| reply to B
Re: WhenU Enters the Anti-Spyware Market hI b
hat returning the system to its original state and cleaning out the junk causes "more damage" than just knocking out the executables?
If you had said that the task of completely cleaning out all traces was too great to accomplish, or that the spyware registry entries were too polymorphic for you to be able to track, I might understand. But to imply that complete disinfection and cleaning is somehow inherently worse than merely neutering the spyware sounds somewhat... disingenuous. Let me rephrase- when possible we go after everything we can, but in some particular instances we go after the core and leave it at that- as long as it is not functioning. It is a judegement call. I can connect you to our coder (Coder1@xblock.com) who is far more versed than I am in our micro-strategy for dealing with tough spyware and adware.
Nor am I am claiming our methodology is the best- it is what we use based on several years experience. If you have better ideas please let us know. We are always open for critism and ideas as it makes us stronger.
regards,
Xblock |
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| reply to Snowy
Hi I Like Stars,
Yes the product and its development is rapidly moving toward use on the enterprise. We are currently testing on networks of over 20k machines. We have found the two markets to be competely different as you can imagine.
We don't try to "dabble" we try to take the most efficacious path to get the best results meaning "spyware can't work" and PCs ARE not trashed. In many cases we do a complete removal, but in some we shoot them in the head and leave the corpse. It isn't going anywhere. Again that is our strategy, but we don't want spyware extraction doing more harm to a PC than what the actual spyware did in the first place.
Again I can have my technical team show up this week and can give you more concrete samples. |
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 drewAutomaticPremium
join:2002-07-10
Port Orchard, WA
kudos:6 | just to let you know.. "I Like Stars" is the posting tag.. not the username. |
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| reply to eburger68
Hi All:
CastleCops has a fascinating new article about Aluria and AOL's use of Aluria for spyware protection in AOL 9.0:
»castlecops.com/article5524.html
Happy reading,
Eric L. Howes |
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 SnowymIRC unix.ro UnderNetPremium
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI
kudos:5
 ·RoadRunner Cable
 ·Clearwire Wireless
| WARNING! The above link contains proof of AOL behaving responsibly. 
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Dave said "By the way, 4294967295 is just another way to write -1". |
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 muf9Captain of the axePremium
join:2003-01-04
uk
1 edit | reply to Xblock
said by Xblock:We also make x-raypc (» www.x-raypc.com) a freeware utility that is sort of like Hijack This! on steroids. Check out the site for details. We really loved Merijn's concept and work but wanted to improve upon it. When it does an audit it sends back the processes (anonymously) and compares the processes against the spywareguide database. It then flags knowns in green, unknowns in grey and baddies in red. Click and remove what you want to toast. If we see a pattern of problematic software we update the database so other uses benefit fom the intel. This cuts down on time. We presented this strategy to the FTC in April during the Washington summit. Again x-raypc is a work in process and still in beta. It is designed for more advanced users who are cleaning the gunk out of pcs and know what they are doing. Xblock, I have had a little 'play' with this application. It certainly looks promising and the idea is a very good one. The only concern i would have at the moment is that there are very few known good processes that it recognises. The screenshot shows the good ones it recognises and are from PestPatrol. But the others listed mostly are known ones that are part of the windows operating system and application's like Zonealarm and BOClean. I can't believe they are not in your database. Even in beta release i would expect the application to recognise known windows processes! And it doesn't even recognise itself! I also had a look at your forum, but it's pretty dead in there with users question's going unanswered. Not good.
As i said i think it has promise but i think the database needs some serious expanding for it to be considered as a replacement(or use along with) HijackThis.
muf
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We want... a shrubbery! |
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IACOJ
join:2003-11-03
Mount Laurel, NJ | reply to Snowy
said by Snowy: WARNING! The above link contains proof of AOL behaving responsibly. Interesting isn't it. I can't wait to find out how Aluria is going to respond in light of the comments from AOL and the open letter to Aluria put up yesterday by Paul.
»castlecops.com/article5523.html |
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| reply to eburger68
I've been reviewing the results we have had this month based on users requesting help with VVSN.EXE from WhenU.com. We make our stats available at »www.winpatrol.com/stats.html and two things have become clear.
1) For the first time this year, WhenU is back on our TopTen list. They've been beat out by other threats most of the year but they are now back on the top ten most requested mystery programs.
