There Be Spyware Here

When my SpyBlocker software blocks spyware that appears on websites, it also allows me to replace the spyware-graphics with "replacement graphics."

One of the options for a replacement graphic is a big, red, ugly bug.

Look at this screenshot of what happens when I browse to Tomshardware's home page.

http://www.geocities.com/forwardlo [...] pyware.jpg

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Also, a bit of philosophy would be a good thing at this time regarding how to co-exist with anti-spyware installed and protecting your computer.

The determination is made by the anti-spyware companies that some URLs and domains are hazardous to your privacy, whether that’s because they install software on your computer without your knowledge, collect tracking data without your knowledge, etc. The common thread being "without your knowledge."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Spyware_Coalition

If your anti-spyware software blocks content that you REALLY wanted to see, then you have two choices.

1) You can deactivate the anti-spyware software to see what it blocked.

2) You can say to yourself, "The anti-spyware software has properly determined that this content is hazardous to my electronic security, financial security, and/or privacy. Therefore, I'm going to have to browse elsewhere and try to find equivalent content, thereby saving my electronic security, financial security, and/or privacy."

For instance, I stopped visiting Tomshardware and the CNet family of websites about eight years ago. I get Ziff newsletter-emails (with Thunderbird blocking embedded images) and still occasionally follow their links to occasional articles -- which is what I’m doing here. My SpyBlocker has done a close-enough-to-perfect job of protecting my computer during that time.
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Finally, I find it disgraceful and disillusioning that Toms Hardware, Ziff/eWeek/PCMag, and ZDnet/CNet (for starters, in no particular order) have websites with spyware, according to the big red bugs from my SpyBlocker, and that there is little or no recognition of the problem, no less interest in rectifying the problem.

I mean, these are supposed to be technologically-enlightened journalistic services.

If Tomshardware had taken a more pro-active stance in scrutinizing advertising content on their website, they might have been in a better position to avoid the .ANI trojan that they allowed to be disseminated from their website on May 8, according to eWeek. (“... More than a month after Microsoft patched the .ANI vulnerability, the geek favorite e-tailer Tom's Hardware has found the W32.ani Trojan lurking in one of its banner ads...”
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2128813,00.asp

I havent come across any pop up's yet maybe it because of firefox?

Go to the top of the forum you want to post in..... Scroll down to the bottom of the page..... On the right are 2 icons.... One is make new post & the other is make new poll.....

BTW the new forum is icon driven..... Hint: always look at all the icons on all pages.....

I don't have any control over the layout on the boards..... I can make suggestions about the layout, like yourself, but they're suggestions...

Things will shake out one way or the other in the long run.....

I'm amused though at every forum change I've been through here.... We loved the first format back in 01...That changed in 05.... Everyone said the new format sucked..... Now in 07 the new format sucks, lets go back to the old one, which was the new one that sucked.....

The formats have always worked as a forum no matter which one was used.... Members have always been resistant to change once a change is made initially... After that, members seem to figure out how to use things & get comfortable & as we see now, don't touch it!!!! To me it's just a matter of going with the flow & in no time this will be the old format as well as the rest of them.....

I actually liked the '05 layout... thought it was a much needed improvement over the '01. However, even I say that this new format sucks.

I hate the spyware too.

Hardware techies don't access these ads ... ever.

Why try to entice us when we are the least likely to ... ??

The original post was two months ago. As far as I know, the issue has been dealt with. If anybody gets something like this popping up in the future, let the admins know, so we can administer a proper hammering to the offending ad/provider.

Advertisers are NOT allowed to upload spyware.