S. Spilka said:
What to do about this so called warning ??? The version I got even gives me MY IP address and Operating system. It says this spyware is serious. Then a free download scan program is offered .....
the scan download "more info" is from enigmasoftwaregroup..... who is this and are they related with Microsoft?
This is basically an advertisement for a program
designed to remove spyware and adware.
The one I saw said:
=====================================================
Warning. Important Message!!!
You are seeing this message, because we have
detected that you have tracking software
installed in your machine. [more info]
This is not a virus, but a program in your
machine that monitors and transmits all of
your online activities, and is a serious
violation of your privacy.
Below is a link to a free scanner to download
that will find and remove all spyware programs
on your machine: [Get the scanner]
=====================================================
I'd seen it a couple of times before and just closed
it but I decided to click the [more info] link this
time. It came up with another window that said:
=====================================================
We have run a simple test. We can see a cookie
has been installed on your computer which tracks
your on-line activities.
From within this cookie we can have access to your
system information:
IP Address : 130.36.61.127
Browser : Microsoft Internet Explorer
Operating System : Windows 2000
cookie is empty
While this cookie is relatively harmless, it's
presence suggests that you may have other programs
allowing anyone to access your personal information.
=====================================================
These guys are tyring to get you to buy their software
by praying on your fears.
While you should be watchful for these types of programs,
these guys are "scamming" you with this message.
Basically, cookies can only be seen within the domain
that set them. If they detected a cookie, from a script
launched from their domain (
www.enigmasoftwaregroup.com)
then that cookie must have been set by a script in their
domain.
I did a "view source" on the "Cookie Detected" window and
sure enough, they set the cookie right there!
The IP address, browser and operating system information
might make some think that the information was obtained
from this so-called "tracking" cookie/software but in
reality, this information is always provided by the
browser to a web site when it accesses the web page.
DON'T TRUST THESE GUYS! There software may work just
fine but they "scamming" people isn't a good way to sell
your product.
If you are concerned about adware, check out a very good
program called Ad-Aware from Lavasoft. It is FREE for
personal use. You can get it here:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
Regards,
Rich
