WARNING: This is BETA software

[Steve Wechsler [MVP]]

All BETA software is inherently dangerous to an OS. Therefore, one
should NOT install Microsoft AntiSpy BETA1 unless one has either
Imaged the Hard Drive or backed up their data.

Microsoft AntiSpy BETA1 will remove ONLY what YOU choose to remove.
It REMOVES NOTHING unless YOU CHOSE TO REMOVE IT.
Therefore, please do some research on what it identifies as spyware
prior to removing it.

Google is your friend !

=======================================================================
" Beta Support Policy

* Important Information:
This is pre-release (beta) software distributed for feedback and
testing purposes. Microsoft does not provide technical support for beta
releases (see below for information about how to gain access to
newsgroups). If Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) is causing an issue with your
system, we recommend removing it by using Add or Remove Programs and
even using System Restore if the problem persists. "
========================================================================

IF you fear that it will cause system instability, break networking,
apps, programs or internet connectivity, or raise security issues,
DO NOT INSTALL IT !!!

Blaming MS for your issues is passing the buck.

NO ONE is endorsing nor FORCING you to install this BETA software.


Steve Wechsler (akaMowGreen)
MVP Windows Server
AumHa VSOP

 

[Bill Sanderson]

Thanks for posting that--we appear to need it!

 

[Steve Wechsler [MVP]]

YW, Bill ... we don't need it, folks who don't understand the nature of
BETA do

 

[Eric Cullmann]

Who do you blame for this then? Microsoft clearly bought
out this small software company(Giant)and didn't test it
before even making it a beta. It's there fault if they
screw up people's computers. I recommend not using this
product for one because it's total garbage. Ad aware se and
Spybot search and destroy will be kinder to your operating
systems and won't delete your SP2 firewall either like this
software named Atlanta(very fitting). When i heard about
all the problems people were having, i felt bad for them
but it's a beta and never test out this garbage until
microsoft figures out how to fix it first or they dump it
all together and always create a restore point. I heard
they were thinking of bundling it with Longhorn. If that's
true no one will want Longhorn! No one is passing me the
buck to download this junk and you can blame microsoft for
this junk! How do they think they will ever fix the
internet explorer when they can't even put out decent
spyware removal software?! Then they get mad at Linux for
stealing business in the Asian market. Microsoft:Stop
putting out shoddy software and get your act together.
That's what you get for buying out some small company and
passing it off as your own!

 

[Bill Sanderson]

Eric - you've had a problem, and some other folks have, as well.

Your problem, and theirs, in most cases, is easily repaired via System
Restore.

One purpose of the beta is to find issues like this and get them fixed. If
you want to help get the issue which affected you fixed, I'm quite sure
Microsoft is interested in that effort.

The vast majority of users of the beta are having a good experience, I
believe.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Eric;
There is no one to blame.
This is the testing, that is part of the purpose of Beta.
The fact that Microsoft released this as a Beta show how confident the users
should be in this product.
Generally it is a bad idea to install a Beta product from any manufacturer
on a computer with important data.
If someone is not willing to perform a Clean Installation after installing a
Beta product to resolve any otherwise irresolvable issues, the Beta should
not be installed.

 

[Wibble]

You need a slap. Its a beta you fool. Build a test system
or dont use it.

 

[{don}]

Who do you blame for this then? Microsoft clearly bought
out this small software company(Giant)and didn't test it
before even making it a beta. It's there fault if they
screw up people's computers. I recommend not using this
product for one because it's total garbage.

Eric,

Like the others have said, IT IS BETA.

In defense of Giant and the Microsoft Beta. I would like to say this: I am
responsible for thirty computers that all have access to the internet. Most
are running Windows 2000 a few are running Win XP. All are patched with all
the Microsoft patches, all are behind hardware firewalls and all have
software firewalls and virus checkers running on the individual machines. I
check the virus definitions every day to insure that they are up to date. No
one installs software without my permission and I check every day to
enforce that policy. All the computers had Spybot with inoculate running
and all were scanned regularly with Spybot and AdAware. In spite of all
that I was still getting spyware on my machines. I tried just about every
spyware scanner available with very mixed results. I was getting desperate
when I found Giant. It has done a very good job of ridding my computers of
spyware and I have had no problems since I started using it about a month
ago.

It is not perfect however and at this point in time I don't think anyone
really knows what a perfect antispyware program would look like. (One man's
spyware might be another's useful program.)

Giant found things like Tight VNC, that I had installed, and properly
suggested that I ignore it while pointing out what a severe threat it would
be if I had not known about it.

It found other things that when quarantined would break something useful and
would have to be restored but my machines are now clean and running
smoothly. Since our business depends on our computers that is a very BIG
thing to me.

I will leave you and others with this advice:

1. Quarantine _everything_ and wait a month before deleting _anything_.

2. Any software that is on the cutting edge like the Microsoft Antispyware
Beta can be dangerous. I recommend that you image you C: drive often and
especially before installing untested software but I really had no choice
Spybot and AdAware just don't cut it anymore. They were good in their time
but now the world has moved on. I have to go with what works.

Best Regards,

{don}

 

[Alex]

If Microsoft does want us to participate in Beta tests,
with the risk to us of having to do a clean install, they
should provide an easy way for us to re-activate all our
MS software should a clean install be necessary.

I spent more than half an hour on the phone waiting for
and then cajoling a guy in India to OK a reinstall of
Frontpage 2003 after two successive crashes -- a hard
drive died, and the first reinstall was clobbered by a
blue screen death of XP. That experience alone got me
thinking seriously about Linux! And you want me to risk
going through that to participate in a Beta of a spyware
removal program?

