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Microsoft AntiSpyware thinks Firefox is Spyware

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the most-worms-are-spread-via-outlook dept.

brightertimes writes "It seems that microsoft's new AntiSpyware (beta) is now advising users to remove Firefox on their computers.. A Zeropaid.com thread shows the offending screenshot in action. Once your scanning has been done, if Firefox is found on your computer it provides the user with a "high" threat level and advising removal due to of lack of security updates." CT Several users have noted that the screenshot is likely fake.

46 of 454 comments (clear)

  1. Predicted on Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Two months ago.

    1. Re:Predicted on Slashdot by d3ac0n · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The most important part of any scam:

      No matter how outrageous your claim, if you make it believeable, people will fall for it.

      Nicely done gentlemen, nicely done indeed.

      --
      Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
  2. Not true.... by scifience · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I just ran a "Deep Scan" with MS Anti-Spyware on a machine with Firefox 1.0 installed. I got 0 results for spyware.

    1. Re:Not true.... by epedersen · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I have ran the scan on my computers with both Firefox 1.0 and Firefox 1.0.1 and the only Spyware that the MS Anti-Spyware finds is RealVNC.

    2. Re:Not true.... by nuclear305 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      " I just ran a "Deep Scan" with MS Anti-Spyware on a machine with Firefox 1.0 installed. I got 0 results for spyware."

      Agreed. I just ran a deep scan with the latest definitions and all I got were 3 false positives.

      Screenshot

    3. Re:Not true.... by Martin+Taylor · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Jesus H, It's obviously a photoshop, the thread that they link to is clearly a joke. It took about 10 seconds to tell that this is a hoax. How in the hell can this make the front page? It's just insane. People subscribe to /.? People are paid to run this site? For this and same-day dupes?

    4. Re:Not true.... by selectspec · · Score: 4, Funny

      The question isn't why this made the front page, but whether the same story will be on tomorrow's /.

      --

      Someone you trust is one of us.

    5. Re:Not true.... by EvilAlien · · Score: 4, Informative
      Same here... I'm running the Beta, and have so since it was launched. It has never detected Firefox as spyware, but has highlighted the slight risk inherent in VNC. GIANT Spyware has done a vastly better job than Adware Pro did for me, and running Adaware Pro in parallel didn't appear to give any added benefit (best practice is generally to run 2 antispyware apps in parallel since none catch 100% of threats).

      Nice FUD post here... guess MS aren't the only ones to use FUD as a weapon, huh?

      --
      perl -e 'print $i=pack(c5, (41*2), sqrt(7056), (unpack(c,H)-2), oct(115), 10)'
    6. Re:Not true.... by diverman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So, then why is slashdot leaving a false claim (despite the small editor's note) on the top of their main page???

      While I'm totally NOT an M$ fan, it is kinda lame to have that claim shown to be false on the main page.

      -Alex

    7. Re:Not true.... by Pharmboy · · Score: 4, Informative

      I run it every night and have it autoquarantine everything, and have NEVER had it touch my wanted programs, on a VERY loaded and capable box. (multiple BT clients, USENET clients, etc.) It doesn't claim Firefox is anything (using now as always). Doesn't seem to care one way or the other.

      I installed MS Antispy a month ago, and haven't had any problems with it. While I am not a fan of MS's tactics and use Linux on most of my boxes (this is a media center hooked to the TV, easier for Windows, to me) I find the program pretty good. Beat out Spybot Search and Destroy, which I have used for over a year before installing MS's app.

      Because I run the scan every night, I have scanned with all the definitions, so my guess is that the article is FUD against MS, which is rather ironic if you think about it.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    8. Re:Not true.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Because Slashdot's policy is to never ever remove an article once posted. They believe that that policy helps immunize them from some types of lawsuits - because if they make decisions about some articles being worthy of removal, then someone can claim "This article which we don't like should be one of the ones you remove"; whereas with the no-removals policy, Slashdot thinks it's more free to say, "You'll have to force us!"

      A better question would be, how did the article get posted in the first place?

  3. One Word. by JS_RIDDLER · · Score: 5, Informative

    -Photoshop

    --
    _JS
    1. Re:One Word. by rk87 · · Score: 4, Funny

      If you look at the screenshot, you'll also see that the "advice" that is supposed to be taken is not valid english, and MS products are known to always have correct and valid english. More proof that its fake.

      --
      I'M NOT ANGRY!
    2. Re:One Word. by Per+Wigren · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yes, extremly lame joke. He should have used The Gimp.

      --
      My other account has a 3-digit UID.
  4. Um, simply NOT true. by MSFanBoi · · Score: 4, Informative

    I have Mozilla and Microsoft Antispyware BETA running on my system. This is simply NOT true.

