Doctor Web Ltd. starts beta-testing of a special base allowing to detect spyware and adware
November 30, 2004
Doctor Web, Ltd. announces beta-testing of the new component - supplementary virus bases drwnasty.vdb allowing to detect Adwares and Spywares.
Along with of a mounting torrent of viruses, Trojan programs and other modules of the malicious nature, attacking computers every day, the whole industry of programming the spying and advertising software for collection of different information – be it a password to a computer, or a banking account details - grows pro rata with the number of users surfing the Internet and the increase of level of computerization of the population of our planet.
Different file-sharing (peer-to-peer) networks, such as KaZaA or eDonkey and adverting mails multiplying the freeware programs has long become a perfect source for global proliferation of spying programs. On average, every third computer in the world becomes in the hands of a Trojan program or gives shelter to a spyware in the heart of a HTML-page after its owner has visited the Internet.
These can be either tiny monitoring utilities "just" modifying a browser start page, generating annoying advertising pop-up windows, redirecting users to the necessary page, or large-weighing programs consuming system resources and leading to its unstable operation or even crash.
Spyware became mass spread with the rapid development of spam distribution, and its utilization as an advertising tool became invaluable for advertising companies, which break rules and ideas of inviolability of information.
Harmless at the earliest stage of their appearance, the contemporary ancestors of spying programs cause considerable and tangible financial damage. That is no trifling matter any more of redirecting the page to the advertised web-site. Some programs, secretly placed into a system without a user being aware of it, forcedly establish phone connection with the necessary communication operator and users’ money flows away into the pockets of malefactors. Several successful attempts to apply the spyware for bank robberies are registered, when after preliminary collection of the confidential information with the help of spyware and receipt of access to the banks’ internet services, the stolen information was used for execution of money transfers to the accounts of criminals.
Over a long period of time the detection of these programs as malicious was made by the Dr.Web® antivirus with the help of the main virus base. However, the peculiarity of such programs and an ambiguous attitude towards them of users made us to separate detection of Adware/Spyware into a specially designed database, which could be enabled by users at their request. Besides, to correctly cure a system damaged by the spying programs specially designed algorithms of actions of the anti-virus engine are required sometimes and the specialists of Doctor Web, Ltd. are developing them at present.
Databases of spyware and adware offered for beta-testing by Doctor Web, Ltd. will also be available on the web-page with the on-line check and users even not participating in the beta-testing will be able to immediately check a suspicious file for the presence of spying functions in it. Note, that all the files detected by the drwnasty.vdb database are defined as "incurable" and a user must be extremely cautious when setting the program’s automatic reaction for incurable files.
We welcome users to participate in the beta-testing of our new product and register at a special web-page for beta-testers.
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