Recently in Claria / Spyware Category

WebRoot recently released their report on State of Spyware in 2005 and said that last year was the worst year for spyware yet. They catalogued 130 security breaches due to spyware that exposed 55 million users and their data in the United States alone.

I'd believe it. In a year when even large companies like Sony are busy trying hide spyware on people's systems so they can "prevent theft" the threat to people will only keep growing.

The first step is vigilance, and knowing who's making the spyware.

Luckily, people like webroot, Avast, even Microsoft make good tools available to use to protect your system. Download them and use them often. It's your personal data on the line.

I saw one of the Google Ads pointing to a "Spyware Removal Review", a site which promised to point to the best spyware available. It points you immediately to XoftSpy, which I can't find anything legitimate about, or anything remotely savory about, so I'm going to say that people should stay away from it.

It's really really sad that people will use someone's frustration with spyware to try and install MORE spyware under the guise of helping them. I know this is nothing new, but it makes me think of a gang of cockroaches showing up at your house and offering to come in an take care of your bug problems for you. It's not going to go well from there.

Stick with the big names, the Microsoft Anti-Spyware, or Spy Sweeper, by Webroot, or AdAware by LavaSoft, things that are reputable and work (though I haven't always had good results with AdAware on that front).

Bottom-line, if the site looks unsavory, the software probably is too, and you shouldn't trust it. If you're really stuck and need help ask someone.

Claria has been saying for months now that they are no longer going to peddle in adware or spyware but instead are moving to something called "behavioral marketing" and "personalization", which is a process whereby someone can personalize their ad viewing experience online based on the sites they visit, the news they read, etc.

It's a similar idea to the Google AdWords, but without the wholesome promise Google makes to not destroy your computer in the process.

In fact, Claria has made changes in it's management recently to reflect their new purpose.

I somehow still don't buy it. I applaud them for ending their "partnership" with Kazaa, but it only made sense, as Claria being partnered with Kazaa made both of them seem more unseemly, like a snake and a rat working together to spread fear and pestilence. One's bad enough, but when you see the rat riding on top of the snake, you feel a whole different kind of fear.

Anyway, only time will tell.

Of course, the bad thing about Claria leaving the adware business (sounds strange to say that, doesn't it?) is that it opens the door for even more unsavory shitheads to take their place.

I am very suspicious of Microsoft downgrading Claria's definition in their anti-spyware tool. I'm all the more frustrated because I like the tool and I think that it works very well, and it's probably been the best one I've tested out of a bunch (in a vain attempt to keep family member's computers clean).

Much has been made of Microsoft's announced intention to buy Claria, and given the change in the anti-spyware tool I think that Microsoft is playing fast and loose with the rules.

Originally I thought that maybe Microsoft was just buying Claria to shut it down and put the nuisance down once and for all, but that's apparently not the case.

I don't care what kind of cool technologies Claria has, Microsoft buying it is like Ford buying the company that makes slim jims because of their "innovative door opening tools". No good.

I spent the weekend helping a family member with their computer. It was dying under the weight of a ton of spyware, and it run the gamut of publishers. There were several trojans installed as well. Claria did seem to be the primary culprit.

After running the Microsoft Anti-Spyware, I downloaded and installed Avast Anti-Virus, which was very good at finding the spyware and the trojans. The best thing about Avast, is the first time after you install it it runs a boot-time scan, which means before anything else is running, it finds more spyware and kills it good. Best thing about Avast is that it's free for personal use. Check that out.

So the computer's clean, and I am convinced that the power tools of fighting spyware are the Microsoft Anti-Spyware and Avast anti-virus.

The Microsoft Anti-Spyware can be found here.

Avast Anti-Virus can be found here.

Get them, and kill spyware/adware good.

Ben Edelman has done a fantastic job, hunting for and releasing the names of the primary investors in spyware.

The crucial thing here, for me, is that this makes it possible for people to now contact the board of directors for this VC firms and ask them to stop investing in this unsavory business.

At least, that's what I plan to do.

Another great spyware article appeared on the web and they linked to me, so I feel that it's important that I promote them. The article is a series of reviews from GooRoo, and they do a Consumer Reports style review of the pros and cons of several spyware removal tools. If you're looking for something to clean your PC, this article will show you the way.

Read the article here.

