Earlier this year, I fell pray to the Squire parasite.   Squire took over
Internet Explorer to the point that eventually it would not open.  Spybot
Search and Destroy had a solution for weeks before Add Aware.  It was
only Spybot S&D that could remove Squire and allow me to use Internet
Explorer again.

Kelly


----- Original Message -----
From: "David Poehlman" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 7:57 AM
Subject: Re: Unlikely German Leads the War Against Spyware


> Not to put it down, but when I tried it, the "blind" interface didn't
seem
> to work very well especially in the advvanced functions, the functions
were
> not well explained causing me to have to do a lot of work to restore my
> computer to its original state after removing it from my computer and
worst
> of all, you need to unload jaws to bet past the first part of the
install.
>
> I have been using ad-aware from:
> http://www.lavasoft.com
> for quite a while and it does the job I need adaquately although the
version
> that has a resident shield called ad watch which helps you keep spy
ware off
> your system has a small price tag.  I have heard that spybot is
considered
> to be the best and I have also heard from eperts that you should run
both in
> order to get maimum protection.
> The Wall Street Journal
> September 25, 2003
>
>
>     Unlikely German Leads the War Against Spyware
>
> By James R. Hagerty in New York and
> Annick Moes in Bochum, Germany
>
>
>
>     Three years ago, Patrick M. Kolla began noticing that some of the
> free software he had downloaded into his computer was sending him
pop-up
> ads and keeping track of which Web sites he visited.
>
>     Most people who discover such invaders sigh and click away the ads.
> But the young German computer programmer and self-described anarchist
> wrote what he calls a "quick and dirty" software tool to purge
computers
> of such unwanted programs. He called it Spybot Search & Destroy.
>
>         Spybot is now emerging as an early leader in a fast-growing
niche
> of
> software programs that find and delete so-called spyware. The catchall
> term applies to a range of annoying programs that sometimes come
bundled
> with screen savers, music-swapping software and other downloads.
Spyware
> can create pop-up ads, add links that promote porn and gambling sites
> and can even be used to steal personal information.
>
>     "No one is safe from this spying," says Mr. Kolla, 26 years old,
> whose company, PepiMK Software, distributes the Spybot software free to
> individual users through his personal Web site.
>
>     Although the market for antispyware software is still tiny --
> estimates range from $10 million to $15 million in sales for this year
> -- as more people find dubious programs clogging their computers, a
> growing list of tech companies are rushing into the market. They think
> antispyware could follow the example of antivirus software, which was
> little-known 15 years ago but last year racked up global sales of $2.2
> billion, according to market-research company IDC.
>
>     For Mr. Kolla, who wears his frizzy brown hair in a ponytail and
> sports a goatee, fighting spyware began more as a mission than a
> profitmaking venture. He suspended his computer-science studies at the
> University of Dortmund to battle spyware. With two part-time
assistants,
> and help from a global network of volunteer helpers, he works in an
> office in his parent's home in the German industrial town of Bochum and
> sustains himself with pots of peppermint tea and frequent blasts of
> heavy-metal music. While the software is free, Mr. Kolla does ask for
> donations to support his work. Though fewer than 1% of users give, he
> says, the income is enough to cover his expenses.
>
>     Meanwhile, the popularity of his program keeps spreading. Mr. Kolla
> estimates that Spybot, which is available at www.security.kolla.de,
> attracts more than three million downloads a month. In June, PC World
> magazine rated Spybot as the best software of its kind. It also
> regularly ranks among the 10 most popular programs -- and is the
> top-rated program to combat spyware -- available from the download.com
> Web site.
>
>     Now Mr. Kolla is selling a commercial version of Spybot for
computer
> networks. Though he believes individuals shouldn't have to pay for
> software, Mr. Kolla says, "I have no problem taking money from
> companies." He adds that giving away software can be good marketing: If
> people get used to a program at home, they may demand the same thing in
> their offices.
>
>     With such tantalizing potential, Mr. Kolla is getting competition
> from several U.S. software companies, including Pest Patrol, Carlisle,
> Pa., Webroot Software Inc., Boulder, Colo., and Aluria Software LLC,
> Lake Mary, Fla., all of which have bigger staffs than he does and sell
> antispyware to individuals and commercial clients.
>
>     EarthLink Inc., a big Atlanta Internet-service provider, plans to
> offer Webroot's program, under the name Spyware Blocker, to its
> customers starting soon.
>
>     Two big makers of antivirus software also are zeroing in on the
> spyware market. Network Associates Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., recently
> announced a new version of its McAfee VirusScan to help users remove
> various kinds of spyware, while Symantec Corp., Cupertino, Calif., says
> its new Norton AntiVirus 2004 software helps protect against spyware,
> among other plagues.
>
>     Another established maker of computer-security products, Websense
> Inc., San Diego, sells software that lets companies prevent their
> employees from downloading programs and blocks spyware from operating
if
> it does get into a machine.
>
>     Despite this growing competition from corporate rivals, Mr. Kolla
> maintains his idiosyncrasies: When his software downloads, a notice
> appears saying that it is "dedicated to the most wonderful girl on
> earth," a former flame who moved to Spain, he says. His Web site
> recently has featured quotations from the leftist guerrilla Che Guevara
> and heavy-metal rock groups such as Iron Maiden and Uriah Heep.
>
>     A zealot for Internet privacy, Mr. Kolla also has waged an e-mail
> debate with officials of Gator Corp., maker of software that tracks
> computer users' movements on the Internet and sends them pop-up ads
> matching their apparent interests. Mr. Kolla classifies the Redwood
> City, Calif., company's program as spyware, although Gator insists it
> preserves users' anonymity and denies it violates their privacy. Gator
> executives have estimated that more than 100 million copies of their ad
> software have been downloaded over the past four years, and say about
35
> million copies currently are running on computers.
>
>     Mr. Kolla argues that people need an easy way to flush out programs
> like Gator. Spybot helps people "get a bit more privacy again," the
> young German recently wrote in an e-mail to an American executive at
> closely held Gator. "And that's quite an important thing if you read it
> up in your Constitution."
>
>     Write to James R. Hagerty at [log in to unmask] and Annick Moes at
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
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VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
 VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html