ComScore: Spyware or 'researchware'?

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There are many spyware programs that

insert themselves into the IP protocol stack. Being a layered service provider, the spyware becomes a layer that, as you state, if removed improperly corrupts this stack. The good news is the IP protocol stack is fairly easy to rebuild and the method of rebuilding is readily available on MS's knowledge base.

Each version of Windows has a little diferrent procedure for the rebuild. And even though there is a command line utility in XP, I have yet to see it work properly. This leaves the manual (involving editing the registry) method the only sure fired way to fix the stack. Oddly enough, it is easier to use the manual method than the utility anyway. And the manual method is literally a 2 0r 3 minute job.

Spyware that hooks IE instead of the stack, on the other hand, can render XP unbootable if DLL's are not unregistered first. Repairing this problem is a much more formidable task. I have cleaned hundreds of machines and have had only three refuse to boot because I missed unregistering a dll. Fortunately, XP, unlike 2000, will repair this problem. But, you have to go through the process of re-installing. When XP sees a current install, it will offer to try to repair it instead of removing the first install or doing a parallel install as does 2000.

Of course if the removed software were legit, these issues should never be issues.

Posted by: bjbrock   Posted on: 12/20/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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