Slashdot Mirror
Anti-Spyware Vendor Partners with Spyware Company?
Tuxedo Jack writes "eWeek reports that the anti-spyware vendor Aluria Software has partnered with WhenU of 'WhenUSave' and 'SaveNow' infamy. They've removed WhenU from their spyware/malware definition lists, certified their applications as safe, and they deny that money was involved. As a result, SpywareInfo and many other anti-spyware sites are delisting Aluria's 'Spyware Eliminator' from their lists of preferred software. Is this a dangerous trend for anti-spyware? Or are we just witnessing a natural evolution? I sure hope it's neither - I like my Windows boxes junkware-free, thanks (oxymoron noted)."
reminds me of the age old question of whether anti virus companies created virii just to keep their own operations alive.
Solution: stick to vendors that can be trusted. Use Spybot and Ad-Aware.
Wasn't it not long ago we had this story about Yahoo Anti-Spy Favors Yahoo's Adware Partners?
I think in long run, anti-badthings services are going to be influenced by the bottom line. Spyware/spammers can make enough to feed themselves and pay for these services to 'certify' them.
As end-users, we need to be educated to prevent these installations in the first place.
Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
Bah.
Since I started using adaware tools, I learned I could rely only on Spybot and Ad-Aware. Obviously, many others noticed their reliability too - just try googling for either of two, and see how many pages you can find with fake installers - some sites even distribute AdAware installations with modified malware definitions and crippled update, so your AdAware might even refuse to detect malware on your PC.
To me, it all smells so familiar... Just as M$ loves to force, bribe, coax or cajole software producers into specialising their products for Windows compatibility, so do too the malware distributers seek their fifth collumn... Similarities are far from passing.
'...computers in the future may have only 1000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh 1.5 tons...' Popular Mechanics, 03/49'
Show me your proof that "in most cases the user has 'agreed' to allow these programs to run." I can certainly find proof to the contrary.
Take a look at these screen shots of the Bearshare install that includes WhenU and tell me it is reasonable to expect a user to press page-down 45 times to read the license.
Users are not aware they are running WhenU because the company works hard to keep them ignorant.
I've caught shareware sites bundling my software with WhenU malware, without my permission, and without giving clear indications to users, causing problems for my customers and endangering my reputation.
I consider any program that sits in the background and pops up ads while the bundled application is not running to be unwanted malware.