Spyware Weekly Newsletter :· July 1, 2003
The Spyware Weekly Newsletter is distributed every week to 20,000 subscribers and read online by hundreds of thousands of visitors. Please read our Terms of Use for quoting guidelines. http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter/july1,2003.
Spybot Trademark Issue May Be Settled
Last week, I sent out two newsletters to announce that a trademark had been filed for the word "spybot", and that some threatening communications had been sent to the developer of Spybot S&D. In response to these actions, I announced a boycott of the companies involved in the situation: InBoxCop Inc. and spybot.com.
I'm happy to say that the situation seems to be moving towards a peaceful resolution. Howard Goff, the person that register the trademark on "Spybot" and owns spybot.com, has announced publicly that he intends to abandon the trademark at the earliest opportunity.
I have called off my boycott and will wait to see how this situation plays out. PepiMK also has a few announcements on the situation.
The situation, as it stands now, is that Howard Goff has an application for a trademark on the word "spybot", but he says that he will drop it as soon as it reaches a point in the process where he can do that.
The web site spybot.com no longer works and InBoxCop's owner has issued a formal apology to Patrick Kolla, Spybot's developer. All we are waiting on now is for that trademark application to be canceled, and then this situation will be over completely.
You can read through this whole sordid mess in the message board thread that developed on the issue.
Links:
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/articles/inboxcop/ InBoxCop Article
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter/june24,2003 June 24 Spyware Weekly
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter/june26,2003 June 26 Spyware Weekly
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter/rd/19 Message Board Thread
Freesky Software :· Privacy Inspector
 |
Author: Freesky Software
Platform: Microsoft Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98
License:
Purchase: Click here to purchase
Do you have a spouse, children, or a boss who you do not want knowing what you were doing on the computer? Why worry about other people using the computer after you? You need Privacy Inspector before someone else gets your personal information from your computer.
Privacy Inspector cleans up your tracks left by Windows,your browser and many other programs. Save storage space and improve performance of your computer. Included in this program is support for skins, a "boss key" which allows you to instantly delete all usage traces and browser cache, as well as closing all of your open browser windows. This is useful for those of us who's minds wander at work ;-). Read on for a list of feature highlights
Every week, SpywareInfo arranges a discount on the programs best suited to keep your private life private. This arrangement lets us pay the bills to keep SpywareInfo running without having to sell ads to the likes of DoubleClick and X-10.
We do need your input, as the discount is for your benefit. What commercial privacy software would you like to see featured here at a discount? Drop us a note and let us know.
Links:
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/downloads.php More information on Privacy Inspector
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/email2.php Suggest a product
RFID Chips Are Here
RFID chips are being embedded in everything from jeans to paper money, and your privacy is at stake.
By Scott Granneman Jun 26 2003 09:15AM PT
http://securityfocus.com/columnists/169There's a new technology in town, one that at first blush might seem insignificant to security professionals, but it's a technology that is going to be a big part of our future. And how do I know this? Pin it on Wal-Mart again; they're the big push behind this new technology. So what is it? RFID tags.
RFID 101
Invented in 1969 and patented in 1973, but only now becoming commercially and technologically viable, RFID tags are essentially microchips, the tinier the better. Some are only 1/3 of a millimeter across. These chips act as transponders (transmitters/responders), always listening for a radio signal sent by transceivers, or RFID readers. When a transponder receives a certain radio query, it responds by transmitting its unique ID code, perhaps a 128-bit number, back to the transceiver. Most RFID tags don't have batteries (How could they? They're 1/3 of a millimeter!). Instead, they are powered by the radio signal that wakes them up and requests an answer.
Most of these "broadcasts" are designed to be read between a few inches and several feet away, depending on the size of the antenna and the power driving the RFID tags (some are in fact powered by batteries, but due to the increased size and cost, they are not as common as the passive, non-battery-powered models). However, it is possible to increase that distance if you build a more sensitive RFID receiver.
RFID chips cost up to 50 cents, but prices are dropping. Once they get to 5 cents each, it will be cost-efficient to put RFID tags in almost anything that costs more than a dollar.
