IT security Reboot 2009: Honoring the year’s information security luminaries
12/1/2009, SC Magazine
“Going forward, StopBadware will play even more of a role as the hub of communication and collaboration among organizations committed to fighting badware. Weinstein, part technologist, part educator, appears to be the right man for the job.”
StopBadware.org, the place to appeal a Google malware warning
2/2/2009, CNET News
“In addition to offering a second opinion to aggrieved Web sites, StopBadware.org works on developing new approaches to addressing malware and offers the BadwareBusters.org forum where Web site owners can exchange information.”
As Threats Grow, Crowdsourcing Could Be The Future Of Network Security
9/25/2008, SearchNetworking.com
“StopBadware.org is negotiating with several security firms to act as an independent data analysis tool point: Proprietary information will be analyzed across several firms’ data sets, and then the final results will be released without any companies’ carefully guarded “blacklist” of malware sites being released."
Report – Majority of World’s Malware Originates in China
6/25/2008, Ars Technica
“It’s possible for a network to shift position on the organization’s list in just one year. After iPowerWeb was identified last year as the owner of the most-infected network block, the company worked closely with both Google and StopBadware to improve the situation. As a result, it’s no longer listed among even the top 250 infected networks.”
Report: China Hosts Most Malware-Infected Sites: StopBadware.org report shines new light on where the world’s malware-ridden sites reside
6/24/2008, Dark Reading
“StopBadware’s new report is a major departure from its report a year ago, when the U.S. was the main culprit for hosting malware-infested Websites. “At the time, China was not nearly as large a factor. Of the top five network blocks [in 2007], four were U.S.-based,” Weinstein says."
Apple does about-face, fixes Safari’s ‘carpet bomb’ bug
6/19/2008, Computerworld
“The Stopbadware.org anti-malware group chided Apple for the decision, and asked the Cupertino, Calif., company to reconsider. It appears that Apple did just that. Safari 3.1.2 now notifies the user before downloading a file, said Apple in the advisory that accompanied today’s fixes.”
FTC wants to hit the spyware guys where it hurts
6/13/2008, The Register
“StopBadware.org has changed its badware guidelines multiple times in just two and a half years, due to ongoing changes in technology and badware practices, as well as an ongoing desire to make sure that we’re ‘getting it right’,” Weinstein wrote. “If legislation defines spyware specifically, what happens when a new piece of spyware falls outside that definition?”
Does RealPlayer Deserve ‘Badware’ Label?
2/21/2008, E-Week
“The Google-backed StopBadware.org group has explained the thinking behind its decision to slap the ‘badware’ label on two versions of RealNetworks’ RealPlayer software, insisting there are serious problems with the installation process and behavior of the products.”
RealPlayer Labeled Malware
1/31/2008, Washington Post
“An industry-academia group designed to raise public awareness about software that violates fair information and privacy practices has labeled recent versions of RealPlayer video streaming software as ‘badware,’ charging that the software surreptitiously installs pop-up ad serving software as well as the Rhapsody media player engine. Stopbadware.org issued an alert about two software titles from RealNetworks – RealPlayer 10.5 and RealPlayer 11, saying each violated the group’s badware guidelines.”
When Web Apps Attack
1/4/2008, Cnet
“Wysopal cites information from StopBadware, Harvard University. ’They’ve been studying where all this malicious software is coming from, and they found that they’re not coming from porn sites or gambling sites or these places where you think the people operating the sites are shady characters. They’re coming from just any old site…’”
Many Evils Lurk in Corners of the Internet
10/10/2007, Ars Technica
“A recent report (PDF) from StopBadware.org called ‘Trends in Badware 2007: What Internet Users Need to Know,’ stresses the importance of being careful where you click… The report touches on a theme that we’ve hammered away on for some time: that out-of date software is one of the biggest threats to users.
