Warning! Spyware Cookies on Priuschat.com

Discussion in 'PriusChat Website Questions' started by naterprius, Jan 14, 2005.

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    naterprius New Member

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    Well, I knew the day would come. Priuschat.com now writes (or tries to on my computer) spyware cookies to visitors' computers.

    It's from bfast.com.

    Here's the threat assessment from CA:

    http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/pest/pe...px?id=453060815

    Overall, it's threat level is low, but you are being watched. Block all bfast.com cookies in your cookie handling.

    Nate
    naterprius, Jan 14, 2005
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    SyZyGy New Member

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    Yep, I find three everytime I go on priuschat. I find them with AdAware6
    SyZyGy, Jan 14, 2005
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    IsrAmeriPrius Progressive Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SyZyGy\";p=\"63633)</div>
    I use ZoneAlarm Pro and set the "Cookie Control" in the "Privacy" tab to medium. It blocks all cookies from tracking sites. I also use the CookiePatrol feature of PestPatrol Special Edition.

    I have never found a cookie from bfast.com, or any other tracking site, during my AdAware and Spybot - Search & Destroy scans after I have started using the ZoneAlarm and PestPatrol programs.
    IsrAmeriPrius, Jan 14, 2005
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    Speedracer New Member

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    What best spy wear out there?
    Speedracer, Jan 14, 2005
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    Danny Admin/Founder

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    Those cookies are a part of some of the affiliate-based advertising that I have recently added to the site. Be Free's Privacy Policy:

    User Privacy - Be Free collects "anonymous Internet browsing and online purchase data" from cookies and clickstream data. "Be Free does not track the identity or contact information of end users. [...] Be Free does not sell, rent, or disclose profile data to any party." [...] For improved audience targeting, Be Free's personalization technology allows merchant clients to add non-personally-identifying demographic information -- such as age, gender, area code, or ZIP code -- to the anonymous profile data. Be Free does not allow its merchants to submit any personally identifying data to the profiles, and if any were received it would be discarded immediately. Thus, there is no direct connection between a user's online choices and his or her personal identity."
    Danny, Jan 15, 2005
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    DaveG New Member

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    If they really concern people, I'd suggest moving to Firefox as a web browser (if you're not there already) - if you download the "Adblock" extension, you can just add "bfast.com" into the blocked items list and they'll never be able to set their cookies.

    You can also check the "allow cookies from originating website only" option so that 3rd party sites can't set anything (can interfere with some shopping cart systems though).

    There's also another great extension I use called "CookieCuller", which lets you protect the cookies you want to keep, then you can just hit "delete" and wipe anything not protected.

    Dave
    DaveG, Jan 15, 2005
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    bookrats New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveG\";p=\"63707)</div>
    Perfect -- just what I wanted. Thanks, Dave!

    I love Firefox...
    bookrats, Jan 15, 2005
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    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    There is no reason to keep a cookie after the session is over.

    FireFox’s built in cookie manager will automatically dump all cookies at the end of the session if set to do so.
    Go to TOOLS>OPTIONS>PRIVACY
    Then set the “Keep Cookies:†option to “Until I close Firefoxâ€

    Also check the boxes for “Allow sites to set cookies†& “For the originating web site onlyâ€
    You can also set exceptions if you need cookies from off site or absolutely do not want cookies from a particular site.

    Cookies are harmless if not allowed to fester for months or years. They actually are helpful most of the time.

    If you use IE, EXPECT PROBLEMS for it is the Swiss Cheese of web browsers.
    Sufferin' Prius Envy, Jan 15, 2005
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    tag New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy\";p=\"63844)</div>
    Great tip! I thought that would be the default but it appears not.

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy\";p=\"63844)</div>
    I now prefer using FF over IE but, honest to God, I haven't had any problems with IE. I have a gateway (h/w & s/w firewall), run NAV with autoprotect enabled, and do Spybot and Ad-Aware scans regularly. Also, I use a program called CCleaner, which dumps IE's cache, cookies, history, etc. I haven't encountered the plethora of problems others have reported.
    tag, Jan 15, 2005
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    Starbug New Member

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    I'm with Tag on IE. I have FF on my work computer, but am not impressed enough to use it at home (there are a couple things that bug me about it), so IE is my home choice. I have ZoneAlarm, AdAware 6, and some other misc spy/bot/ad-ware programs, and because of these I never have cookies/spyware/bots/other irretating things on my computer. IE has also never given me the problems that others constantly complain about. Not sure what I'm doing differently than they are?
    Starbug, Jan 16, 2005
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    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Starbug\";p=\"63866)</div>
    By using IE, you are playing Russian Roulette with an invisible gun that doesn’t make any noise when it shoots, and , depending on the bullets, you either get an itch or a torturous death. So, are you immune or just lucky so far?

