What's wrong with this picture?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Stuart Goss
  • Start date Start date
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Stuart Goss

Microsoft Antispyware gives a false positive report
concerning my present IE 6.0 browser default home page
which is
http://dslstart.verizon.net/vzn.dsl/welcome.htm?ver=23290&

This page was set by my ISP Veizon DSL.

Since Verizon DSL and MSN are in collaboration to provide
software for Verizon DSL my ISP, I am sure this situation
is going to make Verizon feel decidedly warm and fuzzy
about Microsoft.

The issue of setting only Microsoft pages as default
browser restore settings in response to alleged browser
hijackings rather than those pages which are user selected
was just criticized by Walter Mossberg in his Wall Street
Journal article reviewing this Microsoft application.
Microsoft's response to him was not particularly
convincing. This needs to be addressed more effectively.

Also I now realize from reading other messages posted on
this newsgroup that one of the threats that I removed after
being warned to do so by this program was a feature of
SpyBot S&D. I'm also more than a little miffed about that
and the way both these false threats were described with
such assuredness as high or elevated risk threats without
the slightest element of doubt being expressed. Yes I know
it is a beta but how hard is it to at least recognize a)
the browser default page of an MS collaborator and b) a
component of a widely used competitive spyware program?
 
There is an option down the lower right of the window
to "change the Restore setting to a new URL". Simply click
that and change it. That's what it's there for. TTFN.
 
The issue of setting only Microsoft pages as default
browser restore settings in response to alleged browser
hijackings rather than those pages which are user selected
was just criticized by Walter Mossberg in his Wall Street
Journal article reviewing this Microsoft application.
Click to expand...
Just set up IE the way you want it, then in MS-AS, select
Tools->Advanced Tools->System Explorers->IE Settings. Click "Save these
settings as Default."
 
Thank you for the advice, although I was aware of the
option you described. However, that was not really the
point, I was making. My point was that it is a patently
ridiculous and embarrassing situation for Microsoft
Antispyware to identify the default browser home page of
Verizon DSL, a company with which Microsoft is in active
collaboration, through MSN, as a browser hijacking
situation! You would hope that someone on their
development team might have done a little more homework
than this situation evidences! Also the definitive way
that the software states that this is a hijacking leads
much to be desired. Given that this is a beta, a little
more nuance might go a long way! Cheers!
 
Stuart--I think this feature is broken.

I've now seen the same appearance, in relation to an entirely different set
of pages. There's no judgement of the content of the page at all involved
in this warning as far as I can see. All that is involved is that your
current setting (regardless of how it is arrived at) is different from that
stored in Tools, Advanced Tools, browser hijack settings.

To fix the issue, change the first and third items in the list there to your
default home page, via the link in the lower right.

Of course, if you change your home page in the future, you will get a
warning about the new page!

I'm hoping to hear from Microsoft that they realize this feature is
unworkable in its present form--for example in multi-user situations, but
haven't yet.
 
Jim said:
Just set up IE the way you want it, then in MS-AS, select
Tools->Advanced Tools->System Explorers->IE Settings. Click "Save
these settings as Default."
Click to expand...

As far as I can tell, this only works with administrator accounts.
This option seems to have no effect whatsoever when logged into a user
account.
 
Use yahoo toolbar antispy along with SpyBotSearch &
destroy. You can also use Adware6 (but cannot run it at
the saem time as SPS&D either before or after) You will
fine that all of the will find different spyware when
Microsoft Shows there is none. Both the search and data
base from Mircosoft Beta need improvement. You will
alsso notice that wile other programs show the DSO under
spyware Microsoft does not. It's easy to remove using
SPS&D but it has to be done in a manual manner.
 
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