lurch 0 #1 May 9, 2003 Ok got a question here... I'm a bit of a software/hardware hack, not the "hacker" style hack that invades databases, (wouldn't know how, don't see the point...) I'm just fairly good at slapping my hardware/software into submission and making it do what -I- want it to instead of letting it have its way with my computer and execute whatever harvest-and-report-to-consumer-habits-database behavior microsoft or kazaa want it to do. I'm looking for somebody that knows a hell of a lot more about browsers and internet than I do. Here's my problem. What is up with IE? I use IE 5.0, unlike a lot of people I think it does everything I want very well...I have no problem with most of MS's stuff, but I have had it with the takes-over-your-computer crap. I use zonealarm and a task manager which have revealed, among other things, that: windows media player is programmed to wait till you leave your box unattended for a few hours, then it fires itself up and tries to get at your internet connection and call home. If you block it, after awhile, the windows media player SETUP.exe wakes up and tries the same damn thing. If you block that too, after awhile RUNDLL.exe suddenly becomes active, grants itself the ability to access the internet and tries to call home too, totally invisibly unless you have a task manager watching....something it never did before. I think IE is also set to do this shit...if I start surfing with IE, and am NOT doing anything in particular, My hard drive starts grinding away doing something unauthorized. If I hit the panic button on zonealarm and cut the line, it mysteriously stops. Resume the surfing and after awhile it starts with the accessing again. I'm aware of all the supersecret hidden files MS keeps on your computer logging everything you ever searched for/visited/typed into your computer or sent as email, including all your sensitive stuff, personal info, name, address, etc, (even DOS won't show them with a DIR command, you have to know where they are...I found out where to look, looked, sure enough, there it all was....) and the only explanation I can think of is IE is set to send all those files home to Bill every time you give it a chance to get at the net. Bill wants to know what you're using your computer for. I have NO idea what MS wants to keep/harvest these files for, but its creepy watching your box wake up when it thinks its unobserved and try to call home on someone else's orders. I'm not a conspiracy theory type, but if this crap WASN'T suspicious, why does MS go to so much trouble to hide it and make sure you can't do anything about it or tell what its doing? I know it isn't some kind of update crap because it does that openly with a request dialog box..."an update exists. do you want to update?" I know it isn't a trojan horse or virus...My computer hygiene is obsessive, my box cleaned regularly of spyware and other junk, old installs and third party self-installing crap that gets in and tries to reset your homepage to the site of THEIR choice and put shortcuts and banners to their products all over your desktop...NO I DON'T WANT A FUCKING X-10 CAMERA AND I WILL NOT INVOLUNTARILY PARTICIPATE IN YOUR CONSUMER HERD BEHAVIOR SURVEY SO YOU CAN SELL MY PREFERENCES TO SOME MARKETING ASSHOLE TO BURY ME IN SPAM!!!! Incidentally I've found a solid connection between the two. Before I got vigilant about keeping my net connection locked down when not actually loading a page, my old hotmail address was slowly getting buried in spam, more every day till leaving it unattended for 24 hours meant 200 spams accumulated and locked out all real email. So. I built a fresh build of '98 on a blank hard drive and made a new hotmail I use now, and I've been slapping the panic button every time I stop surfing for a minute and I keep all programs on a tight leash. The result: after several months on this new address, the email is still 100% spamless. Not a single one. The last test account I tried WITHOUT vigilant lockdown was hopelessly spam contaminated within 3 weeks. If I understand correctly, most spam isn't from leaving your email address lying about in public forums, they're digitally invading and getting your email address out of your own box and selling it to each other. The question is, is there any way to purify/sterilize/castrate/tame IE so it serves ME instead of gates? What do I NOT understand about whats going on here?Live and learn... or die, and teach by example. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schroeder 0 #2 May 9, 2003 Good post Lurch, I too have noticed the HD firing up while surfing and crunching away, etc, I'd be interested in hearing what some others have to say. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #3 May 9, 2003 Welcome to MS. They don't actually keep log files of everything (look at your own sniffer loogs of the data going out and confirm it your self), the files that are hidden are usually stuff that the OS hides for its own use (like the restore folder) and machine level files. What's going on is that MS is looking for updates for its own software and patch level checks. Let me guess... you have turned on autoupdate? dir in DOS only shows you a chunk of the files on your hard drive (ever notice it does'nt show your MBR? ) The Spam is another easy one to guess the answer to... how many of your friends have it and does it appear on any webpages/ google searches? Far more concerning is the digitial fingerprint that Media Player sends out for certian files then the autoupdating of the software. MS lacky and privacy analyst.... Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 30 #4 May 9, 2003 QuoteMS lacky And we're supposed to believe you!!!LMAORemster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lurch 0 #5 May 9, 2003 Hmmm. Well the spam thing was a careful test. The unsecured test email address I issued to NOBODY and I didn't post it anywhere. I simply created the email address, sent myself a couple to make sure it worked, then sat back to see who got ahold of it, to try to figure out how. It started accumulating spam within days. Then I repeated the test, but this time locking down everything here in between page loads. The secured test email is still spamfree today....to me that's pretty solid proof my personal info has a way of being harvested right out of my own box since the only places that address even existed was in MS's actual servers and my own box. Being superanal about cutting the line when not in use for the second test address stopped all spam cold. If I have to I'll add a hardware killswitch, big red button next to my keyboard to retain manual control of the line...I'm getting sick of having to do it with the mouse through zonealarm's window. another question: is there any way for anything to get past zonealarm without me knowing about it or ZA detecting and stopping it? I know almost nothing about port configurations proxies and IP and netbios and all the more arcane arts of the IT guy and have to take it on faith results and reputation that zonealarm is in fact doing a good job watchdogging ALL possible ways in or out. I'm pretty sure I have ZA configured right but don't know enough about what I'm doing to be sure. Can you recommend a good freeware downloadable program that'll actually show me what's going in or out? ZA just tells me "something" is being accepted or sent, by what program and to what IP, but not what it is.Live and learn... or die, and teach by example. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #6 May 9, 2003 Got another question for you.. .did you scan your PC for Spyware before you did your tests? I'll bet you had some type of Spyware on there and did'nt enve know it. They are horrible at getting you on spam lists and things. Adaware is a nice freeware Spyware scanner. ZA is a nice low level firewall that does an acceptible job of stoping the majority of out going data requests and a fair amount of inbound. Its a nice home one. If you are that worried about your data don't get on the internet Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 30 #7 May 9, 2003 Quote If you are that worried about your data don't get on the internet But where am I gonna get my porn????????Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #8 May 9, 2003 Remi.. go have Karen model some more for you. Then post the pics here Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfields 0 #9 May 9, 2003 Quote If you are that worried about your data don't get on the internet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But where am I gonna get my porn???????? Buy it in the back of dim dirty stores from sleazy creepy guys, just like in the olden days. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 30 #10 May 9, 2003 QuoteThen post the pics here Fool me once, shame on you.. fool me twice.....Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #11 May 9, 2003 >Fool me one, shame on you.. fool me twice..... I think you ment... 'Fool me once, shame on you.' You can fool me, but you can't get fooled again." Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
