Spyware Wants To Be Your Friend On MySpace
from the how-nice dept
Sandbagger writes “A security researcher has discovered a ring of websites that look like regular “MySpace profile edit” sites. The killer is this: they try to get you to add “their” videos onto your profile page (with the addition of some code), but don’t mention the fact that if you add these videos, they pop open an installer box to any visitors that tries to get them to install Zango adware onto the PC. The original affiliate make money every time it’s installed, and all you get is a heap of complaints (and possibly a banned profile) because your profile is trying to install adware on visitors’ computers. As the researcher notes, video files that try to install adware aren’t new, but using unknowing teens to push adware is some kind of new low.”
Comments on “Spyware Wants To Be Your Friend On MySpace”
Worried about spyware
Is spyware really a huge worry on MySpace? What about squandering countless hours looking up profiles of people who probably hated you in high-school. I’ve got better things to do!
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MySpace is the dumbest invention since the Virtual Boy.
YAY! What fun! Adding people I don’t know and will never meet as “friends”. The only good thing about is sometimes a good band will put up a page to showcase thier music. Indie has gone cyberspace.
Re: -
I met my girlfriend who I have currently been dating for over 2 years on Myspace. Not to mention a few friends to party with.
People meet all the time, and they don’t always get killed or raped.
Re: Re: To Voxx
Your GF also found the OTHER two guys she’s dating on MySpace too…
Myspace sucks? that's nothing new.
I’m surprised you met someone on myspace, all I ever get are webcam invites and the girls I know get sleazy messages from men. I play it normal, always nice to the ladies (such is my failing) and never strike anything new with people I don’t already know IRL. I hear stuff like grifters, pedophiles, and now adware on myspace and I just smirk because even if I gave a damn I still wouldn’t meet my dream girl through myspace. The girls there are too busy taking useless quizzes and snapping photos of themselves in underwear so they can complain when men from all over the country fawn over their naive bodies after not reading said useless quizzes.
So now I can expect an invite from SexySuzanne7104 to also include malicious code, does the contemporary dating scene get any better than this? I wouldn’t know because I’m aware of the aforementioned and that turns young women off.
Will someone visit my geocities site please
Spyware is targeted to idiots. Idiots use myspace. Logic would suggest…..
MySpace is Good...
At spinning people’s minds into oblivion. walk thru the halls of a tech savvy jr. high school and all you hear are the ecoing voives of the kids, the future of our country, yelping “OMG i just got 3 new friends and bobbyBlaze just added me, yippee!” It is a waste of time as a networking resource, save for musicians and artists and the like, because all it seems to do is put you in the most disconnected type of contact with some of the most disconnected type of people. As for meeting people and trying to turn it into a RL friendship, I have always had this to say: “MySpace.com, where real people can make fake friends”
goodday
Re: MySpace is Good...
“Myspace is my place to finally get the glory I deserve”-Richy Clark
It’s true….people use myspace to be glorified, apparently nobody can accept any form of compliment unless it’s in a comment…it’s stupid.
Stop trying to sound cool
Apparently, the “in” thing now is to talk about how myspace sucks. I guess people think it makes them sound cool. How lame.
Brandini – how can you sit back and judge other people for what they do with their free time? More importantly, why do you care?
2nd poster who didn’t leave a name – first of all, did you really call just call myspace an invention? Wow. That just shows what kind of person we’re dealing with here. From a business standpoint, here you have a website that attracts millions of users and is talked about in so many different walks of life, and you’re saying it’s “dumb?” Didn’t the guys who “invented” it sell it for millions? Most people think it’s amazing that they can reconnect with so many people from the past, but a few losers like you didn’t have friends in high school, so you think it’s a “dumb invention.”
Please try to be realistic. Just because something turns into a bandwagon, it doesn?t mean it?s not worthwhile.
As far as the original story goes, yes ? these things do exist and that?s just how life goes. When you get so many low-tech people using something (think Windows and/or the internet) that they don?t really understand, hackers are going to take advantage of them. That?s just how life goes.
Republican Gun, I will agree that idiots use myspace, but what don’t they use? They use my roads everyday, which is why my 5 minute drive to work is always 15, so should we say that roads are dumb?
Hey everyone, roads are so dumb, so I’m glad they’re full of potholes.
People who are socially inept in real life will have the same problem online.
If getting spoofed invites and the occasional spam unhinges you then by all means avoid My Space. It’s not for you.
The internet probably isn’t for you either.
