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SLIMEWARE

©04 The Media Desk
http://themediadesk.com

New Development Oct/04 -www.spywarestormer.com- The New and Improved SLIMEWARE. Only the name has changed, the tactic is the same.

    There is a new type of garbageware in town. Not Adware, Spyware, pop-ups or anything else normally associated with the web.
    SLIMEWARE!

    Palsol, Pal Solutions Ltd of Las Vegas, New York, the UK and so on (the domain is registered to something called "Go Daddy Software" which inspires confidence to no end), is the latest propagator of an adware program that infects your computer without your permission, then causes a "Windows Error Message" pop-up window to constantly barrage you with the cheerful message that there is SPYWARE on your computer.
    If you click 'OK' you are taken to Palsol.biz where you are harangued into buying their fix for this problem. A problem THEY created no less. Cancel only gives you about two minutes of peace before the window pops up again.

    The Desk did some checking. According to a MCSE the Desk knows, detecting spyware is NOT a function of Windows. In fact, some of Microsofts internal functions could be called spyware, such as tracking cookies and various features in Outlook.

    Other ad and spy killers do NOT remove the Palsol bug. And it would seem sending an email to their technical center only encourages them to SPAM you half to death.

    On their website there is all sorts of helpful information.
    Their FAQ includes this helpful bit, but it only seems to work on the registered version which you have to pay for. The bug that slimes its way onto your hard drive is Free when you visit one of their "partners" through their "Affiliate Program" where they pay site owners for every poor slob that has to click through to Palsol to rid their machines of this crap.

Q. How do I uninstall Spyware Remover?
A. To uninstall Spyware Remover:
-Uninstall Spyware Remover by clicking on START>ALL PROGRAMS>SPYWARE REMOVER and selecting UNINSTALL OR
-Uninstall Spyware Remover from the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs utility.

If you do not find the answer to your questions above, please send a support request to:
http://www.palsol.com/cgi-bin/pdesk.cgi

PAL SUPPORT TEAM
PAL Solutions.

    Bottom line:

    PalSol has perfected SLIMEWARE.

    Commercial Software Bugs that attempt to Coerce you into buying software to remove that bug.

    No Adware is not illegal. It may be a nasty, dirty, conniving way to get information on web surfers, but it is NOT illegal. Yet.
    Same for Spyware. As long as the information is not used for nefarious purposes, they can collect, and evidently SELL all they want.

    SLIMEWARE is simply Extortion. "We're going to hassle you until you buy something."
    Isn't that part of what got AMWAY and those types in hot water?
    Wasn't that the way the MOB did business?
    Wasn't this part of various computer and internet privacy laws?

-30-

An EMAIL to PALSOL tech support on both the .biz and .com sites for information returned only the FAQ sheet. No other comments from Palsol have been forthcoming.

If they ever say anything about this matter, it will be posted.

For more information see the FTC ruling in another case: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/11/dsquared.htm

And how to Kill It! http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/popalrt.htm

UPDATE 6 July

There's a new bunch using the same technique to get people to buy their crap through infecting a machine with garbageware that only the SCAMMERS software can remove. And this time it rides in with an OPERA browser upgrade.

Noadware.net

And to give credibility to their line of bull they are using an MSN screen. The SCAMMER uses a popup window on the machine which masquerades as a Windows pop up message which takes the user to a directed MSN search which features their ads through something called lifesurfing.com which is nothing more than a storefront for the scam. Once again, checking for spyware is NOT a function of Windows. The link has nothing to do with Microsoft. It is NOT an actual MSN search for anything, and the web page is NOT even remotely related to MSN. And the contact us link gives your email address to the SCAMMERS. Just Lovely Eh?

OK, to be fair, OPERA isn't SLIMEWARE, they are simply stooges who sell advertising space on their browser. What the advertiser, or reseller/agent/broker/whatever does with the space, and their access to your machine is something else all together. [Opera admits they ARE Adware- Opera Support Page, the Desk however, is failing to see the difference at this point.]

This technique is not new. It got D Squared busted and their equipment seized. The same scum who is now working as PalSol Ltd.

This article walks you through a procedure which may kill some of these bugs. Warning: This is NOT for the novice user. http://www.securiteam.com/securityreviews/5RP0L0UD5U.html

In any case. The Desk will continue the war on SCAM SPAM.

[NOTE: The Media Desk is NOT an affiliate, customer, partner or anything else of Palsol or anybody else who would do something like this. The Desk collects NO User Information, uses NO Cookies or tracking software, and truly Does Not Care where else its readers go on the Web. Thank You ]

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