First New "Rogue" Cleaning Tool For The Mac Platform...

[Mayo]

First Rogue Cleaning Tool for the Mac

Common in the Windows Universe, this kind of "application" purports to detect viruses, malware, adware etc. but it really does nothing at all but scare the user into registering the program so it can "fix" the problem. Such "rogue" software is usually found at a Web site when a pop-up window appears that offers a free scan of your computer. The scan always reveals problems and then the user is encouraged to pay money in order for the software to remove the offensive code.

[Xairbusdriver]

What are "pop-up" windows and why would anyone want to have them while surfing?! Even Safari can block those. But you can't keep people from doing things they don't think about first. Or investigate.

xABD
They told me I was gullible, and I believed them!

[Mayo]

Safari isn't always successful at blocking pop-up windows.  And other times the scanning "service" is offered in a regular Web site window...

Let's be fair here... a lot of average people are not sufficiently aware of potential pitfalls on the Internet. I suspect that only a minority of computer users take advantage of Web sites like TechSurvivors.

[Xairbusdriver]

QUOTE

Let's be fair here... a lot of average people are not sufficiently aware of potential pitfalls on the Internet.

I suppose. I just can't understand why people who wouldn't even open the door to anybody that knocked would turn around and provide access to their computer to a complete stranger! Is there a magic, subliminal message on their screens that says everything on the Internet is trustworthy and true?

Rule #1: If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it.
Rule #2: See Rule #1.

So far those two rules have kept me alive and safe.

[Mayo]

I would venture to guess that most people are pretty savvy when it comes to opening their doors to strangers...

Take a moment, sit back and try to remember when your were a computer newbie... How much did you know about using computers? ZIP, just like everyone else! And as computers have migrated from geeks to the general public and have been marketed as being as easy to use as a dish washer (which we all know is a bunch of b.s.) more and more folks are getting on the Internet and more than a few are naive about what is waiting for them out there.  And some spoofed Web sites and the like can be very convincing, even for the experienced among us.

I suspect that like me, you got onto the Internet back when it was a far friendlier place, populated mainly by computer geeks...

I prefer to have some compassion for the less-informed among us... most people don't even know about places like TS where people voluntarily post warnings such as this thread for other members who may not have seen anything about a brand-new threat to Mac security.

[Xairbusdriver]

QUOTE

I prefer to have some compassion for the less-informed among us.

Exactly the correct approach. I'm gonna take another dose of my medicine...

Of course, it doesn't stop on the 'net, anymore. Just today I read a printed newsletter that mentioned the actions of a specific celebrity and a charity. It obviously was from an email that has been circulating for several years. And the 'editor' obviously doesn't know about Snopes.com. But, if it comes from the Internet, it must be true.

[Phillbert]

QUOTE(Mayo @ Jan 16 2008, 08:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And as computers have migrated from geeks to the general public and have been marketed as being as easy to use as a dish washer (which we all know is a bunch of b.s.)

I don't know about that - I tried to make a dishwasher work the other day - insanely complicated stuff! So many unmarked buttons and lights!

But clearly whatever these people are doing to con ignorant folks must be working quite well, since there are so many people doing it!

Phill

[gunug]

Thanks Mayo - oddly enough someone asked me about this program yesterday.  Now I know to tell them to stay away!

[kimmer]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll pass it on to those that need to learn.

[Xairbusdriver]

QUOTE

I'll pass it on to those that need to learn.

I'll assume that really means "all that you are aware of." It actually includes the entire know base of computer users. The problem is that there are much fewer who even know they need to learn. So, thanks, again, for the info and link. And I probably haven't spent enough time explaining things like this to my wife and family Mac users, so who's really to blame?

[kimmer]

QUOTE

I'll assume that really mans "all that you are aware of."

Yes. I figured that was implied in my response.

[Mayo]

I'm still washing dishes by hand, so what do I know about the current state of dish washers...    A rental we lived in prior to buying this house had a dishwasher and we didn't use it even once in two years. Perhaps I should have used a washing machine for my example... A TV?    How about a toaster??? (Our retro-look toaster has "defrost" and "bagel" buttons!  When I was a kid using an authentic retro toaster we didn't even know what a bagel was as we were Gentiles living in California...)  

[Gregg]

QUOTE(Mayo @ Jan 17 2008, 12:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm still washing dishes by hand, so what do I know about the current state of dish washers...    A rental we lived in prior to buying this house had a dishwasher and we didn't use it even once in two years.    

Ha! Sounds like us and the garbage disposal. Rental units we lived in had them, and we used 'em. But when we bought our first house, it didn't have one. So for over 12 years, we went without. (The electrical connection would have been a pain due to tile backsplash at the sink.) Our new house has a disposal, but we don't use it.

[Mayo]

My roto-rooter guy once told me that he absolutely LOVES garbage disposals. They bring him a lot of business...

We compost everything but the pile is so large (and I am soooo old...   ) that I am becoming weary of turning it by hand... we have many deciduous trees so we have plenty of stuff to compost.  If I can locate an old Ford tractor with a bucket, a friend and I may go in together and buy it... Heck, I am This Close to renting a tractor. I could do in fifteen minutes what now takes me hours, and my time is valuable!