Steve (Infinity) DeRyck
03:55pm
Feb22, 2005 |
Spyware
and Adware are two terms that bring out the worst
on the internet. They are an insidious presence.
This may sound rather Odin-esque, but the simple
fact is, this software can reside on your computer
and work against you by providing relevant data
to corporations or (gasp!) the government.
Short
for MALicious softWARE, malware adds registry entries,
installs trojan horses, and often rewrites your
configuration. The fine line between malware and
viruses is very blurred. Malware is often used as
a broad range definition for all hostile software
that is found on your machine.
Wondering
where it all started? KaZaA. Initially, KaZaA would
display advertisements while running. They would
be pop-under Internet Explorer advertisements. As
a result of these ads having poor performance, KaZaA
then began to allow the installation of third party
applications, the worst of which was Bargain Buddy.
Bargain Buddy scans web pages that you are visiting
for relevant keywords. It then works by determining
an advertising campaign and displaying the ad.
As KaZaA became more and more popular, others started
realizing the profitability in malware. One question
I receive often is how to programs such as KaZaA
make money. They make money by stealing your time
and computing resources. They log private information,
and collect e-mail addresses that are sold.
As KaZaA became more successful, it lead to development
of many other file-sharing networks, such as Gnutella,
Limewire, iMesh, Bearshare, AudioGalazay, Groxster,
BitTorrent, and others. Most of these networks began
as free file-sharing networks, and now have evolved
into a spyware-ridden "service."
One of the best articles on the history of malware
was written by Mike Tuck (more)
Malware
now poses a serious risk to both your privacy and
efficiency. As a result, there is an exigency to
prevent spyware and adware from executing on your
computer. However, most are ignorant as to some
of the methods that can be employed to prevent malware
from ever running on your PC. The ignorance
changes now. The first step in blocking these
unwanted parasites is by using a HOSTS File. The
HOSTS File works much like an address book. When
you type an address into your browser, such as "www.abattoir.net,"
Windows consults the HOSTS file to determine if
you have the IP address, or "telephone number,"
so to speak, for that site. If you do, then your
computer will call it and the site will open. Otherwise,
the computer will ask your Internet Service Provider
(ISP) for the telephone number before it can call
that site. Your computer has its own unique
"telephone number." This number is always
127.0.0.1. Now, by putting the names of all the
adware and spyware servers into the HOSTS file and
then having your computer believe that the "telephone
number" for all these sites is itself; it will
never ever be able to send or receive data from
these sites. Your computer can and most likely will
have other addresses, either statically assigned
or dynamically assigned, however the IP 127.0.0.1
is always, without fail, assigned to the local computer
(i.e., your computer). The most complete HOSTS
file that exists today is currently maintained
by MVPS.org.
The
second step is to download and install a couple
of pieces of software that I recommend for the removal
of Adware and SpyWare. The first piece of
software that should be installed is Ad-Aware, by
Lavasoft
Corporation. Ad-Aware is the premier anti-spyware
tool available today and has been downloaded over
105 million times in the last year alone. The software
is available as a free download for personal use,
and is very easy to install and use. I would recommend
that when you first install Ad-Aware that you perform
a "Full System Scan", and correct any
problems that Ad-Aware detects. Once this scan is
completed, I would perform a "Smart System
Scan" to determine if something was undetected
during the first scan. Periodically, Ad-Aware
will require a reboot to rid your computer of unwanted
spyware. Once you have rebooted, it is recommended
that you re-perform a "Full System Scan."
Unfortunately, Ad-Aware is not foolproof and occasionally
there will be malware on your computer that Ad-Aware
does not possess the ability to rid your machine
of.
To
remove the unwanted spyware, I recommend a piece
of software known as HijackThis.
Please be very careful when using this software.
HijackThis will show you a list of all programs
currently running on your PC, including those that
are not malware-related. If you shut down a critical
program, you may cause Windows to stop functioning.
Once you have launched HijackThis, click on the
"Do a system scan only" button. This will
provide you a list of all software currently running
on your PC and the ability to terminate the running
program forever. If you are unsure as to what software
to terminate (if any), I would advise you to seek
out the advice of someone more knowledgeable.
The
third and final piece of software that I endorse
is Crap
Cleaner. Crap Cleaner is more of a system
optimization tool than a malware remover, however
it does an excellent job of removing unneeded and
unused files from your computer and Windows Registry.
