scuzzman Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 Shining a light on shady softwareALLIANCE PLANNING TO IDENTIFY HARMFUL PROGRAMS AND SITESBy Michael BazeleyMercury NewsA coalition of academics, consumer advocates and technology firms is taking aim at malicious software, launching a site today that it hopes will help protect consumers and place software makers under the harsh glare of scrutiny.The Stop Badware Coalition said it intends to shine a spotlight on companies that trick Internet users into downloading programs that steal personal information, launch unwanted ads and spread computer viruses.The effort is being run by Harvard University's Berkman Center and the Oxford Internet Institute, with help from Consumer Reports. Technology companies Google, Lenovo and Sun Microsystems are providing undisclosed funding for the multi-year, multimillion-dollar project.Original Article at MercuryNewsThe Stop Badware CoalitionThe Stop Badware FAQAnd this is from the Stop Badware "About Us" Page:StopBadware.org is a "Neighborhood Watch" campaign aimed at fighting badware. We will seek to provide reliable, objective information about downloadable applications in order to help consumers to make better choices about what they download on to their computers. We aim to become a central clearinghouse for research on badware and the bad actors who spread it, and to become a focal point for developing collaborative, community-minded approaches to stopping badware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Your post is now saved in my favourites. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 I have now removed the URL from My Favourites. The site suggested that I download Spyware Doctor. I did this and when it ran it claimed to have found three dangerous items. It said that in order to delete them I would have to purchase a licence. I cannot help suspecting DELIBERATE false positives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 After uninstalling the program and restarting, Spyware defense informed me of a registry change, and recommended that I disallow it. It did this successively for about half a dozen items. I definitely WOULD NOT recommend Spyware Doctor. I have carried out a System Restore. I can only suggest that the link to the sites in the posting be deleted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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