Jonny Quick
BANNED
- Aug 26, 2010
- 232
- 345
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/google-warning-users-of-malware-infection/3145
I read the above just now. Note this:
I've been playing with proxies for a while, and have noticed that several seem to take over your browser and redirect it to places different than you want to go. That's a violation of ettiquette, and if it's willing to do that, it's willing to do anything, i.e. install malware, or spoof some kind of warning message to trick you into installing malware.
I've been installing proxie software and testing them. Some promoted here on BHW, and some from "in the wild" on the internet. One in particular insisted on running at every boot, and had no switch that I could find that would turn the "automatic start" off. Ettiquette violation, and from that you can assume it's capable of anything.
My machine & network has odd & intermittant symptoms that Time Warner cannot seem to nail down. I have to consider the possiblity that my proxy software experimentation has installed something undetectable, at least for the next few days. (If the symptoms go away for good, I can assume TW already fixed it, otherwise it could be anything, including malware.)
I'm worried. I do my online banking with this machine. Note, I'm not asking for advice, I'm posting a warning to anyone that (like me) installs "free software" and plays with it for a while. My point here is that it might be a dangerous thing to do, and to stay alert and monitor your system closely. One thing in particular is to make certain that System Restore is turned on and is capable of sending you back to a time prior to when the software was installed. That has saved me several times in the past, and one of the first things malware tries to do is turn off the System Restore, so if it suddenly stops working, you should be worried.
I read the above just now. Note this:
I've been playing with proxies for a while, and have noticed that several seem to take over your browser and redirect it to places different than you want to go. That's a violation of ettiquette, and if it's willing to do that, it's willing to do anything, i.e. install malware, or spoof some kind of warning message to trick you into installing malware.
I've been installing proxie software and testing them. Some promoted here on BHW, and some from "in the wild" on the internet. One in particular insisted on running at every boot, and had no switch that I could find that would turn the "automatic start" off. Ettiquette violation, and from that you can assume it's capable of anything.
My machine & network has odd & intermittant symptoms that Time Warner cannot seem to nail down. I have to consider the possiblity that my proxy software experimentation has installed something undetectable, at least for the next few days. (If the symptoms go away for good, I can assume TW already fixed it, otherwise it could be anything, including malware.)
I'm worried. I do my online banking with this machine. Note, I'm not asking for advice, I'm posting a warning to anyone that (like me) installs "free software" and plays with it for a while. My point here is that it might be a dangerous thing to do, and to stay alert and monitor your system closely. One thing in particular is to make certain that System Restore is turned on and is capable of sending you back to a time prior to when the software was installed. That has saved me several times in the past, and one of the first things malware tries to do is turn off the System Restore, so if it suddenly stops working, you should be worried.
