Thanks Paul

What has the world come to?

IMO this is another example of the internet, weak security and poor business oversight increasingly used as a conduit for scams and a breeding ground for fraud. Users are just as bad, expecting more and more for nothing. The current climate for this type of behavior fosters this type of activity. Granted that technology changes quickly and institutions slowly, but I feel the government has been way too slow to coordinate.

What we have is a Congress that rolls over for the music and software industry. Knee jerk reactions like ruining people’s computers if they swap music files do not help. We have spent millions prosecuting Microsoft and nothing to show for it. We allow business to act in a predatory and irrational fashion. We need a comprehensive and educated approach to privacy, security, copyright and technology. We don’t have the NSF running the internet anymore, we have shady businesses who promise to clean up thier act real soon now. I don’t think government is equal to the task, but who’s job is it?

I hope I am wrong about this, but that is the direction I see things have been headed for quite awhile.

The bad guys even disguise themselves as good guys fighting the bad …..’idownload’ software is a good example, as shown by the article above

It is getting hard to know who to trust.

There is a fairly cheap and easy solution……

A second hard drive for internet/email activity.

All your trusted programs go on one hard drive and the rest on the suspect hard drive.

As soon as you become infected, do not worry about all the anti virus anti spy checkers that are in the main unreliable.

Just atom bomb the lot with the a hard drive format ….the only thing the perveyors of badware fear!

This proceedure can be streamlined and automated and can even be performed overnight at times when the pc is not in use.

Hard drives these days are dirt cheap …far cheaper than all the unreliable software required to protect in the proven unreliable old way.

isearch installs search bars on your browser with meuues to porn, gambling and a variety of other sites the average kid should not visit.

This search bar is almost impossible to uninstall.

The address of isearch is Austin Texas {USA} ref:whoisit}

The address of the Law firm used to send “cease and desit” notices to many anti-spy internet sites is also in Austin Texas {USA}, less than 19 minutes by road away from each other.

idownload touts 14th floor 1180 The avenue of the Americas{aka 6th Avenue} New York as their address.

A check of this address{google} revealed that it was a virtual office which could be rented by the hour, or clients could use their mail sevice only if required.

I suspect that idownload is trying to hide their real address of operation.

As you said Ed, all the signs of an unethical company.

http://idownload.com/ proudly displays the ‘truste’ https://www.truste.org/ certification for software and service that can be trusted !!!!.

Truste makes the following grand claims ….yet certifies companies such as ‘idownload’ and ‘lycos’ {insidious software perveyor using isearch type products and stealth install methods.}

Check out Truste’s claims:

****************

Your Privacy Is Our Concern

The TRUSTe seal means that the company whose Web site you are visiting takes your privacy seriously.

We monitor the compliance of member businesses, provide an arena for you to file privacy violation complaints, and make sure these complaints are heard.

Look for the TRUSTe Seal

Choose to Hold TRUSTe Members to Higher Standards

TRUSTe® does everything we can to ensure that the privacy of your personal information is protected by our member Web sites, but we also rely on your vigilance to keep members accountable.

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