It’s always the same crap from socially crippled losers always harping on social networking opportunities they cant figure out.
For those of us who have leaned to navigate the online world and learned the ins and outs of it networks like My Space can be very useful.
Before I got married I had great success meeting, I mean really meeting, women online and ultimately met my wife in an online network. I continue to find My Space an excellent resource for finding models for my photography.
But the losers will keep on whining: Everyone is a fake online.
Can My Space be stupid? You bet and alot of it is. But you can say the same of every social situation, like going to a bar or a concert.
I just think it’s funny how adamant the losers are about things like My Space, its just another life situation to fail at I guess.
Re: Re:
Socially inept people actually probabaly get good use from the internet. Being most people i know who meet people online never leave their house.
heh
People who leave comments like “MYSPACE IS DUMB!@!@#!@$#123” probably think its dumb because they dont know what a “friend” is or they dont have any. Seriously, what is soooo bad about a social networking site where you can meet up with some of your old buddies, huh?
Sure, there are a few people on myspace that take it a little too seriously, but you dont have to let them ruin the experience for you.
Lately I have noticed an increase of some very sneaky advertisements that users are putting on their pages without knowing it. I’ve seen some where you click the “add to friends” button and it takes you to a different website, or there are even ones where you can click anywhere on the entire profile and it will send you straight to a website.
I’ve also noticed alot more misleading accounts where they will send you a friends request at random (and they look like a hot girl), and when you click on the profile it will reroute you to a porn site. Just yesterday I got about 12 invites from those kinds of bots. Things like that are really ruinging the “joyful experience” that I expect to have while using myspace, but I’m nowhere near not using the site anymore.
It may not be that it is too lame...
..but that you are too old.
Me? i am TOO OLD for MySpace. i am TOO OLD for Text Messaging. I think it is TOO RIDICULOUS to want to have your music playing in your ear all day with an iPod.
I am sure there are plenty of MySpace haters that feel the same way.
Myspace spyware
As an IT professional in a large call center, we see 15-20 Spyware/Virus alerts a week that can be traced to mypsace.
It became such a widespread issue, that myspace is now banned in the workspace, and firewall rules put in to prevent access.
The most problems I am having with MySpace is the popups.
I mainly get them when I am checking my messages or bulletins.
It about 5 popups, and I had between one trojan too 5 at a time.
And if you read MySpace’s privacy policy, they cannot be sued for anything on myspace that may damage your computer.
((MySpace disclaims any liability for damage to any computer system resulting from applying for, or accessing or downloading information in connection with this offer, and reserves the right, in their sole discretion, to cancel, modify or suspend the offer should a virus, bug, computer problem, unauthorized intervention or other causes beyond MySpaceÕs control, corrupt the administration or security of the offer.))
Of course myspace has good networking uses. You’d never find them through all of the crap though. I have 6 people that I can trust with my life and myspace has nothing to do with the cementing of those relationships. Myspace says I have 50 friends, I know I really have 6. Am I socially inept? Maybe, but at least I have friends that count.
Guilty Conscience
We feeling a little guilty there Mike4? I wasn’t judging anyone, I was meerly pointing out that I recognize that there is the potential to get sucked into wasting a lot of time. If you’ve had a bad experience with that or you just realized your high-school “friends” hated you then I am very sorry if you felt judged, it was not my intent.
Myspace Is Not That Bad At All
Myspace is what you make it. I only add people I know and talk to on a daily basis on it. Why? Because it’s a handy tool I can use when there is no other form of communication with them available.
It’s so dumb when they say that child predators hunt down kids on myspace because the only way that can happen to you is if you ALLOW it to. You can block a person,or make your profile private so if you’re smart you will stay out of trouble. The only people that usually fall victims to child predators are lonely/desperate teens who LOOK for these people.
Re: Myspace Is Not That Bad At All
Please what an ignorant a$$! To: “Myspace is not that bad at all by W” ! You say “The only people that usually fall victims to child predators are lonely/desperate teens who LOOK for these people”.You are pathetic and disgusting to say and “ass”ume such a thing! What are you a predator yourself? Sounds like it! Children never ask or deserve to be a victim of a predator!!! Get an education on a topic before you speak openly about it!! How degrading to speak of the innocent victims of such despicable people like yourself! I guess you think victims of rape ask for it and deserve it to! Go jump off a cliff would you you’re just another pathetic worthless being taking up precious space and air!!!!!!! “Hey you get off of my cloud”!!!!!!
popups
if ur having problems with pop ups then go to http://www.download.com and in the space type popup blocker and it will give u a list of free pop up blockers download the one with the most stars those are the ones that people used and liked the most
Great Social Network For Filmmakers, Actors, and S
Scriptologist Blogs is a good example of a solid blog hosting network. This is a niche for filmmakers, but movie fans are also welcome to start a blog in the network. There is a big difference in the quality of Scriptologist Blogs compared to Myspace. The writing on Scriptologist Blogs is actually good, and a lot of the bloggers on this network are forming friendships, and collaborating on films and screenplays. This is the portal page of Scriptologist Blogs… http://blogs.scriptologist.com/portal.php
popups
..but that you are too old.
