Pop Up Killer

[David Kirkham]

When you find something COOL you just want to pass it along to your friends!!!


toolbar.google.com

I have HATED the thousands of pop-ups that have plagued my life. Today, my brother, Steve, told me about this new google toolbar. At times it was so bad it seemed like I was playing Asteroids again like I did back in Jr. High.

I have "killed" 21 pop-ups so far and I have only been on the web an hour. Just a little "bing" and a notice I have killed another one. Don't have to look at them again. I haven't done anything this satisfying, except driving my Cobra, of course, in a long time.

David

[ToyCollector]

David, thank you! Heard the same link on Clark Howard's radio show today but could not grab a pen in time. Thank you.

P.S. Hopefully calling you within days for my driveshaft. If you forgot, I understand. My engine build has had lots of focus for only good reasons.

[larryar]

THANK-YOu! THANK-YOu! THANK-YOu! THANK-YOu!
What a neat tool!
Larry

[NeedAntiVenom]

David,

I've using it for a couple weeks now on MSIE 6.0/XP - very effective and seems stable.

Jim

[rem]

thanks!! ive actually used the google bar for oh, six months, and never realized it had a pop up blocker, but alas it does and it works great...now i can get rid of the two sub par blockers ive been using....thanks for the heads up!

[Bill V]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but this toolbar is potentially spyware depending on the configuration. So carefully weigh the pros and cons of using it before you install it.
I'm a network engineer so I'm constantly on the lookout for stuff like this.
If you choose to install the toolbar, be sure to select Disable advanced features during the installation. This prevents the software from "phoning home" with info about your browsing habits.
After the install is complete, be sure to go into the toolbar options, by clicking the options button, and make sure that Page Rank is not enabled.
Click the attached link for more info on this.
http://www.spywareinfo.com/articles/googleupdater

By the way, whether you know it or not, you all probably have some sort of spyware installed on your computer. All those cute little boxes that pop up and ask you if you would like to install whatever they happen to be offering in the popup, install spyware on your computer. Download and install either Ad-aware by Lavasoft or Spybot Search and Destroy to get rid of it. They're both free if used privately. Do some web research on spyware while you're at it, you'll be amazed. Happy hunting!

Bill

[grumpy]

Guys,
Bill V. got that one on the nose, it's a form of "spyware" that is growing whether from a company, the FED, of just some "kid", its still a form of tracking your internet habits, good or bad.
grumpy

[Bill V]

Spyware is one of the reasons you get so much spam. Some spyware collects info (including email addresses) from your computer and sends it back to its "master" who then in turn disseminates that info to interested parties. Have ya' ever wondered why you get offers for Viagra or Enlarge your you-know-what, or even Reduce your Debt in your email?
Spyware.
One other point of interest folks. Everyone is vulnerable to an attack by a hacker somewhere whenever they're attached to the internet, but this is particularly true if you are using high speed internet either via DSL or cable modem. If you don't have some firewall software running on your computer or are not situated behind a firewall, then your computer is being probed by hackers who can steal personal info from your computer and commit identity fraud or install a Trojan horse (rogue program) that can be used remotely by the hacker to do nasty things like launch denial of service attacks and such.
Make sure your systems are patched to the latest levels by visiting microsoft.com and clicking the windows update link.
And now I'll hop off of the soap box. It's just that the majority of people out there with computers are unaware of how vulnerable they are so I figured I'd use this opportunity to spread the word. I'm just paying it forward.

[Excaliber]

I don't like the Fire Wall approach, it can be a pain in the butt. But how can you go wrong recommending that to anybody with a computer? Good solid advice over all.

I see it as living in a house SO guarded they can't get in and YOU can't get out! I prefer to keep my anti virus up to date and keep a close watch for any potential outside access (like using Netwatcher instead).

One other thing I do is NOT use the default locations for my folders/files, address books, etc. I got the Ad Aware, a good product.

I love the new Google bar, thanks for the tips. I wonder just what information Google is actually gathering when the "Advanced Features" are enabled (which I happen to like). I'd like to think their NOT scanning my addess book, all in all, I'm not to worried about them as a company. Now there are some REALLY MEAN Spyware programs out there. How do you think Google rates compared to others?

Ernie

[SPF604]

Hey this thing is great. I have the lava soft product and it is amazing how much stuff if finds on your computer! BTW...How do you get rid of all the instant messenger ads that come across Windows XP?????

[Randy Rosenberg]

I installed the Google Toolbar without the Advanced Features a few weeks ago, and it is working great - it has blocked every pop-up that I used to receive.