Up to 70% of Email Is Now Spam
Corporate email security provider Postini is reporting that as of the first week of June, approximately 70% of the email processed by the company was categorized as spam. However, many corporations are now seeing a much higher volume, threatening the viability of their email systems. AmeriStaff, a leading staffing solutions provider, reported that Postini is successfully capturing the 80% of the company's email that is now spam.
I can attest to the fact that spam is definitely becoming worse. I receive much less spam than most people, but the amount that I do receive is mind boggling. I've grown to hate checking my email when I wake up. I'm sure all of you are feeling exactly the same way by now.
If you don't have software to help you deal with all the spam that's coming in, go test drive my own personal favorite, Mailwasher. I probably save myself from downloading 5MB worth of spam every day by deleting it off the server with Mailwasher. You can try it out for 30 days, and if you don't like it, toss it.
For those of you who run web sites, you undoubtedly receive more spam than most people. Spammers use small programs known as spambots to detect and record email addresses automatically from web sites. This is, according to some studies, the most common way for spammers to obtain your email address in the first place.
Those of you with PHP installed on your web sites, install this form mailer from DB Masters Multimedia. It is absolutely impossible for a spammer to see your address if you use this script. It is kept on the server as a script variable and is never once passed to the web browser (or spambot). It is easy to set up and customize and you can have it in use in a few minutes. For those of you stuck on IIS Windoze servers without PHP, there is also an ASP version of the same script.
Links:
http://www.postini.com/press/pr/pr062403.html Postini press release
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/rd/mailwasher/ Download Mailwasher
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter/rd/25 PHP form mailer
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter/rd/26 ASP form mailer
Get the cell phone: Your spam is calling
If you think spam is frustrating now, imagine having to pay for the privilege of receiving it!
Unwanted text messages a growing ill
By WENDY LEE
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/1971965Come-ons for X-rated teen Web sites. Sales pitches for online university diplomas. Pleas for financial help from Nigeria. They've already invaded your e-mail. Next target: your cell phone.
Cell phone users in the United States received 1 billion text messages in December alone, a fact not lost on companies eager for new marketing outlets for their products. As a result, irritated consumers are finding their cell phones clogged with unwanted spam.
Just ask 18-year-old Betsy Merino. At first, she received a trickle of text spam, but it didn't bother her. Then, last week Merino received three messages about free Hulk movie tickets in 10 minutes. She had enough.
"I just feel disgusted," Merino said. "I said that I wasn't ever going to turn off my phone, but I did this morning. It was annoying."
(...)
Consumers receiving spam, like Merino, are beginning to turn off their cell phones -- to the horror of cell phone companies.
Companies are worried they will lose customers because of spam, and most are taking a proactive stand against it by setting up filters and working with federal authorities on regulation.
"If your customers are receiving messages they don't want, they will turn off their phones, and that's bad for business," Larson said. "If consumers turn off their phones, they won't be taking calls and they're less likely to make calls. The fewer calls they make, the less revenue for wireless carriers."
FTC Opens "Do Not Call" Registry
 |
The FTC officially has opened the national "Do Not Call" registry. Listing your telephone number on this registry will make it a federal crime for telemarketers to call your home after October 1st (charities and political groups excepted). Telemarketing companies will be required to purchase the list and to honor it. Violators will face fines of as much as $11,000 (USD).
You can register online at http://donotcall.gov. Be sure to give a valid email address, as they will send you an email with instructions to confirm your registration. For those with no internet access, there is a toll free number, 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236). Use of the telephone number is restricted to residents west of the Mississippi River until July 7, after which anyone may use it. Registering your number on the list is free and it remains there for the next five years, after which you can register again.
There are already a number of individual states that maintain similar "Do Not Call" lists. To see whether your state will provide its list to the FTC to add to the registry, go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/donotcall/statelist.html and look it up.
Do be aware that there are several companies defrauding the public by claiming to process registrations for a fee. The "Do Not Call" list is a free service of the United States government. Any company trying to charge a fee for registering your number is trying to steal your money.
Sobig.E Worm Making the Rounds
Last week, I warned everyone that a new virus was making the rounds by spoofing the "From:" email address. As it turns out, it was the earliest samples of the newly-mutated Sobig.E worm. Like many other worms, it spoofs the "From:" address to hide the identity of the person whose computer has become infected. In my case, it was spoofing service@spywareinfoforum.info as well as the address from which this newsletter is sent.
