PCs average 26 spyware apps!!!

[Toe]

This CNet article cites this Earthlink study of 3+ million users which discovered a whopping 83 million instances of spyware.

They don't go into detail about platform, but I'd bet anything that if they removed the Macs from the study, the average would go up significantly. Are there even spyware apps for the Mac?

Even if Macs cost a few dollars more (though, of course, they include thousands of dollars worth of useful software), I think maybe it's worth the extra few bucks to keep a bit of privacy. Not to mention all the viruses. Or the horrible interface. Or the fact that most things just don't work the way they're supposed to.

Sheeze. It must just suck royally to try to use Windows every day.

I'd feel sorry for them if I didn't think they had made such a stupid choice in the first place.

 

[earthtoandy]

until i can get my powerbook (month or so) i am restricted to using this windows bull. it is miserable i must say:-/

 

[wrldwzrd89]

This CNet article cites this Earthlink study of 3+ million users which discovered a whopping 83 million instances of spyware.

They don't go into detail about platform, but I'd bet anything that if they removed the Macs from the study, the average would go up significantly. Are there even spyware apps for the Mac?

Even if Macs cost a few dollars more (though, of course, they include thousands of dollars worth of useful software), I think maybe it's worth the extra few bucks to keep a bit of privacy. Not to mention all the viruses. Or the horrible interface. Or the fact that most things just don't work the way they're supposed to.

Sheeze. It must just suck royally to try to use Windows every day.

I'd feel sorry for them if I didn't think they had made such a stupid choice in the first place.

There couldn't have been any Macs in the study, since the software used to detect spyware (Webroot's Spy Sweeper) isn't Mac-compatible. Therefore, I conclude that the reported average is NOT falsely deflated.

 

[Toe]

There couldn't have been any Macs in the study, since the software used to detect spyware (Webroot's Spy Sweeper) isn't Mac-compatible. Therefore, I conclude that the reported average is NOT falsely deflated.

Pshwew! That's a relief. Only 26 spyware apps then.

 

[SiliconAddict]

See sig below. Use FireFox drop that adware to 0.

I've yet to ever get an instance of adware. Nope. Check that. I got one. But as soon as I clicked on it I knew I was toast and went out and got spybot and nuked it. This was before the great FireFox awakening. During the dark times. Those adware popups can be tricky. By putting another series of _ () X
boxes next the real ones I accidentally clicked on the wrong one.

Since then natta. What can I say? FireFox rocks.

 

[rueyeet]

However, if you look at the study press release thingy, they're counting ad-tracking cookies in their spyware counts. Exlcuding those (which may or may not be spyware, depending how paranoid about privacy you are) the average spyware instances per scan drops to something more like 6.

Which is still too darn many, in my opinion.

 

[quackattack]

sooo glad i switched this summer, glad to know my spyware days are behind me

 

[SiliconAddict]

Which is still too darn many, in my opinion.

Amen to that. If I see another case of adware in the office I admin I'm going to go postal. [Note to the moitoring dudes out there at my company that was a joke.]

I've asked repeatedly if I can rollout FF officewide and I always get shot down. Consiquently I'm pretty sure something like 60% of the office systems prob have some form of adware on them. If it was up to me I would make that **** as illegal as viruses and chop off the dude's manhood for making it. Think guillotine.

 

[virividox]

thats a lot of spyware!!!

glad i use a mac as my machine, its sucha hassle to reformat my wintel every year ick

 

[Mechcozmo]

A piece of spyware (on my PC) once overwrote some system files, so I couldn't get rid of it. Instead, using notepad, I opened the other associated files and changed the text in them to more glibberish. No more spyware!

Honestly, 6 pieces of spyware is fine by me, its just 6 people to steal your credit card....social security number....anything....

 

[wrldwzrd89]

A piece of spyware (on my PC) once overwrote some system files, so I couldn't get rid of it. Instead, using notepad, I opened the other associated files and changed the text in them to more glibberish. No more spyware!

<snip>

How did you know that those were files dropped by the spyware? Did spyware seeking software tell you? Couldn't you just use Windows System File Protection and/or restore points to attempt to recover from it (assuming that your version of Windows supports these features)?