads05.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads06.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads08.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads09.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads1.activeagent.at
127.0.0.1 ads10.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads11.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads12.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads14.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads16.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads17.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads18.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads19.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads2.zdnet.com
127.0.0.1 ads20.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads21.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads22.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads23.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads24.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads25.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ads3.zdnet.com
127.0.0.1 ads3.zdnet.com
127.0.0.1 ads5.gamecity.net
127.0.0.1 adserv.iafrica.com
127.0.0.1 adserv.quality-channel.de
127.0.0.1 adserver.dbusiness.com
127.0.0.1 adserver.garden.com
127.0.0.1 adserver.janes.com
127.0.0.1 adserver.merc.com
127.0.0.1 adserver.monster.com
127.0.0.1 adserver.track-star.com
127.0.0.1 adserver1.ogilvy-interactive.de
127.0.0.1 adtegrity.spinbox.net
127.0.0.1 antfarm-ad.flycast.com
127.0.0.1 au.ads.link4ads.com
127.0.0.1 banner.media-system.de
127.0.0.1 banner.orb.net
127.0.0.1 banner.relcom.ru
127.0.0.1 banners.easydns.com
127.0.0.1 banners.looksmart.com
127.0.0.1 banners.wunderground.com
127.0.0.1 barnesandnoble.bfast.com
127.0.0.1 beseenad.looksmart.com
127.0.0.1 bizad.nikkeibp.co.jp
127.0.0.1 bn.bfast.com
127.0.0.1 c3.xxxcounter.com
127.0.0.1 califia.imaginemedia.com
127.0.0.1 cds.mediaplex.com
127.0.0.1 click.avenuea.com
127.0.0.1 click.go2net.com
127.0.0.1 click.linksynergy.com
127.0.0.1 cookies.cmpnet.com
127.0.0.1 cornflakes.pathfinder.com
127.0.0.1 counter.hitbox.com
127.0.0.1 crux.songline.com
127.0.0.1 erie.smartage.com
127.0.0.1 etad.telegraph.co.uk
127.0.0.1 fp.valueclick.com
127.0.0.1 gadgeteer.pdamart.com
127.0.0.1 gm.preferences.com
127.0.0.1 gp.dejanews.com
127.0.0.1 hg1.hitbox.com
127.0.0.1 image.click2net.com
127.0.0.1 image.eimg.com
127.0.0.1 images2.nytimes.com
127.0.0.1 jobkeys.ngadcenter.net
127.0.0.1 kansas.valueclick.com
127.0.0.1 leader.linkexchange.com
127.0.0.1 liquidad.narrowcastmedia.com
127.0.0.1 ln.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 m.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 macaddictads.snv.futurenet.com
127.0.0.1 maximumpcads.imaginemedia.com
127.0.0.1 media.preferences.com
127.0.0.1 mercury.rmuk.co.uk
127.0.0.1 mojofarm.sjc.mediaplex.com
127.0.0.1 nbc.adbureau.net
127.0.0.1 newads.cmpnet.com
127.0.0.1 ng3.ads.warnerbros.com
127.0.0.1 ngads.smartage.com
127.0.0.1 nsads.hotwired.com
127.0.0.1 ntbanner.digitalriver.com
127.0.0.1 ph-ad05.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ph-ad07.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ph-ad16.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ph-ad17.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 ph-ad18.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 realads.realmedia.com
127.0.0.1 redherring.ngadcenter.net
127.0.0.1 redirect.click2net.com
127.0.0.1 regio.adlink.de
127.0.0.1 retaildirect.realmedia.com
127.0.0.1 s2.focalink.com
127.0.0.1 sh4sure-images.adbureau.net
127.0.0.1 spin.spinbox.net
127.0.0.1 static.admaximize.com
127.0.0.1 stats.superstats.com
127.0.0.1 sview.avenuea.com
127.0.0.1 thinknyc.eu-adcenter.net
127.0.0.1 tracker.clicktrade.com
127.0.0.1 tsms-ad.tsms.com
127.0.0.1 v0.extreme-dm.com
127.0.0.1 v1.extreme-dm.com
127.0.0.1 van.ads.link4ads.com
127.0.0.1 view.accendo.com
127.0.0.1 view.avenuea.com
127.0.0.1 w113.hitbox.com
127.0.0.1 w25.hitbox.com
127.0.0.1 web2.deja.com
127.0.0.1 webads.bizservers.com
127.0.0.1 www.admex.com
127.0.0.1 www.alladvantage.com
127.0.0.1 www.commission-junction.com
127.0.0.1 www.freestats.com
127.0.0.1 www.imaginemedia.com
127.0.0.1 www.netdirect.nl
127.0.0.1 www.oneandonlynetwork.com
127.0.0.1 www.targetshop.com
127.0.0.1 www.teknosurf2.com
127.0.0.1 www.teknosurf3.com
127.0.0.1 www.websitefinancing.com
127.0.0.1 www2.burstnet.com
127.0.0.1 www4.trix.net
127.0.0.1 www80.valueclick.com
127.0.0.1 z.extreme-dm.com
127.0.0.1 z0.extreme-dm.com
127.0.0.1 z1.extreme-dm.com
127.0.0.1 toolbar.netscape.com
