04-17-2002, 03:35 PM
CNET | DOWNLOAD DISPATCH (PC Edition)
April 16, 2002
Vol. 7, No. 16
Dirty downloads
There's been a lot of hysteria around bundled adware lurking in
the software we download. Here's something even more insidious.
I was surfing the Web for songs about Coatimundi (don't ask)
when I mistyped a URL into my browser. Instead of a "server not
found" message, it actually found a site corresponding to the
bad address I had typed. That site expanded to cover my screen,
and then the onslaught of pop-ups began. As fast as they would
appear, I would shut them down, but they kept coming.
I was ready to give up and dive under my desk when the last
pop-up disappeared. My sigh of relief was interrupted by a
Windows dialog box asking me if I was ready to accept software
from Gator. This wasn't simply a faked-up browser window but a
bona fide Windows dialog, though I hadn't clicked any download
links. This latest adware trick initiates a download for you
from a pop-up, and in a frenzy of shutting down pop-ups you
might accidentally click the OK button. What do you think of
self-downloading adware? Let me know by sending an email to
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:[email protected]">mailto:[email protected]</a><!-- e -->.
Thanks again for your many responses to last week's question
about deleting .NET Passport accounts. You'll find a sampling
of responses at the end of this dispatch. You can also read
more about that sneaky "pop-up" software here:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://clickthru.online.com/Click?q=bd-c0nUQ7pw91obJw2pAjwynQ59OkPR">http://clickthru.online.com/Click?q=bd- ... wynQ59OkPR</a><!-- m -->
Wayne Cunningham
Features Editor, CNET Download.com
~~~~~~~~~~
Arrrgh! How aggravating!
April 16, 2002
Vol. 7, No. 16
Dirty downloads
There's been a lot of hysteria around bundled adware lurking in
the software we download. Here's something even more insidious.
I was surfing the Web for songs about Coatimundi (don't ask)
when I mistyped a URL into my browser. Instead of a "server not
found" message, it actually found a site corresponding to the
bad address I had typed. That site expanded to cover my screen,
and then the onslaught of pop-ups began. As fast as they would
appear, I would shut them down, but they kept coming.
I was ready to give up and dive under my desk when the last
pop-up disappeared. My sigh of relief was interrupted by a
Windows dialog box asking me if I was ready to accept software
from Gator. This wasn't simply a faked-up browser window but a
bona fide Windows dialog, though I hadn't clicked any download
links. This latest adware trick initiates a download for you
from a pop-up, and in a frenzy of shutting down pop-ups you
might accidentally click the OK button. What do you think of
self-downloading adware? Let me know by sending an email to
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:[email protected]">mailto:[email protected]</a><!-- e -->.
Thanks again for your many responses to last week's question
about deleting .NET Passport accounts. You'll find a sampling
of responses at the end of this dispatch. You can also read
more about that sneaky "pop-up" software here:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://clickthru.online.com/Click?q=bd-c0nUQ7pw91obJw2pAjwynQ59OkPR">http://clickthru.online.com/Click?q=bd- ... wynQ59OkPR</a><!-- m -->
Wayne Cunningham
Features Editor, CNET Download.com
~~~~~~~~~~
Arrrgh! How aggravating!