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Trojans and Popups and Slimeball Business
Selanit writes "Salon.com is reporting
on a company which exploited a vulnerability in an old but common version of Internet Explorer's Java engine to install spyware on the visitor's machine. " It's a pretty in depth story showing the lack of respect that
some companies have. My favorite part is that the guy who denies any knowledge
of the trojan popup is named 'Frank Bigott'.
I love how the article is titled "The Pop-Up Ad Campaign from Hell"--and you get a pop-up when you first visit it. Also a nice Flash ad delay when you hit Back. Yep.
The coolest voice ever.
Isn't it odd that the only Java security exploit to be used in the wild is in the VM produced by Microsoft that didn't obey the Java spec.
Now a cynical person would say that this would enable Microsoft to point at Java and say "Java is insecure" but of course I'm not a cynical person and I'm sure it was purely an accident.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
How is this type of cancerware distinguishable from a virus that spreads by exploiting security vunerabilities?
It seems that all the Klez and Chernobyl kiddies have gone and got themselves some venture capital, and are turning their malware into a business.
"Why did they cancel my favorite Sci-Fi show? I downloaded ALL the episodes!"
...Call me naive, but why isnt that states attorney general investigating this company? This is nothing short of corporate sponsored hax0ring.
I didnt see any mention in the article of somebody lodging a criminal or even civil complaint.
I think a big reason these companies get away with this crap is that nobody takes them to task for what they are doing...
I lost my concept of community when my community lost all concept of me.
WHO THE FUCK ARE THESE PEOPLE?! Never heard of a single one of them - figures they'd be polluting the Internet.
Shouldn't these shitty companies have DIED last year?!
I'm a 2000 man.
There has to be a solution to this sort of problem. About the only way I could get Flowgo to stop SPAMMING my mail server is to call up a buddy of Tony Soprano to break their knees because Flowgo doesn't care and I have never, ever, ever been able to get one of my elected officials or law enforcement agency to pay any interest in Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail. Its not like Flowgo is hiding its behavior either. It should be easy to get them but no one that matters or has the power, gives a damn about this huge waste of bandwidth.
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
I have.
Many times: it's why I now use Mozilla (well, that and the tabbed browsing and...and...and...) and Ad Aware.
Mostly it seems to be dialler programs for offshore ISPs. Porn, basically.
Use IE unprotected for a while, then run AdAware - it's quite scary.
I'm aware, that this doesn't necessarily sit well with a lot of people here, but wtf...
ich bin der musikant
mit taschenrechner in der hand
kraftwerk
I don't know what's scarier. This article or that a related article at the bottom of this one talks about our "friend" Fritz who wants to "protect" spyware by defining what's sensitive.
Quote
The second is "nonsensitive" information, and among that will include your name, address, and records of anything you buy or surf on the Internet. Under the act, business can't collect or divulge the sensitive bits without your express consent, but anything classified as nonsensitive can be freely collected and sold at will.
End Quote
The article can be found here
What bothers me the most, is that Federal Law Enforcement agencies have been going after individuals who crack corprate machines for years -- and hitting them with hard criminal charges (or in some cases, just throwing them in jail without clear or formal criminal charges).
Its clear that the federal government is zealous in its crusade to protect corporate America from "hackers". But who protects individuals from shady companies?
Its also clear that the company behind the trojan popups has engaged in criminal activity...but where the hell is the criminal investigation -- anyone being brought up on charges? At most -- we might see some fiducary damages awarded to someone (but not anyone here -- and not to anybody we know)...but if the feds can throw Kevin in jail -- I want the fuckers responsible for this kind of malicous marketing in jail too...(don't forget spammers either).
-Turkey
-Turkey
Ad-aware is a Windows program from Lavasoft that will remove spyware from your computer. It is freeware. There is also a plus version available for a fee that will run in the background and prevent spyware from being installed.