Smiley Central Prob

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Well after talking to TeaLA the other day I mentioned I didn't know how to get 'Smiley's' so see gave me the web site for 'Smiley Central'. The first problem I had was I had to Download Version 6.0 of Internet Explorer , it tryed to resist it but I managed it then I did the download for the smiley's Had to do a bit of tweaking here and there, but it seems that when I connect, Internet Explorer with the Yahoo page comes ups first, at the begining the 4 icons that come with the smileys appears on the top, then when the page has fully loaded the icons disappear :-(.
They have appeared on YM ok I dont know about Outlook Express as I stopped using it when i had the problems with my 'connection' which is still their, but I am going on broadband on Monday, so hopfully that will reduce my probs 'Please god'
Missy

 

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this would be why your always having spyware problems ;)

 

Agreed. Installing the kind of thing found at Smiley Central is a major way to get infected with all kinds of nasty things.

BTW, Pheonix. Your = belongs to you, as in "this is your shirt". You're = you are, as in "this is why you're having spyware problems".

 

I never claimed to be an English professor Freddy

 

Me neither, Phoenix, but even though I'm only an American, and not English, I figured I could at least give one English lesson for free.

Actually, I just figured a guy like you would want to do it the right way. There's an amazing number of really smart people who seem to mix the two up.

 

I mess up most my words lol

 

When you two have finished , do you actually know how to get the smiley's on the top tool bar or not?
Pheonix: What spyware problem is this ?
The Tech's said my connection problem has nothing to do 'spyware'
Missy

 

Never mind I emailed a friend and he's helped and i'm sorted, thanks anyway
Missy

 

Smiley Central is a known source of spyware
infact, anything that looks like it might 'flash up your browser' or 'add great new graphics and functionality' should be approcahed with caution

including popular browser plugins like 'hotbar' and other such crud

Think before you download folks
you know it makes sense

 

Missy,

About 99% of the "free" stuff out there like Hotbar, Smiley Central, etc... are spyware. Even Google's Googlebar wants to track you everywhere you go and track all your usage when it is installed. You have to be very careful about what you install on your computer. There's a really popular thing out there called Weatherbug that a lot of people install and it's just flat out spyware.

As Phoenix said, anything that offers to really spice up IE in any way is almost always spyware. So are almost all the ways of sending the "cute" little electronic greeting cards. They are a sure fire way to get your email address, and the address of the person you sent the "cute" card to on just about every spam mailing list that exists.

These things used what's called "social engineering" to get people to use them. They advertise themselves in ways to put people at ease and gain your trust. I mean, what could be cooler than adding the ability to have a whole lot of smileys at your disposal or to send funny greeting cards? Unfortunately the people that run those sites aren't very reputable. That's how the spammers harvest millions of email addresses.

 

Hi Freddy
Thanks for all that, I wish Pheonix had your manner on explaining things.
Now I know what Spyware is and I will be more carefull in the future, so how do you get these extras without the spyware problem,? or does this mean I have to stay just an ordinary 98 with NO mod cons
missy

 

Unfortunatly there isn't really a way to get the item without the spyware, its integrated into the product to the point that the product itself is the problem
its often the gimmicky type things that brighten up peoples computers that are the biggest culprits, so all I can advise is you steer clear from them,

Especially the free stuff, its very existence is often supported by the inclusion of advertising and email address sales

 

Well, I guess I'm just pretty "verbose" when compared to Phoenix. I'll say this though in defense of Phoenix, as if he needs it. He's here to help and although his temperament type and yours clash quite a bit he helps a lot of people here. He's just a lot better at helping people with specific technical solutions than with the generic stuff for computer newbies such as yourself. We've all been there, including Phoenix, but he's just been doing this for such a major portion of his life that he doesn't remember what it's like to be the newbie.

As to how you can know what or what not to use.... There are several ways. 1. If you find some snazzy little program that you think looks really cool do a Google search for the name of it and add the word spyware to your search. See what comes up. If you find links calling it spyware you'll know it's bad. 2. Keep asking questions in places like this. You'll find that if you had come here and asked if Smiley Central was spyware or not because you wanted to know if it was OK to install even Phoenix would have given you very good information in a way that woudn't seem insulting to you... ;) 3. It takes a while but pretty soon you'll begin to recognize spyware without really trying. The sites all use pretty much the same types of attractions to get people to download and install their software. It's not rocket science. It just takes some time.

 

Thanks Freddy, I have digested it all, I seem to be getting a lot of emails and PMs, I wounder why ? ))
Missy

 

You're welcome, Missy. Anyone that uses my stepdaughter's name for a handle can't be all bad....

 

Just to add a little if I may.

Spyware can indeed be picked up from the sites already mentioned. Also avoid programs like Incredimail which is a fancy email client full of bloat and possible spyware and is very difficult to remove completely hence it is bad. A lot of people pick up unwanted stuff spyware/malware from file sharing programs, others by visiting nefarious sites offering illegal cracked warez software. Porn sites are even worse.

I use the Freddy trick of googling the name of the program with the word spyware too. You would be surprised at how many programs contain it.

Pete

PS Phoenix is an experienced *good guy*, I take note of everything he says. And he is a Londoner to boot