On 19 Mar 2005 at 17:14, Lewis M Russakov wrote:

> Does any one know anything about GhostSurf made by Tenebril, Inc.
>
> It is supposed to protect you from hackers using you computer and
> prevent them for accessing information that you send over the Internet.
>
> This is the first time I heard of intercepting stuff that you send.
>
> Appreciate any feedback on this program.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Lew Russakov
> Huntington Beach, CA


  There are various ways to avoid spyware, and using a proxy server is one
of them; many large organizations install one or more as part of their
network for just such a purpose.
  But going through somebody else's proxy server means trading away the
remote possibility that some hacker might mange to see some of your traffic
for the CERTAINTY that the operators of the proxy can see ALL of your
traffic.
  In other words, this sounds to me like a new form of spyware, with the
twist that you actually PAY to use it.

  I don't actually know that the folks at Tenebril have any nefarious
intent.  But it seems to me that the risk to their customers if they,or any
of their employees, or some new owners that buy the company next month, or
the hacker who takes over their systems, decide to abuse their access --
well, I think it's much higher that the risk you face if you take a few
sensible precautions like antivirus, anti-spyware, and a good firewall.

David Gillett

      "Hold No Punches.." Rode brings you great shareware/freeware
        programs with his honest opinions in this weekly column.
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