Once you have downloaded and installed Crap Cleaner,
you will find that it contains two essential tools:
A file cleaner and a registry cleaner. The file
cleaner removes files that are not needed by your
system, such as temporary files, internet cache
files, log files, deleted files and in recycle bin,
and many more. The registry cleaner scans your registry
and presents a list of issues that may be causing
problems. I generally recommend that you scan your
system using the file cleaner and registry cleaner
two or three times each in succession. This will
ensure that all offending items are disposed of
out of your computer.
This is the procedure that I have used many times
to completely remove malware from a non-functioning
PC, while still allowing the end-user to happily
continue surfing the Internet and use file-sharing
software. Addendum: As the reader will notice,
I have not touched on viruses or virus scanning.
While I wholeheartedly endorse a virus scanner,
it is not the central focus of this article. I will
however, post a follow-up article on virus protection.
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09:00pm
Feb16, 2005 |
Well
there goes the season! The National Hockey
League announced today that, because a new collective
bargaining agreement has not been realized, it no
longer is practical to conduct an abbreviated 2004-05
season... "Every professional sports
League owes its very existence to its fans. Everyone
associated with the National Hockey League owes
our fans an apology for being unable to accomplish
what is necessary for our game and our fans. We
are truly sorry." stated NHL Commissioner Gary
Bettman today as he announced the fold of the season,
here is his official letter
to the public, and also a letter
from Harley Hotchkiss from the Calgary Flames repeating
much of the patronage... I can't decide if
I'm pissed-off over this or more worried that NHL
Hockey will land its ass in the same mess Baseball
did when it took sabbatical from the fans; I didn't
miss a baseball game (...until the strike...) and
when it returned, I've since watched about two games
(...and that's not a lie...) -- best of luck guys,
but me thinks you best be strapping on the skates
and playing the "game" real fast, you're
not untouchable -- perhaps a nice big round of firing
is in order -- replace all the players with fresh
farm kids who want to play.
Porting of the Abattoir Archives has taken much
longer than anticipated... The smallest staff
member of the Abattoir (...baby sMyles...) seems
to have a fascination with MeatMans' big, shinny,
chrome power button on his computer; regardless,
I managed to scrape some time together and pounded
at the Archives for several hours -- nowhere near
done, but the seasons that show in the Archives
are fixed and we hope to have the rest back online
and trimmed-up shortly. If you want to wander
back in time, take a cruise though our eventful
past in the LAN Minutes
Archives (...let us know if you find any busted
links and such!..)
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09:00pm
Feb14, 2005 |
Ever
hear a sound bite that's just too funny not to share?
(...rhetorical question I suppose...) This
little gem's been circulating the last short while
which I first heard on CFRB1010
on Friday past that had me laughing so hard I was
wiping my eyes... As the story goes; this
is a (alleged) voice-mail message left by an operations
manager of "Jack in the Box" States
side, who called his boss to inform that he was
running late for a meeting they had scheduled --
as he's leaving the message from his car he witnesses
a car wreck right in front of him... A man runs
a red light and spins around a car full of "old
ladies", when the man approaches the car the
beatings begin and our roving-road-reporter gives
the play-by-play! Turn-up the volume, this one is
guaranteed to bring a smile to your face -- this
voice mail was forwarded and played so much within
the Jack in the Box corporation that it crashed
their phone mail system.. (please do not direct
link) ClicK!
Happy Valentine's Day everyone... We hope
you all have that special someone to shed some love
on; if not, then we're sure you're free on March
05th for BTM46 "Front-Line" Edition!
If you do have a special someone in your life, if
he / she loves you, then what better a way for your
significant other to show it than to let you out
for a BTM LAN Party! Just an FYI here, there
will be a return of Battlefield 1942 at this BTM,
so don't miss your chance to rush the front line
and poke someone in the eye. Head to the Sigh-Up
Page and get your name in!
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06:15pm
Feb07, 2005 |
So
when will BTM46 be!? After exhausting research
on the matter, we decided that we don't know how
to do exhausting research, plus it just sounded
too exhausting... The vote went out on Abattoir.BBs
and the people have spoken (...or clicked, as it
were...) We are now accepting reservations
for BTM46 "Front-Line" Edition to be held
March 05th, 2005! Supporting Members had first
crack, now everyone else gets to throw their name
in... Don't be left out, that includes all
you fence sitters out there who have been writing
in asking questions -- take a chance, sign-up and
come see what the fuss is all about before the BTM
sells out and you're left at home playing with yourself
again; worst case scenario, you'll end up having
fun! (...on a personal note: PuNKeR, you're
far overdue for a BTM!..)
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MeatMan
Says:
"If you're new to Abattoir.Net and want to get to know what
we're all about, sit back with a cup of joe or a brew and cruise
through the ramblings of the past"
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