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Get Real!
Warnings : 3
Senior Villager
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 325
Location: Nicosia
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Erolz, because I’m a really nice guy, and hearing that you actually have Firefox installed on your system, I’m going to assist you to test Firefox so that we may all find out, once and for all, if it’s actually misbehaving on a system.
Anyone else who also uses Firefox can participate aswell but even those that don’t use it might want to do this to find out if there’s anything else on their system doing something that they shouldn’t be. Ok, here we go…
First some “formal” definitions for the word “Spyware”…
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/spywarewhat.mspx
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| Spyware is a general term used to describe software that performs certain behaviors such as advertising, collecting personal information, or changing the configuration of your computer, generally without appropriately obtaining your consent first. |
http://www.pandasoftware.com/virus_info/spyware/que_es/
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| Spyware are computer applications that collect information about users browsing activity, preferences and interests. The data collected is sent to the creator of the application or third-parties, either directly or after being stored on the computer. |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware
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| Spyware is computer software that collects personal information about users without their informed consent. |
The KEY words that everyone seems to agree on is “collects personal information” and “without your consent”.
So now the condition at hand is DOES FIREFOX COLLECT INFORMATION WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT ? If the aswer is YES then it is Spyware! Ok?
Now let’s test to see if we have any spyware on our system:
Step1. Download the free utility “Hijack This” from… http://www.hijack-this.org/ …it’s a tiny zip file containing just the executable. Do read the warnings and keep that in mind.
Step2. The computer to be checked must be off-line, all programs closed, disconnected from networks (LAN/WAN/ADSL), Bluetooth, wireless, and infrared disabled, anti-virus programs temporarily disabled, and your system basically being completely idle when you run the program.
Step3. Run the program and expand its window and select the first option “Do a system scan and save log file”. This will scan and then create a ascii text file in notepad called hijackthis.log.
Step4. Grab the entire contents of the log file “hijackthis.log” and paste it here in a message. The scan results probably won’t make much sense to most people but don’t worry at this stage.
Step5. Once you’ve posted the results I will then take you through them and point out if and where there is any behind-the-scenes “spyware” behavior, not just from Firefox but from ALL software installed on your system.
NB: Don’t remove any of the entries found after a scan just yet. |
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erolz
Site Admin
Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 4195
Location: Kyrenia / Girne
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A pointless exercise (as far as proving if firefox is or contains spyware).
Also an execrise that involves downloading and installing a 'junk 3rd party program' - but of course these are only bad when it is not YOU advising others to download and install them, presumably. I am sure you were either the author of this SW or have personally conducted extensive test on it make sure it is not doing anything untoward on your machine (did you use it to test itself btw ?)
When you visit this forum using ANY browser the web server that it runs on keeps logs available to me, that show who (which IP address) has accessed which pages on the site you visit - and where you came to the site from and where you leave it to (but not any other browsing history).
Is this personal information if I have no way of turning an IP address into a name of a person?
If it is personal information does the web server on the host machine constitute 'spyware' even though it is not on the users machine? Does the web browser that passes this information (and has to pass it in order to be able to work as a web browser) constitute spyware?
The site also uses cookies, which are small pieces of information, held on the users machine that hold information about that machine/user and made available to the forum sw. Is the sw that creates the cookies spyware (in which case both IE and ANY browser that supports cookies is spyware) or is it the forum sw and the web server that tells the browsers to create these cookies on the users machine spyware?
If you want examples of REAL spyware then have a look here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware#Examples_of_spyware
or for a full list of known spyware try here
http://www.spywareguide.com/product_list_full.php
(and no firefox is NOT on their list)
If however what you want to do is engaged in futile argument about if firefox is spyware for some ego driven purpose of your own , then you can count me out. I just am not interested. |
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Get Real!
Warnings : 3
Senior Villager
Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 325
Location: Nicosia
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Erolz...
| Quote: |
| I just am not interested. |
I respect your right to refuse my offer and thus remain uninformed on this matter… |
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city
Site Admin
Joined: 15 Aug 2005
Posts: 3370
Location: Larnaca area
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| Get Real! wrote: |
Erolz...
| Quote: |
| I just am not interested. |
I respect your right to refuse my offer and thus remain uninformed on this matter… |
you are not seriously asking us to download some unknown SW to prove you wrong?!
I for my part know that I am safe with FF (compared to what else is available on the market) and if you don't like it or don't believe it - just don't use it.
P.S. if you wish to prove us wrong please go ahead and conduct your suggested test yourself.
P.P.S. to keep my system spy-free and safe I use the tools I chose. Thank you. |
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