ClickZ.com, a website for marketers, is speculating that Claria, our favorite manufacturer of spyware, preparing itself to be bought out. The word is that someone like Yahoo will buy them to compete with Google's AdWords.

We'll see.

I was surpassed on Google by Pest Patrol when someone searches for Claria. It's kind of a sad thing, except for the fact that Pest Patrol's page about Claria is filled with good information.

So I'll add them to my links of Spyware resources.

CNet is reporting that Claria has settled lawsuits with several companies that were suing it. These companies were not happpy that Claria, through it's crapware program Gator, was covering their ads on websites with ads from competitors.

No word on how much was given to each of the plaintiffs in the case, but I hope that the Claria executives had to give up their Ferraris and million-dollar mansions.

Better yet, the executives of Claria should have to give everyone in the United States their home phone number so we can call them for help when they're crap spyware crashes our computers. I think I like that idea best.

"Hi, Jeff McFadden please."
"Hi Jeff, this is Maurice. Hey can you swing by my friend's house? Your POS software is making his computer unstable and I don't have the time to help him format his drive and reinstall windows. Can you handle that for me? Great. Thanks."

After my first post today I sent the following letter to MediaPost:

Dear Mr. Fadner, Your article today about "behavioral marketing" which quotes Debra Williamson left out some important information about spyware.

There are a litany of complaints leveled against the companies like Gator, Bonzi Buddy, WhenU, et. al, because they are dishonest about what their software does. Many times you don't know what you've installed (or even that you've installed it) until you start getting pop-ups on your screen. Many pop-ups on your screen. When you try to find the culprit, and remove the software, it's hard to locate, hard to kill, and hard to keep off your computer once it's been installed. Left on a computer, it will make the victim's computer slower, more unstable, and more crash-prone.

Those kinds of actions are very similar in intent to how viruses and Trojan horse programs work. Only, these are somehow okay because they're paid for and supported by a commercial company.

To have an article about "behavioral marketing" (euphimisms at their best) and not address those issues.

I'd be interested to hear what spyware advocate Ms. Williamson would have to say about those charges.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Maurice Reeves

I found this article from MediaPost.com about "behavioral marketing" (that's the term that companies like Claria (Gator), Bonzi Buddy, WhenU, etc came up with to obfuscate their real actions.

Debra Aho Williamson, from Advertising Age, tries to poo-poo people's privacy concerns by saying that people's privacy is not invaded, but we've seen time and time again how the companies have admitted that they're watching you, where you surf, and what you're doing on the web.

She also chooses to ignore the fact that spyware and adware and malware tends to make your computer unstable, run slower, more crash-prone, is just flat-out annoying (oh look, I have 10 pop-ups to kill, why won't they go away?), and most importantly, deceptive. When you install some software Claria doesn't tell you "We're going to throw a bunch of pop-ups at you while you surf the internet, advertising stuff you don't want." Bonzi Buddy doesn't warn you before you install "We're like junkmail, but only much more intrusive".

As a representative of advertising firms and the industry as a whole, Debra Williamson would like you to ignore those facts. She just wants you to think that Claria and WhenU just want to be your friends.

What a load of crap.

CNet has an article that discusses the orgins of the word spyware, and how companies like Claria continue to thrive and make money.

I don't know what else to say about it. I'm tired. I'm just glad that people are speaking out more and more about spyware, adware, malware, whatever you want to call it...

In case you wanted further proof that Claria is the bottom of the barrel ethically, the New York Times pulled ads for Claria once they realized who Claria is and what they do.

They also called Claria a "parasite".

They're nothing but dirty spyware makers, and they want all your private information without your consent so they can sell your information (again, without your consent) to other companies that will then bombard you with spam and junk mail, trying to sell you things you don't need.

Why does Claria continue to think that your information is their's to barter? Because they're scum.

BusinessWeek Online has an article this week talking about the business of pop-up ads, using Claria as their example. Amazingly, pop-up adds have a 3% clickthrough rate. They state in the article that 3 of 97 people shown an ad click on it.