  5. Slashdot got FARKed by CashCarSTAR · · Score: 5, Informative

    Later on in the thread they admit it's a fake.

    Way to go Editor.

  6. bah by ChronoSphere · · Score: 4, Funny

    You wanna make that scan result accurate?

    Replace the word "Mozilla" with "Internet Explorer" and the warning will be pretty damn accurate.

  7. gullible, photoshopped... by FinestLittleSpace · · Score: 4, Funny

    "rupert, did you know gullible isn't in the dictionary?"
    "what? it really isn't? Oh Touche old chap!"

  8. Duh...hello? Anyone home? by lxt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Aside from the fact anyone with a sane mind would be able to work out it was a fake, here are a few details that might help you:

    1) "FireFox is an alternative browser" - you'd never, ever, find Microsoft saying that now. They'd say "FireFox is an internet browser".

    2) "May perform operations differently from the default browser" - similarly, you could have Firefox as the default browser. Microsoft would never say these on anything they produce, because it would be seen as insinuating Internet Explorer was the only "official" net browser for Windows.

    But hey, when did anything like logical reasoning ever stop Slashdot editors?

  9. Joke by Monx · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's a joke. Read the forum in linked to in the summary. Why is this on Slashdot w/out the foot icon?

  10. TACO IS AN IDIOT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is clearly a fake, and they even state as much in the forum.

    WAY TO GO, TACO!

    1. Re:TACO IS AN IDIOT by 0x461FAB0BD7D2 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Or perhaps Slashdot is adding a comedy section to their news.

      I'd welcome it.

    2. Re:TACO IS AN IDIOT by kiltedtaco · · Score: 5, Funny

      I can't wait until the dupe of this story gets posted in a week!

    3. Re:TACO IS AN IDIOT by reboot246 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well, it's the funniest thing I've read all day. But, the day isn't over yet and chances are this story will show up here again.

    4. Re:TACO IS AN IDIOT by game+kid · · Score: 5, Funny
      (story above) CT Several users have noted that the screenshot is likely fake.

      In other news, Windows likely has a calculator, a text editor, a much-hated activation requirement, and a much-despised Web browser. At the risk of being banned from /., I must agree with the parent here.

      --
      You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
    5. Re:TACO IS AN IDIOT by Mr2cents · · Score: 5, Funny

      * Stickers improving your battery life!
      * Random number generators predict "important" events!
      * IPods prefer certain songs!

      Just to name a few recent embarrassing stories. Slashdot has gone New Age, methinks.

      --
      "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
    6. Re:TACO IS AN IDIOT by TFGeditor · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, they already have one but never use it or accept articles submitted for it. It is called "It's Funny. Laugh" Check it out on the Select Topic menu on the Submit Story page.

      --
      Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever.
    7. Re:TACO IS AN IDIOT by 1u3hr · · Score: 4, Informative
      This is clearly a fake, and they even state as much in the forum.

      The image was posted by grab_grab_the_haddock timestamped Yesterday, 03:56 PM
      A few posts down the same guy posts Yesterday, 05:53 PM, 2 hours later: "Funny? It's absolutely priceless. Only MikeHunt would be stupid enough to so passionately debunk a blatantly photoshopped image which was put up for a joke. Hilarious."

      He was wrong, Taco was even more stupid. I can't work out what timezones all these posts there and on slashdot refer to; but I'm pretty sure the follow up admission was there before it went up on Slashdot, not that anyone should have taken it at face value. I might believe a false positive for just about anything, but there is a description of Firefox there that no one at Microsoft would be stupid enough to write.

    8. Re:TACO IS AN IDIOT by LordNightwalker · · Score: 5, Informative

      Here's the sticker story; here's the random number genarator story and this is the iPod shuffle link. Enjoy.

      --
      Install windows on my workstation? You crazy? Got any idea how much I paid for the damn thing?
    9. Re:TACO IS AN IDIOT by rebeka+thomas · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Before blasting slashdot, I think slashdot has handled this better simply by nature than most other news sites.

      I've seen links to this image at least half a dozen times already. Only on slashdot have I seen the uproar in comments that it's a fake. Only on slashdot have people bothered researching the info behind the photograph to see what happened. Hell, only on slashdot was a link given to the original thread so we could find this out for ourselves. Everywhere else just had a bunch of drooling fools looking over the image and laughing at how desperate MS looks, while here we find the true story because of the strength of comments and the comment moderation system.

      Slashdot is doing better than regular news sources that regularly print misinformation, one sided stories and complete fabrications with no recourse for comments by readers who do know better.

      --
      RST
  11. Sounds bogus to me by Ridgelift · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hmm..seems kind of fishy to me.

