is this shit spyware or what?

[natas]

someone just hit me up re : this

http://www.codeccash.com/

some 15 cent installer thing

http://www.codeccash.com/eula.php (link at the top of the page)

part of the terms and conditions

"ADDENDUM: By accepting this agreement you also accept the terms and conditions of Web Search Toolbar/Web Search Tools and Win-Tools Easy Installer End User License Agreement and Privacy Statement located at http://www.websearch.com/legal/terms.aspx. Web Search Toolbar/Web Search Tools and Win-Tools Easy Installer are opt-in search enhancement tools which provide one-click access to search results from several search engines in one results page."

so i hop on over to

http://www.websearch.com/legal/terms.aspx

and amongst the usual bumpf i find this

"IMPACT OF SERVICE ON YOUR BROWSER AND COMPUTER

By installing the Service you understand and agree that the following changes may be made to your Internet Explorer browser and that the following functions may be performed by the Service: install a Search Toolbar in your browser which may (i) block certain pop-up ads and pages; (ii) display links to related websites and keywords based on the information you view and the websites you visit; (iii) store non-personally identifiable statistics of the websites you have visited; (iv) redirect certain URL's including your browser default address bar search, DNS error page and Search Button page to or through the Service and; (v) automatically update the Service and install added features or functionality conveniently without your input or interaction unless you have chose to be notified of such update in advance."

I smell a rat - am I right?

[Dynamix]

Yup. That's AdWare for ya. Simply disable third-party browse extensions in IE (this takes care of the majority of adware problems, although disables Google Toolbar and similar software)

[Lee]

Fuck that shit

[Alltopnotch]

i got some shit that wont let me goto google or yahoo...wtf...cant get rid of it with anything...

[reynold]

yeah, it's quite annoying really.

[Dynamix]

Originally posted by Alltopnotch
i got some shit that wont let me goto google or yahoo...wtf...cant get rid of it with anything...

What version of Windows are you using?

[Dynamix]

Originally posted by Dynamix
What version of Windows are you using?

If you're using XP like me and the rest of the world, locate this file:

\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\HOSTS

Open it in Notepad and edit to make sure it reads:

# Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

127.0.0.1 localhost

Additional lines will redirect attempts to connect to google.com, etc. to spyware servers.