I installed Ad-Aware about a year ago (the free version), and run it about every other day to clean out the spy cookies, and such. If you run Ad-Aware, then, like any virus software, you need to check for an updated .dat file regularly (like each time you run it).

Last, I installed a NetGear router/hub a couple of years ago - it works well with my cable model. From dslreports.com, I acquired their port probing filters for the model of router that I'm using. After installing these filters, I ran the port probe test from Gibson Reseach, and found that these filters blocked every port probe and reported that my firewall was "100% Stealth".

Additionally, my ISP provides for free a SPAM blocking service on their mail server called BrightMail. Comcast's implementation of this product, filters my email and separates the spam to folder other than INBOX, and deletes it after about 3 or 4 days, giving me the opportunity to review these emails before buck deleting them.

[edit: forgot to add] I'm running Mcafee's Virus and Firewall software also.

With all of this in place, I have no evidence of being hacked, infected by a virus, or overwhelmed with spam.

Hope this helps - YMMV,
Randy R...

[Bill V]

Ernie, the firewall approach is the best way by far to keep intruders out of your system. Antivirus software does not, but I would never surf without antivirus software either.

Yeah, it is a pain to have to configure a new rule everytime you want to access a new service of some sort from the internet, but once the rule is set up you don't have to mess with it again.

I'm using Norton's Firewall and find it easy to use (I may be a network engineer but I'm by no means a sofware genius nor do I have an abundance of spare time so ease of use is important). Other people I know use Zone Alarm and seem to like it. There are similar products out there.

I can't tell you how many times my firewall has stopped intruders from getting in. The software reports whenever a hacker is stopped. The firewall logs include the IP address of the would be intruder and the type of attack. You can then forward that info to your ISP if you want to pursue the matter.

As far as other "cute" tools that are offered whenever you visit certain pages, avoid them. One is named after a large reptile native to Florida. Everyone has seen it if they have spent any time at all on the internet. Well, this one will hijack your browser by resetting your home page to something other than what you had originally. It also replaces paid ads on web sites with it's own ads for it's own sponsors. So what happens is revenues are lost by the web page owners.

For example, Club Cobra for instance has sponsors who place their ads on this website. Whenever an ad is clicked on you're redirected to that sponsor's web page. The sponsors registers a hit on their site, and revenue is generated for Club Cobra to keep it operating.

What the software mentioned above does, is replace the ads with its own sponsors ads so the income intended for the legitimate host website is lost.
Read the following: http://www.cexx.org/gator.htm

There are others out there more insidious than this.
One called LOP or C2.lop will install shortcuts to porn sites and an auotmatic dialer with 900 numbers to porn sites. The next thing you know, you've got this enormous phone bill for calls to the Dominican Republic. The good thing is this works only if you have a modem, but there are still tons of modem users.

The key here is protect yourselves. Take a proactive approach now and you'll save yourselves a lot of aggravation later.

I'm outta here.

Bill

[got snake?]

LAVAsoft. Good stuff. Free too!

GS

[Excaliber]

Gator!!!! BEWARE, I hate that company. They got some very cool little applications they offer, tempting stuff! But what a hassle Gator is down the road!

Zone Alarm, what a pain in the butt THAT firewall is! Talk about lock the doors and hide the dog, NOBODY gets in or out, ha ha.

Yeah,,,I been thinking about the Norton Firewall, I HAVE been accessed before. The danger is real. Vigilance is the key. Now all you OTHER guys, get that Firewall up. Me? Well, I like living on the "edge", LOL.

Ernie

[bmercer]

Ernie
Hope you weren't accessed throught the rear output port!

[NeedAntiVenom]

Bill V.,

I think you are referring to the "Page Rank" facet of the toolbar. It does not transfer user specific information, it simply send the occurance of a web page reference for statistical purposes.

Page Rank can be switched off under options.

Jim

[casaleenie]

David,

0 count on the blocked box but I'm anxiously waiting the first hit...

Thanks for the tip....

al

[casaleenie]

and remember to hit F11 key when you're on the forum to pick up extra space on the monitor....

[Bill V]

Jim, you're right about Page Rank not transferring user specific information, but it will track and report every move you make on the internet. Read paragraph 6 in the following link for clarification.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,904096,00.asp

Look guys, at the end of the day, you have to decide what you're comfortable with. All I know is that not a day goes by where I or one of my colleagues don't have to fix a problem caused by some piece of software that one of our 400 + users downloaded from the net and installed on their computers.

Anyway, I think we've exhausted this topic. Let's get back to the one thing we can all agree on and that's our love for these cars, ok?

Bill

[aeon]

you guys should all try opera.....
its a great browser and fast as all hell
and can be configured to do all you want with no addons

opera.org


Bill