2) Everyone who has requested information on VVSN.exe was also infected with other parasites. It's guaranteed to find ISTSVC, WTOOLSS, 180Search, ATPartners and others installed on the users machine.
This seems like pretty clear evidence that WhenU has not changed their ways. My mother always told me "You are the company you keep".
Bill Pytylovany
BillP Studios |
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| Im no security expert, but I have used X-Cleaner for a while with very good results. I always start using X-Cleaner. Its a very fast scanner, probably because it only goes after known addresses. It's also a handy tool to remove cookies and temporary files which makes scans using other scanners that much quicker. It also disables some spyware which makes it easier to remove.
The update function is a bit too quick, short on graphics and I always have a nagging feeling that it did'nt update at all. The best thing about X-Cleaner is that it runs from a USB drive. It sorely needs autoupdates and scans for grannies. Also, stopping the scan for a prompt for every result is just annoying. Collect a list like everyone else.
Will recommend to my employer to buy for all the techies at work. |
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 EGeezerSummertimePremium
join:2002-08-04
Midwest
kudos:7
 ·Callcentric
| reply to eburger68
Kinda seems like mainstream search engine and referral businesses would have a case against those whose practices include hijacking legitimate referrals and depriving the original referrer of earned fees. Someone like Yahoo, Google Doubleclick etc, the 800 pound Gorillas, have the resources.
We can hope... Legal eagles, what's your thoughts?
EG
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IEC703 DISK ERROR ABEND |
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wayne_b
join:2003-12-06
Vancouver, WA
2 edits | reply to eburger68
This Blows 
I recently found my wife purchased Aluria (thought it was ok then), she has since request a refund per its 90 day refund policy as noted here;
6) Money-Back Guarantee
We’re so confident you’ll be satisfied with our spyware remover, we offer a 90-day money-back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with our product, simply return it for a full refund. »www.aluriasoftware.com/homeproducts/spyware/
Wonder what loops she is going to have to go through?
-wayne
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Linksys WRT54GS, NOD32, TDS-3, Process Guard, Giant AntiSpyware, SpywareBlaster |
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| This is most disturbing. Aluria seems like a crooked cop, making rules so it can smoke the siezed stash.
To think they are the overseers of COAST, which itself has made regulations to the industry making user support difficult to say the least, and now they turn around and use this.
Look back and shed a tear folks, the internet ain't getting any better. |
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wayne_b
join:2003-12-06
Vancouver, WA | reply to eburger68
Follow-up
Received email from Aluria today..
"Spyware Eliminator
[ASE_2004a]
REFUNDED
I have processed your request for refund. If you have not already done
so please remove all software to avoid any further activation charges.
Please allow one billing cycle for the changes to appear on your
statement."
-wayne
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Linksys WRT54GS, NOD32, TDS-3, Process Guard, Giant AntiSpyware, SpywareBlaster |
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 BubbaGIT-R-DONEPremium,MVM
join:2002-08-19
St. Andrews | reply to eburger68
Interview found @ Castle Cops:
Posted by Paul on Thursday, 16 December 2004 @ 13:22:29 EST
Aluria Software Responds to 20 Questions Open Letter |
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wayne_b
join:2003-12-06
Vancouver, WA | reply to eburger68
I didn't like his response! a lot of us have/had legitimate concerns and I feel I was just scolded by him!
I also feel the question wasn't legitimately answered regarding WhenU unloading on a computers without consent even though he stated he doesn’t agree with it
“Q. Does Aluria consider the use of Installers which doesn't clearly indicate all the software being installed on a system a legitimate and ethical practice?
A. No.”
-wayne
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Linksys WRT54GS, NOD32, TDS-3, Process Guard, Giant AntiSpyware, SpywareBlaster |
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| reply to keith2468
Thanks, and I whole hartedly agree with that. |
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| reply to suzi
What Comes To Mind... Several things come to mind here....
1) Trust No One. (remember a few years back when that quote was popular?)
2) Money is the root of all evil.
3) AND, it reminds me of the movie, Underworld, where a few dark characters are attempting to crossbreed the vampires and Lycans, and the whole thing is a thick and complex plot. And it's hard to know who the "good guys" are.
I USED to think of Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D as "the good guys". Now I don't trust any spyware vendor at all, and never will again. Instead, I place my unwavering trust in Deep Freeze. |
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