    So I fired up VMWare where I have a legit install of XP Pro. I downloaded the latest copy of Microsoft's Anti-Spyware program and updated to the latest signatures.

    Here are my results.

    I'll admit it, I don't like Microsoft. I've even been modded down into the basement for my anti-Microsoft comments in the past. But even I think this sort of stuff does not belong on Slashdot.

    Beat 'em with the truth, not lies.

    --
    Ruby on Rails Screencast
  12. Read by Monx · · Score: 5, Informative

    What made you think the screenshot was photoshopped (bar the fact you didn't get the same results?)

    In the linked forum, the person who posted the image said so?

    1. Re:Read by Trick · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And, in the words of the guy who posted the image:

      What the hell does it say for slashdot that this nonsense made it to their "news" pages? Just what kind of far out shit has CmdrTaco been smoking lately? Doesn't he even bother to check these things out before he posts them? Or even to read the frickin thread? Too funny.

      You've got to love that, even after stuff like this in the very thread they linked to, the closest thing to a retraction the editors can come up with is "several have pointed out that it is likely fake."

  13. Next Slashdot story... by lxt · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...and I predict the next Slashdot story will be: "Gullible not in dictionary" "Posted by Cmdr Taco"

    1. Re:Next Slashdot story... by madmancarman · · Score: 4, Funny
      ...and I predict the next Slashdot story will be: "Gullible not in dictionary" "Posted by Cmdr Taco"

      More like, "Gullible Not Found at Wikipedia". And in fact, it really isn't!

      Now you have to decide between a) wanting to know if it's really at Wikipedia and possibly being gullible for thinking it wasn't, or b) wanting to avoid being fooled but never really knowing the truth. What a conundrum!

      --
      First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. -- Gandhi
  14. Jumping the Shark by VividU · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Slashdot has just jumped the shark with this pathetic, sad posting.

    1. Re:Jumping the Shark by Fnkmaster · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is true. If it weren't for the fact that once or twice a day I read a post here that makes me laugh raucously, or I actually learn a tidbit of useful information from a well informed comment, I would have gone long ago, as would have most people. Nobody comes to Slashdot for the "articles" the editors post these days, as they suck about 90% of the time.

  15. Taco by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "CT Several users have noted that the screenshot is likely fake."

    should read

    "CT The article notes that the screenshot is fake."

    1. Re:Taco by Amtiskaw · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I love how they weren't skeptical enough about this picture to even consider the possibility it was faked, but they're skeptical enough about the actual author saying it's "obviously faked" to conclude that it's just "likely".

  16. Bravery by LinuxGeek · · Score: 4, Funny

    I had to really brace myself before clicking a link to a .jpg file hosted on the .cx TLD

    --

    Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. - Mark Twain
  17. Tacogate: Taco must go by aggressivepedestrian · · Score: 5, Funny

    First, there needs to be a media firestorm about this. Then, just as in Rathergate, Slashdot should fire a few low-level scapegoats now, claiming shoddy journalistic standards. Then Commander Taco should be be allowed to resign "for personal reasons" in a few months.

  18. O rly? by Vicsun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "CT: Several users have noted that the screenshot is likely fake." Likely? I'd love to see what evidence is needed before it's conclusively determined it's fake.

  19. -1 Troll by DJStealth · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is the kind of thing that makes me wish we had mod points to mod articles down to "-1 Troll".

    Maybe if we can mod articles, we won't see dups and things like this anymore.

  20. It's Fake, Here's Proof by CypherXero · · Score: 4, Informative

    I just took that screenshot from the article, and changed it in Photoshop: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/CypherXero3 /mozillaadwarefake.jpg It's fake, you idiots!

  21. How can this be fake, check this out by Daath · · Score: 4, Funny

    I just tried it and guess what, I got a different result! Astounding! :P

    --
    Any technology distinguishable from magic, is insufficiently advanced.
  22. Comedy for nerds, stuff that doesn't matter by The_Incubator · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Last week I told myself I was quitting slashdot cold-Turky after the late Febuary posting of a "news" story about Dell entering the HDTV market with a plasma panel that was reviewed by CNET in November. I thought that story making the front page pretty much embodied everything that has come to suck about Slashdot.

    I lasted about a day, and then I thought "oh hell, I've been reading Slashdot for years, I can't stop so I'll just read it once a day or something."

    Now this story makes me realize that Slashdot has simply evolved and I've taken too long to catch up. This isn't a new site anymore, it's a comedy site. It's pure comedy to watch the bumbling idiots who run this site post same-day dupes, fake stories, last year's news today, etc. etc.

    So while I used to read slashdot as a news site and get exasperated at it's terrible execution as such, now I read it as a comedy show and laugh my ass off. It's like reading the class clown's blog.

    Nick