-=PCTechTalk=- Re: microsoft anti spyware

Default settings should be fine. The BLOCK list should be for specific items
that the default settings don't pick up as spyware. But, default settings
with all scanners ON should be fine.

---Troth


-----Original Message-----
From: pctechtalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:pctechtalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Cris
Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 8:28 AM
To: pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- microsoft anti spyware

How do we check our settings in microsoft's anti-spyware 
program?
I click on things and it says that I do not have anything in 
my blocked list.
I hadn't done anything 'extra' when I installed it. I just 
installed it and let it run.
Have done the updates.
Cris

SpywareInfo: http://www.spywareinfo.com
and    http://www.spywareinfo.net
This edition of the Spyware Weekly Newsletter is archived 
permanently at
 http://www.spywareinfo.net/july20,2005


Microsoft Going Soft On Adware
Permalink | Top
First there were the rumors that Microsoft is considering 
buying Claria, the company responsible for creating and 
distributing Gator adware. Shortly thereafter, it was 
discovered that Microsoft's antispyware program has been 
altered by a program update to ignore all adware 
automatically.
This seems almost like a repeat of the situation with 
Yahoo's antispyware toolbar last year. Yahoo and Claria have 
significant financial dealings through Overture, which is 
owned by Yahoo. Claria makes the bulk of its income through 
Overture. Not long after Yahoo included an antispyware 
scanner into their Internet Explorer toolbar, it was 
discovered that they had altered it to ignore adware.
Yahoo's toolbar uses spyware detection code licensed from 
PestPatrol (now owned by Computer Associates). PestPatrol's 
own antispyware program did not have the ability to ignore 
all adware, only individual products if the user chose to 
ignore them. After experiencing a massive run of bad 
publicity, Yahoo changed their toolbar so that it would 
detect adware by default.
Microsoft's first response to questions about their 
antispyware program ignoring Claria was to refuse to 
comment. Their second response was to flatly deny that 
Claria is receiving any special favors. They claim now that 
the change was made in order to be "fair and consistent" 
with how Microsoft AntiSpy handles adware from companies 
similar to Claria. As it turns out, several adware products 
have been placed on AntiSpy's ignore list.
Whatever the reason, this means that Gator, Dashbar and 
other adware could install on a computer supposedly 
protected by Microsoft AntiSpy, without warnings popping up. 
Since Microsoft altered their users' settings without 
informing them, those users may not realize that they have 
to change their ignore list in order to detect these adware 
programs. If a user runs a scan of their hard drive, those 
adware programs will not show up in the results because they 
are on the ignore list.
The question that needs to be asked now is: "Can Microsoft's 
AntiSpy program be trusted?". It is bad enough that they 
decided to move all adware products to the ignore list by 
default. However loudly the adware industry screams that 
their software is not malicious, the fact remains that very 
few people want it on their computer. People use antispyware 
scanners because they expect them to find adware as well as 
the truly malicious stuff.
The problem is that Microsoft used an update to the program 
to alter their users' settings, without informing them. They 
may think that adware should be on the ignore list but I 
seriously doubt that their users would agree. Their users 
expected that the program would alert them to the presence 
of adware. Since as far back as late March, these users have 
been unprotected by a program they were told they could 
trust. Well, that trust has been broken. Can this program 
ever be trusted again?
Update After I wrote this but, thankfully, before sending it 
out, more rumors have surfaced about the Microsoft/Claria 
acquisition talks. According to an article on ClickZ News, 
Microsoft has abandoned the idea of purchasing Claria. It 
would seem that the bad press they received over the rumor 
caused them to abandon the idea. I believe that odd sound 
you hear is the entire internet breathing a sigh of relief.




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