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1. Comment - Symantec Joins Anti-Spyware Push

   (Apr 21, 2005 - 7:42 AM)

   Ad-Aware does not detect 180 Solutions, WhenU, Hotbar, and whomever else writes them Cease & Desists letters. If you're a spyware maker all you have to do is threaten Ad-Aware with a lawsuit and they'll remove your spyware/adware application from their database.
   
   It's a fact that Ad-Aware has already caved into some spyware/adware vendors threats. I wouldn't trust Ad-Aware anymore. It's a shame.
   
   Ad-Aware is not the only one caving in to demands from spyware/adware developers either.

2. Comment - Microsoft Windows Exec Talks IE, Firefox

   (Nov 16, 2004 - 9:48 AM)

   You make a leap of logic that truly astounds me. By your logic, then, everyone is stupid and downloads spyware because they really believe in the "free lunch" system. In other words, they really believe that Hotbar and FunWebProducts (two of the biggest) are going to spend millions of dollars advertising their "free" products only to philanthropically give them away. There is no cure for stupidity and based on your logic then, they should all be using AOL because they know nothing at all about computers, spyware, malware, etc. . It is a wonder how they managed to bungle their way on the Internet in the first place (or do they use AOL?).
   
   Whatever happened to common sense?
   
   The motivation that Mozilla currently has will diminish when it has reached its saturation point. Once they stop growing what reward will they have? Cutting into Internet Explorer's market share now motivates them; and they are, no doubt, chortling with delight. However nothing beats the motivation of financial gain (all those idealists should now wince).
   
   Open Source will never flourish just like communism will never flourish, because it is human nature to be greedy (sorry again idealists).
   
   That is not to say, I would not like to see it flourish. One may think that it is so contemporary to condemn the rich, powerful and successful and to cheer on the underdog. But, alas, it is not. It is as old as history itself. It has always been so. In all of history, this inclination to denigrate the rich and acclaim the underdog never changed the baser instincts of humankind; it has never precluded a select few from dominating the many. The rich and powerful continue to dominate and I truly doubt that Mozilla/Firefox nor its clones will amount to more than a gnat on Microsoft's nose,at least the foreseeable future.
   
   The more functionality that Mozilla adds to its browser(s) the more vulnerable it will become. The more people who install it, the bigger the target it will become. The bigger target it becomes the more flaws and security issues in it will be exploited (this has already started). If you do not believe that serious security flaws will be discovered in it, you are very naive.
   
   You cannot assume (as many do) that because it is not Microsoft it is perfect. That is illogical. But there is not much logic to be found in ideology anyway. To hate Microsoft is cool. To like Microsoft is not. Anything that is not Microsoft that performs adequately will be hailed at the coming of the Christ; a giant-killer. It's human nature. Evidence of this is ubiquitous. David and Goliath anyone?
   
   (An aside)
   As to the use of the word 'ecosystem'. The word was properly used. The definition of 'ecosystem' is: "a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment." Gary Schare's use of the word 'ecosystem' was apt.

3. Comment - WeatherBug Upgrades with Search Tool

   (Jul 2, 2004 - 11:24 AM)

   http://www.spysweeper.com/remove-spyware.html
   
   Didn't you just say that Spysweeper doesn't list Weatherbug?
   
   I'd be very skeptical of anything that installs "My Search" BHO in Internet Explorer toolbar. I hear rumors though that MS is about to cave in and stop all Active-X based BHO's from installing. Weatherbug will have a happy time with SP2 anyway, even as it is.
   
   Hotbar, WhenU, MyWebSearch, Weatherbug and programs of this ilk will be crying the blues if MS gets smart and stops allowing parasites to invade Internet Explorer. Maybe then the mad dash to Firefox will cease.
   
   There would be nothing more pleasing than to see these spyware oops "Adware" companies go belly up.
   
   If the program is so good, why not sell it? Make your money off the "paid" or "pro version"? Why not? Because there are not enough suckers to buy it in the qunatities needed to support the big salaries and high overheads of the companies that produce these parasites.
   
   There are many other truly free weather programs out there, made by small companies or individuals that are as good as Weatherbug.
   
   You can deny that your software is not spyware until you're blue-in-the-face, but you meet the definition of it according to the Spy-Block Act now pending in the U.S. Senate. Already Hotbar is posting notices that if you live in Utah (which recently passed an anti-spyware law) you're not allowed to download its software; although Hotbar claims vehemently that its software is not spyware rather it is adware. Hmmm....
   
   I see bad things ahead for companies like Weatherbug (which was once a decent and honest program). And good things ahead for the Internet community. People are at last finally realizing that there really isn't such a thing as a free lunch. Hell, even Microsoft has an anti-spyware page!
   
   I have found that the most insidious spyware...ummm sorry "Adware" programs are the ones most vociferous about NOT being spyware. They make very visible statements "We are Not Spyware". Why? You have a very defensive posture if you're truly innocent.