ComScore spyware is back

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous Bob
  • Start date Start date
Anonymous Bob said:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080102-sears-come-see-the-softer-side-of-spyware.html

And now the Register has kicked in:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/03/sears_snoopware_disclosure/
Click to expand...

I'm surprised no one has replied to this thread. Perhaps the name ComScore
isn't familiar. You might recognize Netsetter, MarketScore (and lots of
variants), RelevantKnowledge, InternetAccelerator, etc.

Here's the latest update:
http://community.ca.com/blogs/secur...cy-policy-scorecard-and-genetic-heritage.aspx

It seems you get a different privacy policy on a compromised machine than on
a clean machine. In other words, they only give clear notice of what they're
doing after the fact.

For shame Sears.

I do hope WD will detect and remove this software.

Bob Vanderveen.
 
I'm in busy mode--working on getting approval for my church (and some far
more well-heeled partners) to borrow $7M to finance a 13.5 million dollar
renovation project which we expect will start paying us back in reduced
energy costs within 5 years of completion--which is an eye-opener.

At any rate--I'm reading, and very interested--thanks for keeping up the
posts.
 
Bob, And what really surprises me even more was that people who only
read about what Sears was installing and don't have this on their computer
yet, were going to Mange x My x Home x . com and just entering their
names and addresses to see what shows up on their names. After finding
out that the site tells you everything that you've purchased going back
more than twenty years and what your neighbor purchased for the same
as easy as a last name and an address NOW probably had something
installed on THEIR computers. And with the information this scumware
is stealing i would think their getting more than just a tracking cookie
for their visit.
This is from a post of one of the links and is an understatement:
Seriously, though, the potential for abuse of this is more than you think.
BMR777.
Sorry Bob for nothing sooner but i knew nothing of the Malware
names you mentioned. Ron
 
Ron H said:
Bob, And what really surprises me even more was that people who only
read about what Sears was installing and don't have this on their computer
yet, were going to Mange x My x Home x . com and just entering their
names and addresses to see what shows up on their names. After finding
out that the site tells you everything that you've purchased going back
more than twenty years and what your neighbor purchased for the same
as easy as a last name and an address NOW probably had something
installed on THEIR computers. And with the information this scumware
is stealing i would think their getting more than just a tracking cookie
for their visit.
This is from a post of one of the links and is an understatement:
Seriously, though, the potential for abuse of this is more than you think.
BMR777.
Sorry Bob for nothing sooner but i knew nothing of the Malware
names you mentioned. Ron
Click to expand...

Don't feel bad about not knowing comScore, that's new to me as well, but I
think I became aware of NetSetter and MarketScore in these newsgroups years
ago. ComScore likens themselves to the Nielson tv rating service, but
Nielson doesn't gain access to your emails, financial accounts, or health
concerns. This stuff is pure evil and a name change changes nothing. I'm
glad to see CA is detecting it. We'll have to see how other companies treat
it.

Bob Vanderveen
 
Anonymous Bob, Just as you posted this the same day i bumped onto
something called NetPal, The same stuff ?
 
Anonymous Bob said:
Don't feel bad about not knowing comScore, that's new to me as well, but I
think I became aware of NetSetter and MarketScore in these newsgroups years
ago. ComScore likens themselves to the Nielson tv rating service, but
Nielson doesn't gain access to your emails, financial accounts, or health
concerns. This stuff is pure evil and a name change changes nothing. I'm
glad to see CA is detecting it. We'll have to see how other companies treat
it.
Click to expand...

Oops! I see Microsoft is on their client list:
http://www.comscore.com/about/clients.asp

I would be surprised if Windows Defender detects or removes it. Damn!

Bob Vanderveen
 
Bob, Of course the ComScore url is flagged red by SiteAdvisor so i think
even a mistake of clicking on anything on that site your risking a drive-by
download from ComScore ? While i don't think anything is going to happen
by clicking on that link to take a look of who is using ComScore, i wouldn't
dare click on anything else on that site. I don't feel good about that
link. Ron
BTW, I visit many of those names on that list regularly (Verizon Daily)
 
And on top of it , I find it mind Boggling that Microsoft would have it's
name associated with this bad piece of work knowing that it's spyware
and it's tactics and then put out an antispyware product that most likely
won't find it. I hope i'm wrong.
 
Ron H said:
Bob, Of course the ComScore url is flagged red by SiteAdvisor so i think
even a mistake of clicking on anything on that site your risking a drive-by
download from ComScore ? While i don't think anything is going to happen
by clicking on that link to take a look of who is using ComScore, i wouldn't
dare click on anything else on that site. I don't feel good about that
link. Ron
BTW, I visit many of those names on that list regularly (Verizon
Click to expand...
Daily)

Here are some links that should add some light to the issue.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1831292,00.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_in_the_middle

I would politely disagree with the notion that the definition of "man in the
middle" is dependent upon who the man is.
A turd by any other name...and oh my my haven't they used a lot of different
names.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Researchware&btnG=Google+Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=comscore+symantec

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=comscore+symantec&btnG=Google+Search

Bob Vanderveen
 
I was going to show YOU that link this morning, i thought it was funny
that the link in the middle of the page is Microsoft's Antispyware Beta
being released. I keep going to search and looking for the different
names of this garbage that it uses to see if any other forms of it are
residing in my computer.
 
Ron H said:
I was going to show YOU that link this morning, i thought it was funny
that the link in the middle of the page is Microsoft's Antispyware Beta
being released. I keep going to search and looking for the different
names of this garbage that it uses to see if any other forms of it are
residing in my computer.
Click to expand...

I can't get by the issue that somehow a corporation is permitted to do
something that would land you or I in prison. If ComScore does it it's
researchware. If you or I were to do the same thing it's a man in the middle
attack and we go to jail. I just can't buy that.

Researchware?! Honest officer, I didn't rob that bank. It was a carefully
engineered redistribution of wealth.

Bob Vanderveen
 
Bob, Keep me and i'll keep you posted, that was a really good read
and i enjoy stuff like that. Ron
 
Back
Top