Me? i am TOO OLD for MySpace. i am TOO OLD for Text Messaging. I think it is TOO RIDICULOUS to want to have your music playing in your ear all day with an iPod.
I am sure there are plenty of MySpace haters that feel the same way.
Spyware
I’ve seen some where you click the “add to friends” button and it takes you to a different website, or there are even ones where you can click anywhere on the entire profile and it will send you straight to a website.
The advice given in your blog is fantastic and very complimentary to my site, check it out http://rent-ring.com
that is noy fare teens can have a myspace but they do not have 1 for little kids
i need 2 varify so people can add me 2 my space and so i can add them how do u varify and what website
One Giant spy
chew on this for a while folks. sure spyware is bad and lots of it can be a pest and can be removed. However there’s one type of spyware that you can’t remove. It’s called the Interconnected Network (aka the internet)!
And just as bad are the providers. Everything you do on the internet EVERYTHING is logged by the server at your providers HQ. just like this message I’m typing. The server at windstream knows I’m typing this and your provider knows your reading it.
oh and not to mention
another type of spyware even more popular than the internet itself (kinda goes without saying), the telephone company.
frirnds
will you be my friend
friend
hola i’m your friend how you doing today ?
gay
this thing is retarded. like anyone who has brains is going to pay attention to it in the first place. thats just stpid.
Try Yuwie?
I won’t lie, I too use Myspace, but I also enjoy my time on Yuwie as well.
Yuwie is filled with a great team of people and the founder of it all actually listens to what we have to say; and takes it into consideration.
That’s more than I can say about most sites who tend to completely ignore their users once they’ve gained ground in the market and are earning a healthy living.
Unlike many other social sites, Yuwie is taking a twist on the whole social networking trend and actually sharing a part of its advertising revenue with its users.
Sure its pennies at first, but its still a baby only having a little over 500,000 members compared to the 200 million of Myspace and is likely more money than you’ll ever see from Myspace or Facebook alike.
So, why not give Yuwie a shot? It’s free to sign up and you might be surprised to find that its not all that different than Myspace or Facebook aside from what I find to be a much more mature and family oriented audience.
Oh, and one more thing, Yuwie, DOES NOT tolerate spam. So, you won’t have to worry about being harrassed by those pesky porn bots with pictures of half naked girls begging to be your friend or the comment spam bots posing as your buddies rejoicing over how they just won a “$500 Macy’s giftcard”.
Yuwie pays by Paypal or Check, $5 cashout for Paypal and $25 for a check, and who doesn’t use Paypal nowadays? Sure Paypal isn’t without it’s flaws, but it still commands the lead over being one of the most safest and easiest ways to transfer money online.
Join Yuwie!
Re: Try Yuwie?
Actually, I have a question about Yuwie.
I have signed up with them in January and I’ve noticed that ever since I’ve been with them, my computer started acting up, like really really slow. Basically it’s all the symptoms of spyware or viruses. We had to re-image the computer, and then it was fine. So I avoided yuwie for a few months, and just started trying it again last week. But again… my computer is acting up like it’s filled with spyware or something. 🙁
So my question is … does the yuwie site have spyware or viruses?
-Jules
if pc bogs down while using yuwie or any site
check to see how much ram is being eaten up when surfing or logging on to it.check to see if page script is slowing down the pc.ie,it might be ram or some kind of script or code embedded in the page.
a good combination of antivirus programs will help.three that are compatible running with one another
1.avira free antivirus
2.cloud panda(free)
3.microsoft security essentials
also iobit security 360(free)
and pc tools firewall plus(free)
these will run in the system tray and won’t bog the pc down but will protect your pc tremendously!!
try yuwie again after downloading and activating the software above
Re:
I wonder how this comments stacks up now, with MySpace dead and Facebook shown to promote depression and spread false narratives.