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I probably do not have to tell you that one of the biggest headaches on the Internet today is spyware. It seems you cannot launch Internet Explorer for more than 30 seconds before spyware begins attacking your system. I have seen machines reduced to not being able to boot and others that cannot run any Windows apps that all -- including antivirus and spyware utilities. I have a friend who runs a support desk for local computer company where clients can come in off the street with their computer to get hard drive replacements, RAM upgrades, network installs. He says that his business has gone through the roof because 90% of it is now spyware removal. Most of the clients to come in and drop their computer on his desk say that mysteriously their own computer will not run Microsoft Word, it won't connect to the Internet, it won't boot entirely... he says that it never dawns on them that spyware is on their computer and it has absolutely crippled it. Having a spyware scanner or a monitoring tool would have prevented or corrected the problem all along.
Microsoft has risen to the challenge by releasing their own anti-spyware package. You can download Microsoft Windows anti-spyware beta here. I have installed it myself and here are a few screens of what is going on or what you can expect when you install it. First it requires a validated copy of Windows XP Pro. It will load a utility that doublechecks this... so if you're not running a legal copy of your desktop software, this is not for you. Anyway, once you install it it asks you a number of questions such as do you want to automatically protect your computer? Do you want it to do updates automatically? Auto updates... me LIKEY!
My initial impression is that it's a pretty good package. Considering the US government and quite a few major corporations are indicating they are going to migrate away from Internet Explorer and instead install more spyware blocking browsers such as Opera and Firefox, it is in Microsoft's best interest to get a handle on this and do it quick. So it is my guess that this program will do a very good job of fighting spyware. But not only that, you can automatically enroll in the anti-spyware community spynet. Share your spyware finds with the community at large! Here it is scanning my computer will it find anything? Oh no, I am infected!
Another feature that is really nice is that it gives very detailed explanations of what spyware it finds on your computer. For instance it found one instance of NCase on my machine. When I highlighted this instance, I got a detailed summary much like what you would see below: Behavior
Adware.Ncase is an adware program that downloads and displays advertisements. This adware also tracks Web-browsing habits. Symptoms
The files are detected as Adware.Ncase. Transmission
This adware program must be manually installed. However, there are several known programs that have Adware.Ncase within them and that install it as the program itself is installed.
I normally run to spyware protectors on my machine. It never seems like one does it all. However, on first impression this one looks pretty darn good. It found seven instances that Ad Aware did not. So I'd say if you're not running a spyware utility absolutely install it! And if you are, go ahead and give it it a trial run. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the number of bugs it finds.
Since all of the spyware problems are due to slack coding by Microsoft, why should I have to install an utility to search and fix problems after the event?
How about MS actually re-engineering to physically remove the capability of malware to do damage? Firefox and Opera suffer from none of these exploits.
Better still, why can't MS code up an uninstall routine for IE, OE and every other program of theirs which as exhibited some vulnerability (Probably everything but Notepad) - that way, I can get on with using Opera in peace. I don't want IE, I don't want the plethora of utils, scanners or removers standing by on my HD just to clean up the mess caused by a teenager exploiting a program which is so badly written, that if I submitted it in to COMP305, I'd fail.
I can't understand what anyone would see in a program which now represents 90% of the help desk quota. None at all.
Not sure if what you wrote was at least partially directed at me or not. But I'll say that:
1) I am an avid Opera user - it is paid for and the only browser I like to use.
2) Not all sites are compatible with Opera and I must use IE to access them. (bringing about spyware on my highly guarded machine)
Microsoft will be releasing IE-Free versions of XP in Europe in the next month I think - so your wish will be answered to some exctent.
Linear Mode
