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Got Spyware? Throw out the Computer!

Posted by Zonk on from the nonsensical dept.

geeber writes "The New York Times (reg. required) has an article about a new response to spyware - throw out the computer and buy a new one. The notion is new computers can be had for $400 so it's a cost effective and 'rational response.'" From the article: "While no figures are available on the ranks of those jettisoning their PC's, the scourge of unwanted software is widely felt. This month the Pew group published a study in which 43 percent of the 2,001 adult Internet users polled said they had been confronted with spyware or adware, collectively known as malware. Forty-eight percent said they had stopped visiting Web sites that might deposit unwanted programs on their PC's. Moreover, 68 percent said they had had computer trouble in the last year consistent with the problems caused by spyware or adware, though 60 percent of those were unsure of the problems' origins. Twenty percent of those who tried to fix the problem said it had not been solved; among those who spent money seeking a remedy, the average outlay was $129."

4 of 591 comments (clear)

  1. The best solution is to... by canuck57 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...has an article about a new response to spyware - throw out the computer and buy a new one.

    The best solution I have ever seen is a tech walks into your office with a CD, Ctrl-Alt-Delete - boot to CD-ROM, enters your user ID and walks away saying keep the CD for next time you infect your machine. It boots from the CD re-installing the entire system.

    Users hate it as they store stuff on the local drive but soon learn corporate no-tolerance policy for keeping critical data on the local drive and loading unapproved often unlicensed software. The raw fact still remains, 90% of the corporate spyware issues can be tracked back to the users (mis)behavior.

    Tossing out the computer prematurely has several disadvantages, the logistics of disposal, acquisition and software licensing. It is unlikely replacing the system with the same Windows operating system is going to change much. Mind you if the replacement was a locked down system where the user could not load software.... That would have some obvious benefits.

  2. My mom did this! by jafac · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yeah, when her winxp computer got sogged up with spyware, after weeks of attempts to clean it up, she got rid of it and bought another computer;

    A Mac.

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  3. Deck Bill Gates while you're at it. by jcr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'd deck a punk for it.

    The script kiddies and the crooks who build zombie networks are morally equivalent to arsonists.

    Microsoft is morally equivalent to a contractor who insists on building houses out of balsa wood and flash paper, while telling the lie that the next one won't be flammable at all.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  4. This can get nasty... by pe1chl · · Score: 3, Interesting

    throw out the computer and buy a new one.

    A Dutch public prosecutor did exactly this. He bought a new computer after his old one got infested with malware and viruses. He put the old one out on the street as garbage.

    That got very nasty. Ultimately it cost him his job, because confidential correspondence was leaked when someone picked it up and examined the disk.

    In the end he was lucky not to be prosecuted himself, for having child pornography on the system. However, that set some nice precedence: apparently it is no problem to have something on your system when it has gotten there "unintentionally".