Kudos for BusinessWeek for also discussing the dirty side of Claria's activities, which they highlighted in this paragraph:

Many of the Web surfers it targets have little clue as to what they're getting. If they did, say critics, the industry wouldn't have to contrive sneaky tactics to slip the software onto desktops. One common ploy: A "security alert" pops up when a user visits a particular site, offering a software download. Many users click "yes" without realizing they're getting an adware program unrelated to the site they're trying to view. Even customers who wade through the fine print can sometimes be duped by vague language promising "Internet enhancements" and "search augmentation." Says Rutecki: "I understand they've got to make a buck, but there's got to be another way. It's like somebody coming into your yard in middle of the night and putting up signs."

If Claria was really serious about 'helping people' or making our web experience better, they'd find a more ethical way of doing it, rather than trying to trick us with faux security updates and mislabeling what their software does.

I frankly believe that it's a shame that Claria will have an IPO and people will provide them funding that they will use to continue to use to deceive people and clutter their computer with unwanted ads.

Anyway, the entire text of the article can be found here:
Guess What, You Asked For Those Pop-up Ads by Ben Elgin
I also found this interesting:
Stopping Pop-ups Saves Life

James Prendergast, from FoxNews.com has the following great article about Spyware, like Claria and Bonzi Buddy.

What I think I like best is that he not only explains spyware and how to get rid of it, but he takes a stand I can appreciate: "Don't rely on a government solution to this problem. Rely on the market to handle the problem".

For example, since the "Can Spam" law went into effect, the amount of spam I get has tripled. I tried opting-out of a few emails just to see if it worked like the law says, and sure enough, I'm not getting any email from that company anymore, but the different company, that shares the same address and office with the company I opted-out of has bombarded me with EVEN MORE mail. Luckily I was using a throw-away email account anyway...

Anything that the government does to legislate spyware is going to fail in some crucial and amazingly stupid way. More importantly, I don't think it's the purview of government to manage my spyware. That's why I use AdAware. That's why I'm dilligent in what I download, because my information and my computer are my responsibility. And I'd like it to stay that way.

Thanks very much.

So Claria, the infamous spyware company formerly know as Gator, has hired a former FTC Consumer Protection Attorney as their "Chief Privacy Officer".

On the surface, this looks like a good thing, and might indeed result in some increased privacy protections for the individuals that are trapped in the GAIN network, but pardon me if I'm skeptical.

Claria has just announced that they are filing an IPO. One of the issues that is certain to come up will be the mountain of privacy concerns that people have raised about Claria, so they need to demonstrate some action. Hiring a lawyer from the FTC says to me that they are more interested in covering their butts than in really working with the consumer.

I will howerver, maintain a partly-open mind. (Kind of like a partly-cloudy day) If I see things improve, then I'll be happy. But right now, I think that this is just a corporate-level attempt to disguise what they're really up to, and look like they're taking action, without having to do much.

I've talked about Claria before. That's the company that installs Gator on your machine and then watches everything you do and reports back to the company so they can sell your personal information to other companies. They call it "behavioral marketing services". Those of us not suckling at the tit of Satan know it by it's more appropriate name "spyware".

Apparently, life is good at Claria, and they want to find more ways to suck out your information, because they're filing an IPO which should bring them a fat pile of cash. Seriously, this is like underwriting privacy theft, and giving it legitimacy. NOT A GOOD IDEA.

I’ve noticed a lot of traffic coming to my site looking for information about Claria and spyware, and more importantly, and the intersection of the two. Claria is the company formerly known as Gator, notorious for their software that, once installed would track users on what websites they visited, and what they did on the web, and for selling users personal information, all without explicitly telling the user.

When the word got out that this was happening, and people reasonably got pissed off, Gator tried to sue the whistleblowers. When that backfired on them, the gave up and changed their name to Claria.

Well folks, Shakespeare said it best. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, except in this case, Claria’s not coming off smelling like roses. They’re doing some really shitty things with your private information, and if you’ve got Gator installed, they’ve got your information, and they’ve sold it to persons unknown.

And that’s why I say, do yourself a favor and download a spyware removal tool, like Ad-Aware, and, remember, Claria is Spyware.

I am guessing that in response to the many many many people who have stated the truth again and again that 'Gator is spyware', the company formerly known as Gator will now be known as Claria.

I'd like the be first to introduce you to Claria, a new breed of spyware.

So...
Claria is spyware.
Claria is spyware.
Claria is spyware.
Claria is spyware.

Thank you.

-- Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.