 
vpoko
Premium
join:2003-07-03
Jamaica Plain, MA | It's just another exploit... ...to patch against. I'm sure the major anti-spyware programs will recognize it soon enough. | |
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fireflier
Coffee. . .Need Coffee
Premium
join:2001-05-25
Limbo
 ·Skype
| Re: It's just another exploit... Once again, marketers decide that an opportunity to make money is more important than a consumer's privacy or ability to use their own resources for their own personal benefit. 
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When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other. | |
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Thaler
Premium
join:2004-02-02
Encino, CA
| Heh, I May Be a Stupid User... ...but I'm smart enough to add this company's crapware to my "Restricted Sites" list in IE, when and if their software gets used.
This software is at least crapware, if not outright spyware. Where do advertisers get off, thinking everyone is too stupid to use their own crate? | |
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| ForeverZero
join:2005-01-11
Hollywood, FL
| Re: false cookie generator said by DaveNJ  :I was thinking what would be funny would be false cookie generator, like you visited site X one million times, and spend 5 billion on things. This way when they read your cookies, it throws off there stats. But you know i was just too stupid to know there was an error on my machine  I like this idea! When do we start coding? =>
-ForeverZero- | |
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guitarzan
Premium
join:2004-05-04
Skytop, PA
 ·epix
| Re: false cookie generator Just a question.Would it be possible to delete all cookies from the cookie folder then simply rename that folder.? Making it impossible for Windows or anything else to know where to place cookies,or will this fark the system up.? See I'm a dummy at this lol | |
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| | | netmasta
join:2004-06-06
Randolph, MA
| Re: false cookie generator It would not be a good idea to rename the folder. A better option is to disable cookies. Although I don't really recommend that because some sites require cookies. For example to stay logged in to Broadbandreports.com (this site) you need to have cookies enabled. The same is true for other sites where you need to log in. | |
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Fatal Vector
@aol.com | Re: false cookie generator
You can set IE to block 1'st and 3'rd party cookies and just accdept session cookies that get deleted when you close the browser. If they dont get stored in the first place, they cant be "Undeleted". | |
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| driglaz
join:2002-11-11
Belmar, NJ | hi for more information on cookies and deleting cookies please check out »www.deletemycookies.com
Thanks
cookie monster | |
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Viggen93
Premium,VIP
join:2002-04-16
Hamilton, ON
 ·Cogeco Cable
| both sides of the, erm, cookie? I can on the other hand see this technology being useful, for example there are some cookies I want to keep, the sad reality is that this technology will, for the most part, be used to ensure you keep the spyware cookies that are force-fed to you. I don't actually think there is much to this really, all that happens is a lookup is done on a database of IP (or possibly MAC addresses) to cookies and if the last incarnatioon of the cookie isn't there, you get it back.
Marketeing people are idiots, they think it's their God given right to hijack any medium that comes along and ram advertising down your throat.
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Puberty is a phase...10 years of rejection is a lifestyle! | |
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footballdude
Premium
join:2002-08-13
Imperial, MO
| Re: both sides of the, erm, cookie? said by Viggen93 :Marketeing people are idiots, they think it's their God given right to hijack any medium that comes along and ram advertising down your throat. All of you college kids, pay attention. Marketing/Advertising is full of people that didn't get real degrees or didn't take their education seriously. In ten years, this could be you!!! | |
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| | Beeper
Part Of The Problem
join:2001-09-27
Dayton, OH
clubs: | Re: both sides of the, erm, cookie? If they do their job properly, in 10 years they'll be on the beach. | |
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winston911
join:2000-12-28
Seattle, WA
| Re: both sides of the, erm, cookie? said by Beeper :If they do their job properly, in 10 years they'll be on the beach. and if they do it improperly, they can be on the street in a week.
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You have obviously mistaken me for someone who cares. | |
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Fatal Vector
@aol.com
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It's not that they are idiots. Actually, they are very creative in ramming that advert down your throat. What is is, is that they just flat dont care about your privacy, as long as there is a dollar to be made. They dont have to deal with it, you do. | |
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Viggen93
Premium,VIP
join:2002-04-16
Hamilton, ON | Re: both sides of the, erm, cookie? After looking at it with a cooler head, I tend to agree. Perhaps idiots is too strong a word...
