You knew spybot checkers and anti-virus programs are always "behind the reality wave" so to speak. I just got me an example of how far behind the wave they really are.
I had bought a new laptop for my wife to use at school running powerpoint presentations. I had loaded it with the necessary functions, put all the anti spy ware programs in place with "inbound protection" and then charged it up and put it in the case for her to use. Of course she hadn't touched it since then, school being out and such.
Now, today, I take it out of the case and turn it on which auto updates the virus checkers and the anti spy bot stuff (note: it was off and sealed the whole time for 2 plus months).
Whammo, I got 16 security hits and four of them were critical class errors, two of which required immediate purging of files and such like drastic stuff. I manually ran three of the anti-malware softwares and between them they turned in 24 small instances of tracking cookies and adwares and other such silent stuff.
Now, since the computer was off for the 2 months, all them malwares were already there on the hard drive while it sat idle for the 2 months. They either came with the machine or got in there during a relatively short period of use while I was loading the machine up.
Point is, your finding/killing stuff is letting bad stuff get on and STAY on your computer for MONTHS before it actually gets caught and purged.
I think the people programming the bad **** are way way ahead of the good guys who try to get it off your machine after the fact. I think the bad guys get whatever info they wanted off your machine and have used it or sold it long before somebody even trips on the fact somebody has found yet another way to get through Bill Gates sorry assed operating system yet again.
I am surprised we don't have more nasty issues with identity theft, etc. etc. than we currently do have.
Or perhaps we do, we just haven't figured it out yet.
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Take heart, everybody -- VISTA is coming, VISTA with whole new vistas of security holes and troubles for you and your machine. You will pay hundreds and hundreds of brand new dollars for old Bill to make all your old hardware & equipment obsolete and him and his Vista will also give you lots of jucy new bug holes for your virus checkers and spyware/malware programs not to find until a few critical months have passed and somebody has stuffed them full of tracking cookies, malwares and viruses.