-----Original Message-----
Eric; snip
If someone is not willing to perform a Clean

Installation after installing a Beta product to resolve
any otherwise irresolvable issues, the Beta should not be
installed.
Snip

 

[Jon G]

If that is your feeling then beta tests are not for you. Beta tests are not
provided for the people who have a problem with reinstalling if necessary.
Running into problems are supposed to be the "fun" parts of beta testing.
Beta testers are those willing to crash in the strive to create a great
product.

-Jon

 

[Joseph Scalise]

One word,

BETA!

Only thing wrong with computers are their respective users.

 

[andy]

If Microsoft does want us to participate in Beta tests,
with the risk to us of having to do a clean install, they
should provide an easy way for us to re-activate all our
MS software should a clean install be necessary.

I spent more than half an hour on the phone waiting for
and then cajoling a guy in India to OK a reinstall of
Frontpage 2003 after two successive crashes -- a hard
drive died, and the first reinstall was clobbered by a
blue screen death of XP. That experience alone got me
thinking seriously about Linux! And you want me to risk
going through that to participate in a Beta of a spyware
removal program?

The choice to install was yours, was someone holding a gun to your head?

You have Windows XP, did you take a restore point and backup your critical
data before you installed it?

If you want to install Linux, do it, don't make your decisions on what has
happened since choosing to install beta software which has affected your
system.

I don't usually support Microsoft, but the amount of people complaining,
because they chose to install software in beta and still being developed....

 

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Don - Just FWIW - Since I noticed that you didn't specifically mention
any of these, here's a part of one of my "standard" posts that is concerned
with preventive measures that can be taken which might be of use to you:


"Once you get this cleaned up, you might want to consider installing Eric
Howes' IE-SpyAds, SpywareBlaster and SpywareGuard here to help prevent this
kind of thing from happening in the future:

IESpyads - https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm "IE-SPYAD adds
a long list of sites and domains associated with known advertisers,
marketers, and crapware pushers to the Restricted sites zone of Internet
Explorer. Once you merge this list of sites and domains into the Registry,
the web sites for these companies will not be able to use cookies, ActiveX
controls, Java applets, or scripting to compromise your privacy or your PC
while you surf the Net. Nor will they be able to use your browser to push
unwanted pop-ups, cookies, or auto-installing programs on your PC." Read
carefully.

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html (Prevents malware Active
X installs) (BTW, SpyWareBlaster is not memory resident ... no CPU or memory
load - but keep it UPDATED) The latest version as of this writing will
prevent installation or prevent the malware from running if it is already
installed, and it provides information and fixit-links for a variety of
parasites.

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html (Monitors for attempts to
install malware) Keep it UPDATED. All three Very Highly Recommended

SpywareBlaster is probably the best preventive tool currently available,
expecially if supplemented by using the Immunize function in SpyBot S&D and
a good HOSTS file (see next). IMPORTANT NOTE: A good additional source of
preventive blocking for ActiveX components is the Blocking List available
here: http://www.spywareguide.com/blockfile.php While smaller than the
SpywareBlaster list, it contains some different malware CLSIDs and appears
to be updated with new threats more frequently. Recommended as a supplement
to SpywareBlaster. Read all of the instructions in the Expert package
download carefully. You might want to consider using:
http://www.changedetection.com/monitor.html to monitor and notify you of
changes/updates to this (or others, for that matter) list.


Next, install and keep updated a good HOSTS file. It can help you avoid
most adware/malware. See here: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
(Be sure it's named/renamed HOSTS - all caps, no extension) Additional
tutorials here:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/index.php?s=14f3f9225081133297a8acdd11137c5b&showtutorial=51
(detailed) and here: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewtopic.php?t=410
(overview)


Finally, be sure that you have a good hardware or software firewall and an
AntiVirus installed, and bring your OS up-to-date with ALL Critical updates
from Windows Update."

--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Alex;
If Beta is a problem for you, you should not install it.
If you called for reinstall information, perhaps you do not have the
necessary resources to install a Beta to begin with.
Problems with a Clean Installation can not be blamed on a Beta product.

You need to be ready to accept any and all problems prior to installing a
Beta product.
If you can not, do not install any Beta Products.

 

[Guest]

-----Original Message-----
Who do you blame for this then? Microsoft clearly bought
out this small software company(Giant)and didn't test it
before even making it a beta. It's there fault if they
screw up people's computers. I recommend not using this
product for one because it's total garbage. Ad aware se and
Spybot search and destroy will be kinder to your operating
systems and won't delete your SP2 firewall either like this
software named Atlanta(very fitting). When i heard about
all the problems people were having, i felt bad for them
but it's a beta and never test out this garbage until
microsoft figures out how to fix it first or they dump it
all together and always create a restore point. I heard
they were thinking of bundling it with Longhorn. If that's
true no one will want Longhorn! No one is passing me the
buck to download this junk and you can blame microsoft for
this junk! How do they think they will ever fix the
internet explorer when they can't even put out decent
spyware removal software?! Then they get mad at Linux for
stealing business in the Asian market. Microsoft:Stop
putting out shoddy software and get your act together.
That's what you get for buying out some small company and
passing it off as your own! has for
feedback and security
.your an idiot. steve is right. dont install it then no

one is demanding you install it. thats the problem with
you non-technical people. you dont take responsibility
for your own actions. IT SAYS BETA so that means its a
test version. meaning not complete. dumb ass people i
swear. all of them should be shot.