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Puberty is a phase...10 years of rejection is a lifestyle! | |
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| JPCass
join:2001-01-23
Denver, CO
| Re: True Statement... I'd agree it's true that a lot of people, if not the majority, don't know how to delete the cookies they don't want, and keep the ones for the sites that they do want. However, that's not an excuse for the ad/spy-ware companies to force cookies on users. | |
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Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Blocked in the first place.. I usually block all cookies (accept those I need) in the first place anyway. I set my in-laws computers up the same way, so they are always prompted before any cookies are placed on their computers. Course weather they always just click "Always Accept" or not is up for debate. | |
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ScottMo
Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-15
Stony Brook, NY
2 edits | Re: Blocked in the first place.. The technology is Flash MX-based. According to one of the linked documents, Macromedia's site (»www.macromedia.com/support/docum···l#117498) gives users the ability to stop downloads of Flash applets.
said by Macromedia regarding storage settings:
Applications that are created using Macromedia Flash may want to store some information on your computer, but the amount they can store is limited to 100 kilobytes unless you agree to allocate additional space. Local storage settings let you specify how much disk space, if any, applications from a particular website can use to store information on your computer. Note that it is the person or company that has created the application you are using that is requesting such access, not Macromedia (unless Macromedia has created the application that wants to save the information). It is the responsibility of the person or company requesting access to make it clear to you why they want access and how they plan to use the information they save. You should be aware of the privacy policy of anyone who is requesting access to your computer.
Set the settings to zero and it will ask each time a website tries to download a Flash applet. Set it to zero & "Never ask again" and it'll deny all Flash downloads.
I've not tried this yet, but I'll give it a go. | |
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ScottMo
Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-15
Stony Brook, NY
| Re: Blocked in the first place.. Macromedia's knowledgebase discussion of blocking local share objects, the feature of Flash MX that United Virtualities is using:
»www.macromedia.com/cfusion/knowl···52697ee8 | |
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Fatal Vector
@aol.com |
You dont even have to have it prompt them. IE can do it automatically, it's easy. They are likely to click allways accept to get rid of the aggrivation of the prompt popping up 50 Million times. | |
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goalieskates
join:2004-09-12
Knoxville, TN
·Knology
·Comcast
| such contempt for users should be countered by contempt for the advertisers who use this technology.
In effect they're saying I'm stupid, BUT I'm not stupid enough to give them my money or my time.
Hey, United Virtualities, it's called biting the hand that feeds you. That makes you stupid too. | |
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Grail Knight
Who Dares Wins
Premium
join:2003-05-31
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: such contempt for users Exactly, make a online list of all vendors that are using this Crapware and deny them the thing they love/need most...Currency
As I usually say let them go to PB & Js for awhile and they will drop the Crapware to try and get their steak back.
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Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.7) Gecko/20050405 Firefox/1.0.3/Thunderbird version 1.0.2 (20050405) | |
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BatLad
@golden.net
| Re: such contempt for users Just remember that it's not just enough to boycott them. You have to let them know that you're boycotting them and why. Otherwise, like the music industry, they'll just see a drop in sales and the marketing department could tell them that they're not using enough crapware in their ad campaign. | |
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Grail Knight
Who Dares Wins
Premium
join:2003-05-31 | Re: such contempt for users But of course. | |
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| JPCass
join:2001-01-23
Denver, CO
| said by goalieskates :should be countered by contempt for the advertisers who use this technology. Yes, but don't forget the "there's one born every minute" principle that allows spam to be viable at incredibly low response rates, by appealing to the least discriminating users. Major advertisers may be worried about their public image, but the bottom feeders certainly don't care and likely won't be affected or influenced. | |
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| Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
Premium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ
| better to delete and have to login again then have some marketing firm find a way to use cookies you havent deleted somehow call in a gator download. or worse, coolwebsearch
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports | |
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sdd75
join:2001-10-14
Maryville, TN
| overaggressive I don't use anti-spyware software. 1) I typically run UNIX, but that's besides the point. I do have a Windows machine. 2) One of the minor points of amusement when I encounter others' computers is anti-spyware software that finds 1577 offending programs only to find out that 1576 were cookies. Please. Cookies aren't spyware. At worst they log marketing statistics which is intended for the company that placed the cookie in the first place. More often cookies have a less intrusive use. Many sites rely on cookies to relay information between page views. Which product did you want to put in your shopping cart? Do you want your display in english or spanish? Do you want to view dollars, pounds, or euro's? Do you prefer english or metric units? Do you want your web mail displayed in red, white, and blue or black and midnight blue.
