Stopping Spyware

international | sci-tech | other press Tuesday August 08, 2006 07:35 by o as if

Google yesterday announced that they are now offering a warning to their browser users if they are about to access a site associated with spyware, malware or malicious advertising who have been reported to the organisation "stopbadware".

This is the latest initiative to come from an association between the group "Stopbadware" and Google. & it has met with positive reactions across the internet related media.

"bad sites"

Q: first off who are "stopbadware"?

A: "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.

Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society and Oxford University's Oxford Internet Institute are leading this initiative with the support of several prominent tech companies, including Google, Lenovo, and Sun Microsystems. Consumer Reports WebWatch is serving as an unpaid special advisor."

here's their site:- http://www.stopbadware.org

Some of you may be wondering what "Malware" or "badware" is. Well basically its when you access a site and that site uses lots of evil programs to slow down your computer, open up lots of pop-up windows and "bundles".

Q: is that bad?
A: yes its evil, malevolent, and just a step away from mortal sin malicious. Because not only does it waste your time, it hurts your computer.

Q: Is indymedia ireland on the list?
A: Not as of yet, but these sites most definitely are :-


Zwinky
www.themeXP.org
Zango Easy Messenger
PC MightyMax
Winfixer
Funcade
UnSpyPC
Jessica Simpson Screensaver
Kazaa
Mediapipe
SpyAxe
Waterfalls 3


Here's the coverage :-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5251742.stm
http://software.silicon.com/malware/0,3800003100,391612...0.htm
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2161787/google-divert...lware
http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/2006/08/google....aspx
http://tech.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1187846...sites
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/08/07/google_malw...ning/