BadWare Hunters Tame Wild Webmasters, Hosts. The Stop Badware team targets, defeats some malware distributors and zombie recruiters
9/16/2007, PCWorld
“StopBadware’s list of hosting companies responsible for supporting the largest number of malware sites resulted in at least one leading culprit – iPower Technologies – changing its ways, while two others have disappeared completely.”
Does Trillian Have a Crapware Problem?
6/19/2007, ZDNet
“StopBadware.org researcher Liana Leahy has taken Cerulean Studios to task for bundling two third-party applications into the popular free Trillian IM client, arguing that users who are not careful during the Trillian installation process could end up with a crapware problem.”
Criminals Hijack Large Web Hosting Firm
5/25/2007, Schneier on Security
“IPOWER said the site hacks ‘came from a compromised server hosted by another company that was listed on the Stopbadware.org Web site. This impacted a higher percentage of accounts on each of these legacy third-party control panel systems.’”
Google Sharpens Malware Alerts for Webmasters
2/27/2007, PC World
“Google flags Web sites according to guidelines set by The Stop Badware Coalition. Webmasters who feel their sites have been incorrectly flagged as having malware need to contact the coalition and request a review.”
Groups Target Another Spyware Operator
12/6/2006, Internet News
“Palfrey added StopBadware, and CDT decided to target FastMP3Search.com.ar with an FTC complaint because ’they’ve combined so many things in a single bundle. It’s a parade of horribles.’”
AOL 9.0 Slapped with Badware Label
8/28/2006, E-Week
“During the installation process the user is never clearly notified that AOL will be installing these programs. The inclusion of two of these programs—QuickTime and Viewpoint Media Player—is mentioned on a page entitled AOL Software. However, to reach the AOL Software page, the user must click on AOLs Privacy Policy (which is linked to from the third pre-installation screen), and then locate and click on the second use of the word software on that page,” the report said.
Beware of ‘Badware’: Academic organizations’ watchlist spotlights four examples of malicious software
5/26/2006, Internet News
“This is one of the trends we’re seeing now; malicious software posing as good ‘helper’ software,” said Christina Olson, the project manager at Stopbadware.org. “So products that claim to be anti-spyware are in fact spyware.”
Spyware Trail Leads to Kazaa, Big Advertisers
3/21/2006, E-Week
“Google-funded anti-spyware coalition StopBadware.org releases its inaugural report to coincide with a study on how big-name advertisers are helping fund the virulent spread of unwanted software.The StopBadware.org coalition, funded by Google, has listed the Kazaa file-sharing application at the top of a list of noxious software programs that present a threat to business and consumer users.”
Internet Coalition Sets Up Anti-‘Badware’ Site
1/26/2006, Washington Post
“A group including Google Inc. and institutes at Harvard and Oxford universities plans to unveil a campaign today against spyware and other malicious computer programs that can steal personal information, snoop on your Web surfing and bombard you with pop-up ads.”
Google, Sun Backing New Anti-Malware Effort: Harvard, Oxford researchers aim to create Internet defensive strategies geared to consumers
1/26/2006, Technology Review
“[Cerf] added that ‘by cataloging as many of the known bad software cases and their means of infection, we may be able to assist operators and programmers to filter, inhibit, or even eliminate such software in a more automatic fashion.’”
Free website to list programs with spyware
1/26/2006, USAToday
“The coalition is encouraging consumers to visit the website to log their experiences with harmful programs. It will then use that information to compile reports on suspect programs, websites and companies that foist the software on consumers without getting their consent.”
Anti-spyware project helps users
1/25/2006, BBC
“Although the numbers of computer viruses are growing every day, many makers of malicious programs have started putting their energy into creating so-called spyware and adware programs. Some of these nuisances sneak on to PCs by exploiting loopholes in Microsoft Windows but many are simply bundled in with other programs that users do want to install. Also some unscrupulous companies produce fake programs that claim to help users get rid of spyware or block spam but which make sure they receive only ads and spam from the software maker’s partners. The project aims to make clear what users will get when they download and install software.”