Slashdot Mirror
Spyware Critics Respond to iDownload/iSearch
Paul Laudanski writes "Slashdot ran an article earlier on 'iDownload Tries to Silence Spyware Critics'. Since then, the spyware critics have responded to iDownload: CastleCops, NetRN, and Sunbelt Software. InternetWeek and BroadbandReports have picked up this story as well. Brian Livingston interviewed iDownload's CEO Arlo Gilbert, who claims the letters were a success: "The majority of sites we've contacted have taken down or properly classified iSearch" and "When asked to name some of the sites that had complied, Gilbert answered, "I'm not going to share that information. It would be shooting a gift horse in the mouth."" General overview by Kye-U and Zhen-Xjell."
Thats exactly my point.
I run a slew of different operating systems, which include Windows and Linux. I know what programs I run, and when. If i suspect a program to be... naughty, I create another account and run it in there.
No matter what OS you run, you can limit permissions and run questionable apps mostly safely. Like I reiterate, it s a fault of the user for not watching what he does on the machine.
You surf porn sites and run "programs" to download porn, you're gonna get infected. You download illegally copied works, youre gonna get infected. You open absolutely every attachment, even if it says "happy98.exe", you're gonna get infected.
Postal Mail:
iDownload.com
1180 Avenue of the Americas
14th Floor
New York, NY 10036
For toll free billing support or if you know your party's extension dial: 1-800-844-5919
AND the leech lawyers
http://www.ssjmlaw.com
4330 South Mopac, Suite 150
Austin, Texas 78735
(Travis & Williamson Cos.)
Telephone: 512-347-1604
Dallas: 214-800-2898
Fax: 512-347-1676
Tell em what you think, IANAL but I think free speech applies to private phone calls.
If in doubt, don't do it. But I am going to tell them what I think.
true but I consider myself to be computer savvy and I still occasionally get things like cool web search and other programs without knowing what they came in on. Even running Kerio personnal firewall I got some ad pop under thing that avoided detection by adaware and spybot. It only showed one every couple hours so I was blaming the ad on AIM / webpages getting things past firefox. Wasn't till I went through my startup folder that I caught it.
Though I agree that users need to take more responsibility for their computers. (insert analogy of learning to change your oil/tires here)
Only if you haven't seen BTTF.
(Back to the Future, 1985)
Biff: "So why don't you make like a tree... and get outta here."
- http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future
Bears don't normally eat things that talk and move backwards.
Im unsure of the state of your system, but this gives me a hint.
--It only showed one every couple hours so I was blaming the ad on AIM / webpages getting things past firefox.
Not knowing the types of things you do on your machine, Im guessing your infection vector is AIM's ads. Since they use IE's engine to display (check for yourself.. they do) you end up opening yourself to the hacks and cracks of IE. Still, IE has no priviledge escalation bug to worry about, so as long as you run as a user and not an admin, you should be safe as long as you take your data and copy it into another profile.
My suggestion would to be to pitch AIM and get GAIM. Multi-protocol, and now AoL-Time Warner is acting nicer to 3'rd party clients.
Still, you also need to consider watching out for rogue WMA's, WMV's and other Microsoft Media garbage. You can insert all sorts of executable code within them, including running programs from a URL directly (yes, that bad). I observed a friend watch a WMV porn vid from a BT download. Was it.. every 2 minutes, it would respawn all the programs, 5 pop-unders and 2 "install-for-free-pr0n".
Here is a frightening account of iSearch's damage to someone's computer: click here. "Spyware" is too innocuous a term for this. It's not a spy: it is a file assassin.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Why wouldn't it? However, what you cannot do is threaten them, espically with physical force. You are free to tell them their products suck, etc, but don't make any threats. Also, if they hang up on you, respect that and don't call back. If you call repeatedly, that can be harassment.
Funny how he left 'stooge for scumware authors' out of his specialities...
Markie works at the Austin office. You can contact him here: Telephone: (512) 347-1604, Fax: (512) 347-1676, The Overlook at Gaines Ranch, 4330 S. Mopac, Ste. 150, Austin, Texas, 78735
I find your ideas intriguing and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
---I don't know how or why you were modded as "Flamebait". Your post is insightful.
Well, either I was "flaming" or I really found a big point of contention in the Tech community.
---There is a different standard on the web, where willful ignorance is forgiven.
Well, it's not just with the web. It's with computers and computerized technology. People are afraid cause they dont want to "mess it up", even if it's just setting a clock from 12:00 to your time.
People deal with complex life issues every day. Finance, personnal skills (to keep a job), general task management. Finance can get to be a bloody mess, as you have to deal with incoming junk mail and then determining the bills from solicitations.
---Obviously not everyone can be an uber-geek, but as with anything out there, using a PC, or going online, requires a little bit of knowledge. If people are not going to pay attention to whatever shows up on their PC, or they're just going to click straight through install wizards, they ought to share some of the blame.
Of course everybody cant be a uber-geek. Not everybody can be Richard Petty, but you sure can still learn the laws of the road, and drive safely by them. That doesnt mean you have to know the cc displacement of your engine, aerodynamics of your vehicle, air intake control via spoiler, control rod timings, and car geek things. You still need to know how to change a tire, check/add/drain fluids and general maintenance. Let the mechanics handle the bigger stuff, as they should.
