Probably OT....help!!!!

[M. Magistri]

Hi evryone!

My cousin usually visit adult web-sites at work and he has an account on
Windows2000 pc. Some days ago he went on a site that registered itself as
STARTPAGE in the Internet Explorer STARTPAGE. He tried to modify the
STARTPAGE field, but every time he restarts the pc, the web-site STARTPAGE
come back as default!

What does he have to do?

ThankYou anyway.

Max.

[mto]

"YK" <YKnot@home.invalid> wrote in message
news:16USa.14250$%bQ.323@news01.bloor.is.net.cable .rogers.com...
> M. Magistri wrote:
> > Hi evryone!
> >
> > My cousin usually visit adult web-sites at work and he has an account
> > on Windows2000 pc. Some days ago he went on a site that registered
> > itself as STARTPAGE in the Internet Explorer STARTPAGE. He tried to
> > modify the STARTPAGE field, but every time he restarts the pc, the
> > web-site STARTPAGE come back as default!
> >
> > What does he have to do?
> >
> > ThankYou anyway.
> >
> > Max.
>
> Most of these problems are caused by ad browser hijacker parasites.
>
> The best spyware removal tools are Ad-Aware available from
> http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/ or
> http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ and SpyBot available from
> http://tomcoyote.org/SPYBOT/ and update the reference files
> through their Online update function. Run them and select all items and
> remove.
> You may have to reboot and rerun a couple of times to completely remove
it.
> Also run the Immunize function to
> prevent these nasties from installing again.
>
> Install a good HOSTS file to help stop these nasties from installing.
> http://asp.flaaten.dk/proxo/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1311
> http://asp.flaaten.dk/proxo/hosts.zip
>
> SpywareBlaster
> http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
> Update the reference file through the online update function.

NOTE however, that most employers would a.) have conniption fits at an
employee visiting adult web sites and b.) throw the book at them for
installing ANY software without the specific approval of the IT department.

The presence of AdAware or SpBot on the machine will not go undetected nor
will it cover up all evidence of your cousin's bad habits.

[Dave Higham]

"M. Magistri" <mmquelo@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:wsTSa.6881$t92.207258@news1.tin.it...

>
> My cousin usually visit adult web-sites at work and he has an account on
> Windows2000 pc.
>
> What does he have to do?

LOL - I love the fact that you've fessed this one. Tell him to get a home
internet account (YK's advice should sort his more immediate problem)

[John Smith]

Find a copy of wdclear.exe, take a boot floopy to work with the wdclear
program on it, boot from the floppy and run wdclear. The harddrive will be
completely zeroed and cleared... NO evidence will be left... a simple
re-install of the OS will put things back in order, and tell him NOT to do
it again...


"Jay T. Blocksom" <usenet01+SPAMBLOCK@appropriate-tech.net> wrote in message
news:emoqhvcd7b3ehdcvgrjenuoom6e0aseivn@news.rcn.c om...
> On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 15:15:40 GMT, in <alt.privacy.spyware>, "M. Magistri"
> <mmquelo@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Hi evryone!
> >
> > My cousin usually visit adult web-sites at work
> [snip the tale of woe which inevitably follows from the above
scenario]
> >
> > What does he have to do?
> >
> [snip]
>
> Grow a brain?
>
> Stop stealing his employer's time and resources?
>
> Try with all his might to gain the slightest clue what the terms "ethics"
> means?
>
> Look for a new job?
>
> Pick one, or more, or all, at your pleasure.
>
> --
>
> Jay T. Blocksom
> --------------------------------
> Appropriate Technology, Inc.
> usenet01[at]appropriate-tech.net
>
>
> "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
> -- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.
>
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[Jay T. Blocksom]

[My ISP's news server barfed a couple days ago, and neither my post or "John
Smith"'s f'up to it are currently available. Hence, I'm tacking my comments
on here...]

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 21:04:44 -0700, in <alt.privacy.spyware>, "John Smith"
<bostrom@lanset.com> wrote:


> From: "John Smith" <bostrom@lanset.com>
> Newsgroups: alt.privacy.spyware
> Subject: Re: Probably OT....help!!!!
> Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 21:04:44 -0700
>
> Find a copy of wdclear.exe, take a boot floopy to work with the wdclear
> program on it, boot from the floppy and run wdclear. The harddrive will
> be completely zeroed and cleared... NO evidence will be left...
[snip]

*NO*!!!

Do *NOT* follow this *horribly* bad advice!

First, unless that system happens to have one of several various Western
Digital HDDs installed, it simply WILL NOT WORK. And failing that, it is
very possible to PERMANENTLY DAMAGE the HDD or some other part of the system
through misuse of this utility.

Second, Mr. Smith obviously missed the fact that the system in question is
the property of the OP's (or the OP's cousin's, if that bit of face-saving
"distancing" is to be believed) *employer*, not the OP (or his cousin)
himself. Hence, even if it did work, doing this would constitute serious
(possibly criminal) VANDALISM.

> ...a simple
> re-install of the OS will put things back in order,
[snip]

You think so, eh?

What makes you think he even has access to the OS Install media? And what
of all the application software. And the data? And the specific setup
customizations that you'd typically find (in great abundance) on any
corporate PC? It's a lead-pipe cinch that the OP (or his cousin) have no
clue how to duplicate those.

> ...and tell him NOT to
> do it again...
>
[snip]

And that's the ONLY part of this you got right, you stupid top-posting git.

--

Jay T. Blocksom
--------------------------------
Appropriate Technology, Inc.
usenet01[at]appropriate-tech.net


"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.

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