127.0.0.1 actionsplash.com
127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ads.belointeractive.com
127.0.0.1 ads.bluefish.com
127.0.0.1 ads.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ads.inet.com
127.0.0.1 ads.inet1.com
127.0.0.1 ads.intelliads.com
127.0.0.1 ads.realcities.com
127.0.0.1 ads.ucomics.com
127.0.0.1 adserver.matchcraft.com
127.0.0.1 adserver1.harvestadsdepot.com
127.0.0.1 ads1.intelliads.com
127.0.0.1 cj.com
127.0.0.1 clickhereforcellphones.com
172.0.0.1 clickheretofind.com
127.0.0.1 clickthrutraffic.com
127.0.0.1 connect.247media.ads.link4ads.com
127.0.0.1 content.uclick.com
127.0.0.1 hitbox.com
127.0.0.1 kr123.com
127.0.0.1 qksrv.net
172.0.0.1 rmedia.boston.com
127.0.0.1 servedby.advertising.com
127.0.0.1 www.actionsplash.com
127.0.0.1 www.clickhereforcellphones.com
127.0.0.1 www.clickheretofind.com
127.0.0.1 www.clickthrutraffic.com
127.0.0.1 www.cj.com
127.0.0.1 www.kr123.com
127.0.0.1 www.qksrv.net
127.0.0.1 w26.hitbox.com
127.0.0.1 ads.nextlevel.com
Morpheus is a windows app that works on the FastTrak network(same as Kazaa), claims not to install spyware and still works after I did the ad-aware thing. It pops up ads in IE every once in a while if you leave it running but other than that it gives you access to all the ill-gotten gain out there.
Bleh!
It's entirely feasible that "they" (I know, it's decentralized. But, for our purposes here, I'll refer to the various distributors [or whoever...] as a collective "they"...) were, indeed, not aware of the fact that the other bundled software just happened to be some bullsh1t, spy-ware, virii crap.
I work for a "tech" company, and the folks who actually make the decisions (i.e. - The Suits) know little or nothing about the technology. We're continually "partnered" or "integrated" or "bundled" with some company of whose software we are virtually ignorant of. We just get with them because the name sounds good...
So, based upon my own personal professional experiences, I would offer up the possibility that, while it may not be responsible/acceptable, it is certainly feasible that someone, somewhere decided to "leverage" some "service provider" or "industry leader" or some other such industry buzzword catchphrase BS, and we all ended up with hourly firewall alerts that a default action was taken to block an inbound IP connection to a known "Backdoor/SubSeven" port!
In short, I think it sucks, but it's likely not the fault of crazy hackers - rather, it's more likely due to incompetent "decision makers"...
But hey, what do I know?
@sshatrack
http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~atman/spam/adblock.s html
Hey, I've got a cheap windows PC and I'm not 13! . . . but I'm still addicted to porn. Ah, hell.
I called him to ask what the fsck his executable was running on my machine for and how it got there. He denied it did any spying and said it only worked when you were on the ClickTillUWin site. (Basically a complete load of shit.)
If this sort of crap pisses you off too, drop him a line.
Registrant:
Preference Marketing Services
8170 S. Eastern Avenue, Suite 4613
Las Vegas, Nevada 89123
US
Registrar: Dotster (http://www.dotster.com)
Domain Name: MYTRAFFICTRADER.COM
Created on: 15-JUN-01
Expires on: 15-JUN-02
Last Updated on: 27-JUN-01
Administrative Contact:
Calderone, Michael michaelcalderone@hotmail.com
Preference Marketing
8170 S. Eastern Avenue, Suite 4613
Las Vegas, Nevada 89123
US
702-243-8714
702-207-6682
Technical Contact:
Callahan, Heather fred@aafunnypictures.com
Preference Marketing Services
8170 S. Eastern Avenue, Suite 4613
Las Vegas, Nevada 89123
US
208-664-3804
702-207-6682
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.BANNERHOSTS.COM
NS2.BANNERHOSTS.COM
A good source for info on these programs (trojans) is Thiefware.com.
A lot of companies who don't even own these programs will try to scam businesses by trying to sell "keywords" on them. They make impressive claims of their installed "user base" that are wildly over inflated. And they don't bother to mention how they're hijacking people. Sheesh.
Rather than redefining "is", it seems that our old friend has found a new home at Cydoor Technologies, makers of another KaZaA-transmitted disease, who are now pushing the ClickTilUWin trojan to spyware-friendly companies.
To quote the article:
Robert Regular of Cydoor Technologies Inc., which distributed the ClickTillUWin software to the file-sharing companies, said the program wasn't supposed to collect information until users activated it -- and had an opportunity to be notified and decline if they so choosed.