---Case in point: BBSpot posted a satire article about a Nigerian billionaire philanthropist. And while the site clearly states that it is completely satire, Brian Briggs still got emails asking for details about the Nigerian.
Too true, but that shows a different point in human behavior: Greed. There is no extent to what someone in this culture would do to get a buck. The rest above is concerning intentional ignorance, which I abhor.
I think it's actually looking at the teeth to determine the horse's age (which, admittedly, has some bearing on the horse's health). The older the horse, the more the gums have receded, revealing more of the length of the teeth. That's why the phrase "a little long in the tooth" means old or aging. The teeth aren't really any longer than they always were, it's just that more of the length is showing.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
I understand your point - users should avoid shady sources. However, I think your average user doesn't understand how they could get their system infected with spyware, and only has a limited understanding of what spyware is in the first place. They will believe "Critical Windows Media Player Update" is real because they don't know the reasons to be suspicious.
Oh, Edmund, can it be true? that I hold here, in my mortal hand, a nugget of purest green?
http://www.ahbl.org/notices/isearch.php
It's a second-level link from here. I'm putting the link in this post because some people may not see it and it's definitely worth reading like all good horror stories are.
Does anybody else remember how Diebold Election Systems had to pay over six figures to a group of ISPs/webhosts who they sent fraudulent cease'n'desists to in order to shut down public debate?
0 04 /10/11/online-policy-group-v-diebold-decision/
e bo ld/
http://blog.jimmywales.com/index.php/archives/2
http://www.eff.org/legal/ISP_liability/OPG_v_Di
This strikes me as being VERY similar to both the Diebold case and various "SLAPP suits" (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). It's all about fraudulently using the courts or threats of same to halt public discussion and debate.
The courts DO NOT like that shit at all.
Tracrouting to isearch.com reveals that they are hosting at http://www.webair.net/
From webair's Acceptable Use Policy:
Accessing Other Computers or Networks without Authorization -- Accessing computers, accounts, or networks belonging to another party without authorization, or in excess of authorization, or attempting to penetrate security measures on another party's computer, accounts, or networks. Such attempts include, but are not limited to, "scamming" (tricking other people into revealing their passwords), "phishing" (tricking other people into revealing their financial information), password theft, and security hole scanning.
Distributing Viruses and Other Destructive Activities -- Sending Internet viruses, worms, Trojan horses; flooding, mailbombing, denial of service attacks, or engaging in any other activity that disrupts the Webair network or any connected network or that interferes with any user's ability to access or use such networks.
To me, it seems that isearch fits both of these. Send your comments to: abuse@webair.net and let them know what you think!
Horse teeth grow continually, and wear from chewing. The method rests upon the assumption that the growth and wear rates are approximately constant across different horses. Since horses do not all share exactly the same diet, some have a habit of chewing hard objects, and teeth growth rates vary, the method isn't particularly reliable.
Though I will grant you that "long in the tooth" refers to gum rececession that develops with age, that is more the domain of humans.
California is a SLAPP (stategic lawsuits against public participation) state. I read somewhere that CastleCop is considering a SLAPP counter claim which would result in the original suit getting tossed and costs awarded. SLAPP legislation is intended to protect speech on matters of public interest in circumstances such as this.
I am not saying a SLAPP counter claim would be easy or cheap for CastleCop, but as I understand it SLAPP counterclaims are almost always successful, especially when the SLAPP action concerns pure speech.
Found this Cease & Desist Order against iSearch/iDownload!!
. ht ml
n de x.php/t10973.html
http://www.petitiononline.com/mm24Feb5/petition
Aswell I found this interesting post and picture of Idownloads Search bar trying to install itself as a Media Player Browser update.... grrr
http://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/lofiversion/i
so you are saying the user is ALWAYS responsivle for what spyware gets installed?
...and I am VERY carefull with what I nstall or accept on my system.
Explain to me exactly how the user is responsible for getting infected by coolwebsearch? since noone even knows exactly how it gets installed. You are never prompted a request to install or anything. suddenly it is just there.
And don't do the "you've been a bad boy surfing pron".
Once I got it from visiting the webpage of a clay manufaturer. Had nothing to do with pron or warez or anything.
Please refrain from calling iDownload "shit-eaters". Several species of bacteria use organic waste as their nutrition source. This causes said waste to be decomposed to soil, which is then used by plants as their source of nutrition.
Several species of backteria also live in the human gut, eating the "proto-shit" found there. This is vital for the correct functioning of human digestive system, and the reason why antibiotics can cause stomach problems if measures are not taken to prevent them: they kill not only the disease-causing backteria, but the "shit-eater" bacteria as well.
So, as a summary, shit-eaters are absolutely vital to the correct functioning of both the biosphere and your own body. They perform their dirty job quietly, efficiently and without complaint. They do not deserve to be likened to a bunch of vicious, vile, harmfull parasites like iDownload.
iDownload doesn't eat anyone's shit; they forcibly feed their shit to anyone whey can.
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.