full-disclosure - FW: MS Antispyware makes deal to leaveWeatherbugalone

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From: mlande at bellsouth.net (Mary Landesman)
Subject: FW: MS Antispyware makes deal to
	leaveWeatherbugalone

This began with Aluria (makes of Spyware Eliminator). They (Aluria) began a
'spyware safe' certification program. Some they've granted the use of the
logo include WeatherBug and WhenU. In the case of WhenU (and perhaps
others), Aluria has also created 'UControl' - a 'free' 'spyware' scanner
(costs for removal, may be ignoring 'partners' in their logo/distribution
program, etc.) that seems to get downloaded and installed with
adware/spyware apps.

While I don't agree with these actions on either of their parts, I do have
to say that the situation remains very complicated. For example, if
WhenUSearch and WeatherBug are candidates for inclusion (and I do believe
they are), then so is AIM (which uses Viewpoint Media Player to dish ads),
and Google toolbar (which tracks URLs visited unless you disable several
features of their toolbar).

CounterSpy (which uses MS-Giant technology) describes WeatherBug here:
http://research.sunbelt-software.com/threat_display.cfm?name=MiniBug

I think this language is fair and accurate. Assuming Microsoft AntiSpyware
provided the same description when it detected WeatherBug, I'm surprised
Microsoft so easily backed down. There is definitely a happy balance between
letting a user know adware is installed on their computer and calling it a
bad app. It would be great if more companies would focus on how this might
be done, instead of excluding detection arbitrarily - or calling rather
benign adware a high risk menace.

-- Mary

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "ALD, Aditya,Aditya Lalit Deshmukh"
<aditya.deshmukh@...ine.gateway.expertworks.net>
To: "'Todd Towles'" <toddtowles@...okshires.com>; "'Mailing List -
Full-Disclosure'" <full-disclosure@...ts.netsys.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 11:36 PM
Subject: RE: [Full-Disclosure] FW: MS Antispyware makes deal to
leaveWeatherbugalone

> And the money payoff begins..

So looks like MS anti spyware would be just one more useless tool from
microsoft.
As a win32 kern programmer I find all the spyware removal buiness too time
consuming - if any one of them affects my machine they get weeded out with a
kern debugger.
But there should be a way to automate the process.

Looks like we do have to stick with our trusty debuggers, spybot and
ad-aware!