Regular said he did not believe deception was intended by any of the parties.
I guess some things never change.
Caveat Emptor is not a business model.
Although it hides as the "What's Related" feature, Mozilla does exactly the same thing. Every URL you visit is sent to xslt.alexa.com. Just try it: add "127.0.0.1 xslt.alexa.com" to your /etc/hosts, fire up apache and Mozilla and tail the logfile...
127.0.0.1 - - [06/Jan/2002:10:58:03 +0000] "GET /data?cli=17&dat=nsacdt=t%3D1%26pane%3Dnswr6%26wid %3D4832&url=http://www.google.com HTTP/1.1" 404 276 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:0.9.5) Gecko/20011012" /data?cli=17&dat=nsacdt=t%3D0%26pane%3Dnswr6%26wid %3D4832&url=http://www.google.com/search HTTP/1.1" 404 276 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:0.9.5) Gecko/20011012"
127.0.0.1 - - [06/Jan/2002:10:58:08 +0000] "GET
While a great application, it has a VERY aggressive advertisement scheme.
Now what. I have a VERY aggressive anti-ad scheme.
I've installed Naviscope (which is free) - no more pop-ups. I haven't had any more trouble with Morpheus, and those ads in the main Morpheus window don't bother me. (Besides, there's always this neat HOSTS trick which has been mentioned in here).
This is yet a great example of the trustworthy, reliable and functional software open source provides. This kind of hiding in the source wouldn't work in an open source program.
Hey, recall the old days--before GUIs and WWW? Back in the DOS 2 and 3 days, I recall many of my friends accusing Prodigy of trying a similar stunt. The assertion was that when you ran the Prodigy software, it made a listing of all files on your local drives and forwarded that to the Prodigy server. Prodigy denied it but more than one claim running around FidoNet was that users would make a clean copy of the Prodigy floopy, and, after connecting for a brief session, found that floopy now contained new hidden files with the directory trees of both their A and B drive on it.
"Love is a familiar; Love is a devil: there is no evil angel but Love." --William Shakespeare ('Love's Labors Lost')
"IE doesn't allow you to add those sites as exceptions to a proxy server unless there is an address configured for the proxy server. "
Only idiots use IE.
what is up with everyone trying to target ads at us???
no one clicks ads, especially because they are really annoying
targeting ads doesn't make me want to click either. if i was looking for something on the internet, i would have found it already
with kazaa, you just need to go into the registry and take out the appropriate lines, change some numbers to 0. PopDonDay 0 PopMaxDay 0 should tell it not to pop up ads. Also, I took out a bunch of lines under Cydoor Services as well... like the URL lines... now when i run kazaa I get no pop ups and NO banner ads... don't know if that stop it all, but at least there are no ads.
Since LimeWire is open source, someone made a nice clone of it without spyware or ads. It is called Clean LimeWire and is available at http://us.geocities.com/burk017/index.html.
I deleted all of the CyDoor stuff and decided to just go ahead and uninstall KaZaA. Guess what?
Here's the error message pop-up window from the un-install:
--------
(X) Error loading C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\cd_clint.dll
The system cannot find the file specifed.
-----
So the UN-INSTALL script RUNS CyDoor!
Do it sends a message like, "FYI: This victim has uninstalled KaZaA. I'm still alive."
Ever dream you could fly? Get up from the Flight Sim. I Fly
HTTHost I Haven't tried it, but I just saw it last night and it claims to do exactly what you are looking for. Good luck with it.
Moderation Totals: Flamebait=2, Troll=1, Redundant=1, Insightful=6, Overrated=1, Underrated=1, Total=12. (not mine)
20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
It's just like the RealPlayer. During their setup, they have lots of questions about which 'important notices' (ads) you want to receive. It's in a scrollbox showing about 4 unchecked options, but if you scroll down, you'll see the others ARE checked (they obviously are hoping you'll assume they aren't checked and press OK).
I don't want a media, news and ad portal, I just want to play those stupid files. What bloat.
lynx http://localhost:8888/KSK@gpl.txt
It isn't my net connection because the various Gnutella clients work fine. I really like the idea of Freenet, but for people who just want to share files, there's a reason why they run stuff like Limewire and Kazaa. They're ready for prime time.
A better question might be "why aren't we using the GPL version of Limewire" but in that case the answer is "because limewire.com offers a shiny setup.exe". And the same kind of thing will undoubtedly happen with Freenet if it ever gets as far as someone packaging a pretty Windows client.
I know this story's old by now, but the home page for KaZaA users now includes an apology from KaZaA for the spyware (which it says has been unfairly classified as a Trojan) along with a downloadable executable that supposedly erases the spyware. Whether it remains erased, or pops up once again, is yet to be seen ... but at least it's a step in the right direction.
If you know the IP of someone running Kazaa, or Morpheus for that matter, you can connect to them without using the service by http://ipaddress:1214 and it will give you a list of what they are sharing all nicely presented for you.
Freedom is merely privilege extended unless enjoyed by one and all.