PC Matic Blog • Page 66 of 70

Fixing Security in Windows

chengrob / April 16, 2006

It’s no secret that Windows has security holes so large you can drive a truck through them. My last article analyzed the difficulty Microsoft faces with Vista in winning acceptance of an improved security model. But this of course begs the question, what can Microsoft do to make a more secure computing environment for us all? Even if Microsoft is one of the most profitable companies run by the richest man in the world, I hope they can take a little constructive criticism.

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Direct Revenue: Greed Triumphs Over Decency

Dave / April 14, 2006

–Dave Methvin, Chief Techology Officer, PC Pitstop

The recent lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General against Direct Revenue provides an incredible amount of information about the sleazy activities of spyware and adware companies. In the past, we’ve pointed out that these companies were making lots of money from their invasive installations. We saw a glimpse of how much money was at stake when Claria filed to go public in 2004. In that filing, they revealed that they made about $100 million in 2003. However, that high-profile bid to go public was at the height of Claria’s power and profit; they quietly aborted the attempt in the fall of 2004 and just recently announced that they are getting out.

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Microsoft’s Windows Vista Dilemma

chengrob / March 19, 2006

By and large we live in a world of standards. Wouldn’t it be a drag if we had to buy a new faucet each time we bought a new garden hose? Or a new electric outlet whenever we bought a new refrigerator? We live in a world of standards, and this is no more true than in the PC industry.

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Anti-Spyware Coalition Workshop

Dave / February 20, 2006

–Dave Methvin, Chief Techology Officer, PC Pitstop

On February 8 and 9, I had the opportunity to participate in the Anti-Spyware Coalition Public Workshop. The event brought together representatives from the software industry and government, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Center for Democracy and Technology. In the past year the FTC has filed suit against several of the worst spyware offenders including Enternet Media, and the CDT recently filed an FTC complaint against 180Solutions for its practices. The Anti-Spyware Coalition has been working to craft clear definitions of acceptable software installation behavior.

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Taming the Wild West

chengrob / January 14, 2006

Does everyone remember a few years ago the wacko guy that was blowing up mailboxes in the midwest? What I remember most of all is that suddenly everyone was afraid to open their mailboxes. The ramifications were huge. Millions of businesses rely on the US mail to deliver marketing materials, invoices, and other important communications. What would have happened if the US mail became unreliable?

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Sony and Spyware

chengrob / December 15, 2005

When I was going to high school in the late 70’s, required reading for all English students was George Orwell’s 1984. I still remember reading about the overly structured life created by a highly bureaucratic government dubbed Big Brother. The book is essentially an anecdote for many of today’s problems related to governmental power versus the privacy and self determination of citizens such as ourselves.

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FREE Protection vs Paid Protection from Spyware

chengrob / November 19, 2005

There is no doubt that the lines are being drawn for a galactic cyber battle for control over your PC and your desktop. Spyware and adware companies make barrels of money installing their clandestine applications on your PC without your knowledge. Even for an advanced user, typically the most expedient solution is to install an anti spyware product. This article will take an in depth look at the various anti spyware solutions we have seen at PC Pitstop. During this discussion, the reader should refer to our anti spyware graph from our research section.

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Spyware Podcast

chengrob / September 19, 2005

Here’s a special shoutout to all the Pitstoppers in the Louisiana delta area. Our prayers and heart felt concerns are with you as you go through this incredible disaster. It is times like these when we truly realize how powerless we are to bend this world to our own human desires. I am sure that I am not alone, as I watched hour after hour of television, of the slow developing tragedy developing down in the bayou. The entire world felt the pain down south, but there was little that any of us could do but watch the events unfold.

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PC Pitstop Threatened by Spyware Companies

chengrob / August 15, 2005

As the companies that use deceptive software installations rack up bigger and bigger profits, their tactics are evolving to further increase their profits and ensure their long term existence. Although we had already been sued by Gator, we were a little surprised when, when we received two emails like the one below last month.

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Google – Is Good Going Bad?

Dave / August 12, 2005

–Dave Methvin, Chief Techology Officer, PC Pitstop

Google’s corporate reputation is incredibly good for a company of its size. Yet increasingly, Google is at the scene of Internet frauds and crimes. Our CEO Rob Cheng has described our fight with unscrupulous Google advertisers, and these problems have continued. In April, a site named FasterXP.com begun to advertise with Google AdWords, hawking a product that installed several adware and spyware applications. Since we use Google AdSense, those ads appeared on the PC Pitstop site; several users were taken in before we could block the ad.

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