    One MAJOR difference between IE and Firefox is that Microsoft intertwined IE into the operating system to the point that the OS is put at undue risk just by using IE. In order for Microsoft to patch a hole in IE, Microsoft needs to (at least maybe) try to make the patch not break the OS. Some flaws just can not be fix because is would break or impair the OS. Kind of the Coyote in a trap syndrome . . . should they gnaw off the paw and hobble the OS, ignore the problem and let it bleed to death, or add another layer of Coyote bloatware which makes the next trap easier to step in?

    [January 11, 2005] Microsoft has released a fix for a critical hole in the HTML Help ActiveX control in Windows, but a well-known vulnerability in the Internet Explorer browser remains unpatched.
    http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1750395,00.asp

    Yep, IE is one sickly, patched-up, flea bitten, mangy OLD mutt.
    Sufferin' Prius Envy, Jan 16, 2005
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    jamarimutt New Member

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    PriusChat is a for-profit, commercial website; long gone are the PriusOnline-like days.
    jamarimutt, Jan 16, 2005
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    mikepaul New Member

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    The 'spyware' label is used a little freely.

    Spybot has decided that IWon.com should be blocked. Every time I innoculate, I have to re-enable IWon because that's my preferred homepage.

    Perhaps I should be more paranoid, but I'm just annoyed...
    mikepaul, Jan 16, 2005
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    bookrats New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy\";p=\"63879)</div>
    :iagree

    Patrick says it succinctly -- particularly the problems caused by IE being a gateway through the Windows OS security. That's exactly the problem.
    bookrats, Jan 16, 2005
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    bookrats New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy\";p=\"63844)</div>
    The one exception I'd make to this are the handful of sites that I login to so frequently (and do not have any information that is at all sensitive) that I hate to have to type my name and password in each time.

    For instance, PriusChat. If I've set FireFox to keep cookies "until I close FireFox", then I have to login to PriusChat the next time I start up FireFox and visit.

    Thus, I've made PriusChat one of the 2-3 exceptions to the rule.
    bookrats, Jan 16, 2005
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    tag New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jamarimutt\";p=\"63880)</div>
    You're making it sound as if the intent were to transform this site into the likes of ebay or Yahoo. AFAIK, the intent here is simply to generate cashflow sufficient to pay the bills associated with maintaining the site.
    tag, Jan 16, 2005
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    tag New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bookrats\";p=\"63940)</div>
    Ditto, and that's easy enough to do in FF with just a copy and paste.

    Different story using IE because I won't use IE without running CCleaner. So, all the cookies are toast after running CCleaner except for those in FF. In short, FF appears to handle this better than IE.
    tag, Jan 16, 2005
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    bookrats New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tag\";p=\"63950)</div>
    Ditto, and that's easy enough to do in FF with just a copy and paste.
    [/b][/quote]

    I really like CookieCuller over the built-in FireFox cookie "exceptions", because you can specify that only certain cookies from a site are kept around, instead of all the cookies from a particular site.

    Thus, for Amazon.com, I can specify that the cookies that have my account name are remembered -- but I still have to log in with password to my account to order things, or see what my order status is.

    It's a bit more complicated -- have to sometimes "feel around" to figure out which cookies are needed for basic login. And having CookieCuller delete all unprotected cookies (i.e., cookies unprotected by CookieCuller itself -- it pays no attention to any settings in the FireFox cookie list) means basically ignoring what the settings are in the FireFox cookie section.

    But after some initial configuration, I think this is the way to go (for me, anyway). Thanks DaveG and tag!
    bookrats, Jan 16, 2005
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    tag New Member

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    I just found the extension which, for some reason, doesn't appear to be listed among the others on the FF Extension page.

    Anyway, I like it! Now, which one should I keep in order to retain the PC login? :lol:
    tag, Jan 16, 2005
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    bookrats New Member

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    bookrats, Jan 16, 2005
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