That said, it is incredibly arrogant to make a statement that effectively says you are too stupid to know how to use this (meaning anything). A more broad blanket statement that everyone is too stupid to use a computer is even worse, which is effectively what they are doing. The pure offense of such audacity is enough for many people to boycott their product, even if the statement may be true for a few people that think that they can actually have hundreds of spyware programs operating on one computer at once. It's socket would have failed long before that ever happened. I also want to say there is a distinction between ignorance, which is where I classify this misconception, and stupidity, which I genuinely assume very few people are actually stupid unless an individual proves to me otherwise. | |
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claudeo
join:2000-02-23
Redmond, WA
| camera or microphone Flash can also allow a sleazebag to spy on you using your camera or microphone. See »casario.blogs.com/mmworld/2004/0···_ad.html where this is mentioned in passing in the description of the control panel that is accessible by right-clicking any Flash object in your browser. You can try it for yourself by navigating to any web site that uses Flash. Most people however would not know that they need to (1) right-click the Flash object and (2) click the security tab identified only by an icon and (3) understand the cryptic wording dialog, or (4) click the "Advanced" button to launch a web page that explains the options. | |
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GercekSeytan
Rockin' with Raki
Premium
join:2001-10-19
Turkey
·TTNet
| Re: Idiota said by exocet_cm :HAHAHAHAH!!! OMG, LOL!!!! A cookie undelete utility? "The user is not proficient enough in technology to know if the cookie is good or bad, or how it works," This guy needs a swift kick to the nuts! DOUCHEBAG! HAHAHAH! That's what I'm talking about. Blunt and to the point. The same mindset can found in the links that Eburger posted in the security forum today.
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Who is 207.46.196.46? | |
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sweintz
Premium
join:2002-03-01
Hamden, CT
1 edit | RICO I'm sure some creative lawyer could come up with the argument that the way this crap (and ALL spyware) installs itself is essentially "cyber trespass"
That would mean backdoor installations are unlawful.
Since these companies primary business revolves around the installation of this malware, it would then follow that committing crimes (ie: the backdoor installations of malware) is an integral part of the business of these companies.
Why have no prosecuters tried yet to shut these bozo's down using the RICO statutes?
SPYWARE=ORGANIZED CRIME.
Nuff said. | |
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David
No,there is another.
Premium,VIP
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL
clubs: | sounds like the hosts file updates are coming and soon.. | |
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a
@rr.com | MMM cookie Why dont they eat their own cookies. Does this company have an email adress for customer concerns and hate mail. | |
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hafizullah
join:2001-03-17
Flemington, NJ
·Embarq
| Pathological liars Contrast "the user is not proficient enough..." statement with the following, from a United Virtualities press release:
United Virtualities to Distribute Ad Unit That Records PC-Originated VoIP Calls
(PRLEAP.COM) United Virtualities, the leading innovator of creative marketing and technology solutions for the digital marketplace, today announces it will start commercialising ‘HotRecorder’: an online advertising unit that doubles as a recorder of Skype and other PC-originated VoIP conversations. "We are rapidly moving into an era of consumer control over when and how they see commercial messages," says Mookie Tenembaum, founder and CEO of United Virtualities.
It shouldn't be news to anyone that marketers are marketers because they weren't bright enough to be lawyers, and the industry is infested with pathological liars.
To comment on the Cookie Undelete or other facets of United Virtualites' work, go to:
»www.unitedvirtualities.com
and select Contact
I'd love to hear Mookie's response. | |
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ScottMo
Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-15
Stony Brook, NY
| Re: They have no right to copy and restore cookies Security Pipeline is the company reporting the action, not the company doing the action. The company doing it is United Virtualities. They're using Flash MX, a product produced not by Bill Gates, but by Macromedia. Since its browser-based it'll work on any platform that supports Flash.
Macromedia has provided a way to stop this from happening. | |
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| johnnyprozac
join:2002-03-05
Korea
| hmm you know I was going to chime in and repeat that its not just arrogance tothink that people aren't "smart" enough to understand what they are doing but instead that it is an active offensive against those of us who want our privacy but...
i come across this post in THIS forum that with this lack of reading comprehension or literacy, maybe they are right about the first point...
I mean jeez talk about shooting the messenger for the badnews. This is like blaming the IMF for the Asian currency crisis that they helped ameliorate the effects of... | |
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| | floydb_1982
join:2004-08-25
Kent, WA |  Re: They have no right to copy and restore cookies
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GameGuy369
join:2004-07-09
Olathe, KS
clubs: | Hilarious I must admit. I thought this was an April Fool's joke. In a way this really isnt a funny topic but I have to admit, I almost fell out of my chair when I saw this.
I love the quote about the user basically not being smart enough. Hah. | |
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Marketers Undelete Cookies
True Statement...
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They have no right to copy and restore cookies