Just as a reminder to everyone, no one at SpywareInfo uses service@spywareinfoforum.info. Second, I do not send emails other than the newsletter from the newsletter@spywareinfoforum.info address. Even if you reply to the newsletter and I reply to you, the email still will not come from that address. The Sobig.E virus is over 110KB in size, which is much, much larger than any newsletter I would ever send.
Update your antivirus software, scan to make sure you are not infected, and don't open any email attachment you don't know is coming. If you are already infected, Symantec has released a specialized removal tool.
Links:
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter/rd/22 Sobig.E information
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter/rd/23 Sobig.E removal tool
Last of the Lizards Released
Version 1.4 of the Mozilla browser has been released. This is the last version of Mozilla that will be released before the Firebird Project takes over development. The Firebird Project used to be known as the Phoenix Project until Phoenix Technologies arrogantly threatened the project over the use of the word Phoenix.
You can download Mozilla 1.4 from Mozilla's releases page.
For those of you that have never used Mozilla and are still using that Microsoft browser that comes bundled with every copy of Windows, you really are missing out. The tabbed interface by itself makes it worth switching. I can't imagine why Microsoft hasn't put tabs on Internet Explorer already and the lack of them is why I finally stopped using it altogether.
Mozilla is also completely immune to the exploits that script kiddies use to install browser hijackers into Internet Explorer. Mozilla actually will support ActiveX if you use an obscure plugin, but I have no use for ActiveX beyond Windows Updates anyway, and I doubt you do either. ActiveX is one of the most frequently-used means of infecting people with browser hijackers, so Mozilla's lack of support for it is, in fact, one of the biggest security features.
Whether you install it or not, you should check out this speed tweak that I posted a while back at the message boards. The tweak works on Internet Explorer, Opera, and Mozilla (and presumably Netscape) so if you are using any of those browsers, you definitely should check out. The difference in browsing speed is amazing.
Links:
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/firebird/ Firebird project
http://www.mozilla.org/releases/#1.4 Download Mozilla 1.4
http://www.iol.ie/~locka/mozilla/control.htm ActiveX control for Mozilla
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter/rd/24 Browser speed tweak
New Link Format
Finally, I have found a logical with a logical way to shorten the addresses of the archived version of the newsletter. You may have noticed that I've been shortening long addresses by redirecting through spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter. I've decided on a consistent format for doing the same thing for the newsletter archives.
It's really very simple. I'm just simply converting the date of the issue into the short address, then setting the web server to redirect it to the proper location.
This issue went out on July 1, 2003, so the short address for this issue is http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter/july1,2003. Next week's issue (assuming there are no unforeseen delays) will be http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newlsetter/july8,2003. Each issue will follow this same format and it should make it much easier on those who link to the issue.
I haven't changed all the old issues yet to redirect them. I'll do that this week. One day soon I will also sit down and create a listing of all of the old newsletters and link them for easy browsing. This is long overdue. In the meantime, you can browse through the archives on the server.
Link:
http://www.spywareinfoforum.info/newsletter/archives/ Newsletter archives
New Buttons To Link With
I have been playing around with Paint Shop Pro again and created some new buttons for people to use in linking to the site. Feel free to copy them and use them on your site to link to SpywareInfo. Don't load the images from my site.
::::
::::
Recommend SpywareInfo to a friend
Do you like SpywareInfo and this newsletter? Then please tell a few friends about it! We are trying to come up with ways to increase the number of visitors to the web site and the number of subscribers of this newsletter.
Recently I signed up for RecommendIt's service, also used by Scot Finnie and Fred Langa. When you use RecommendIt's service to send a link to a friend or family member, you can also choose to enter a contest with a grand prize of $10,000.
The privacy policy of the site looks solid and I did ask around if anyone had heard anything bad about it before I signed up for it. You can use their service to recommend SpywareInfo to someone you know at http://www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=881459
Of course, you don't *have* to use RecommendIt's site to send a friend a link to the site. Just sending an email will also do the trick.
Links:
http://www.scotsnewsletter.com Scot Finnie's Newsletter
http://www.langa.com/newsletter.htm The Langalist
