Serious problem with v 1.5

[xylem]

Spybot has worked flawlesly on my computer for several years. However when I updated to v1.5 I began having problems.

The most serious is that my ISP Homepage (comcast.net) will no longer load correctly. It will not load news or advertising feeds, and does not recognize me, so I cannot access my accounts like voicemail, etc. For a month I blamed Comcast, and indeed their forum is full of similar complaints. Comcast seems to blame Zonealarm, but I found that when I uninstalled Spybot my computer began working correctly again. I uninstalled and re-installed several times to rtest this; spybot is indeed the cause.

Now, I had D/L'd spybot and installed it. But when I tried to 'update' the files the program would always freeze at some point ("spybot not responding") and I would have to close it. When I started it again, it would show that the updates had loaded but then the problems started. It seems to have something to do with the update, I think. Also for some reason Spybot would start up my floppy drive briefly.

Unfortunately, to get to my homepage, I had to finally just uninstall Spybot.

I have always liked spybot and would like to be able to use it again. Can anyone tell me a way around this? Is this a known issue? Is there a new update coming out?

thanks....

[md usa spybot fan]

xylem:

If you activated Spybot's Resident SDHelper Browser Helper Object (BHO) during the installation and are using Internet Explorer, check the "SDHelper.log" to make sure that nothing was/is being blocked while attempting to access the various sites you are have problems with.

There a couple of ways to access the "SDHelper.log":
Go into Spybot > Mode > Advanced mode > Tools > View Reports > View Previous reports. Select the "SDHelper.log" file and open it.
Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the SDHelper.log file located in one of the following directories:
Windows 95 or 98:
C:\Windows\Application Data\Spybot - Search & Destroy\Logs
Windows ME:
C:\Windows\All Users\Application Data\Spybot - Search & Destroy\Logs
Windows NT, 2000 or XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Spybot - Search & Destroy\Logs
Windows Vista:
C:\ProgramData\Spybot - Search & Destroy\Logs
Double click on SDHelper.log file and it should open with Notepad.

[xylem]

Thanks MD,

First I have to say that this exercise tests the limits of my computer literacy, so bear with me.

The log file references activity since Jan1 (even though I have uninstalled a couple of times and cleaned the registry with CCleaner). There is a lot of activity because I often kept 'refreshing' the page to see if I could get it to load (and sometimnes it did- apparently depending on which ads were loading).

I didn't recognize the sites, and the names & info were exceptionally long. Occasionally within them they contained the name of my ISP (Comcast). The one appearing most commonly was Yieldmanager.com; whether the is 'malicious' or not I don't know, but apparently Comcast uses it for something.

Anyway I 'unchecked' Resident SD Helper in Tools > resident. Now I am able to get onto the homepage which recognizes me and has news feeds, etc. However, the Ads, which normally appear in specific places on the page (and other Comcast pages), are now blocked. fine- I can live without them.

Apparently then I should not use SD Helper? And I'm curous; what is malicious about these ads and why would Comcast allow them?


thanks again....

[xylem]

Tried to edit previous post but wasn't fast enough....

Wanted to add that I have re-installed v1.52 which I found in some thread on this forum.

And still wonder why news and other Comcast specific things like my screenname and their Assistant function would be malicious? Should I be concerned about Comcast? or Spybot?

[elbrute]

xylem;

I think that when SpyBot's Resident SD Helper interacts with Comcasts' pages, it prevents them from finishing loading. As a result some of the page doesn't work, and you don't get logged in properly (or not at all).
It most likely has something to do with the way they load up the pages.
Never have liked their 'ads first, customer content last' attitude.

I don't know that much about BHO's though, so I could be wrong.
Maybe the guys on SpyBots development team could find out.

Dave

[md usa spybot fan]

xylem:


Apparently then I should not use SD Helper?
There is a way to use "SDHelper" and still allow those things that specially prevent you from accessing Comcast.

To stop "SDHelper" from automatically blocking the things affecting Comcast, with "SDHelper" enabled go into Internet Explorer > Tools > select "Spybot – Search Destroy Configuration" > then in the "Spybot-S&D - Configuration" window in the "Settings" tab under "When encountering bad things" there are three options:
options:
Block all pages silently
Display dialog when blocking
Ask for blocking confirmation
Select "Ask for blocking confirmation" and click "OK".

When you encounter a URL that would ordinarily just be blocked in "Block all pages silently" mode, Spybot will issue a "Spybot-S&D Bad URL Blocker" dialog. The dialog allows you to either "Allow" or "Deny" the access and also to select among the following options:
Ask me again next time
Remember for this session
Always react this way
When you encounter a "Spybot-S&D Bad URL Blocker" dialog about a blocked URL affecting Comcast, select "Always react this way" and then "Allow" the access. If you encounter other potential blocked accesses other than those affecting you Comcast access, "Deny" them.


… I'm curous; what is malicious about these ads and why would Comcast allow them?
I don't have Comcast so I really don't how or why these advertisements are being delivered to you.

Firstly, I will state that any unsolicited advertisements are considered malware. Secondly, the collection of information from or about you when you access the internet is also considered a form of malware especially if that information is shared with third parties.

On the first point:

If Comcast as your ISP is delivering unsolicited advertisements just to access the internet or receive your email, then you are not getting what you are paying for. In that case they would be supplementing their income at your expense by delivering unsolicited advertisements. Case in point (if my memory serves me correctly), NetZero when it originally offered internet service was free because it was entirely supported by advertisements they delivered to the customers. A better example (again if my memory serves me correctly) might be AT&T initial offering of ISP service. It was something like $5/month if you chose the option to allow advertisements and $13/month if you opted not to allow advertisements.

On the other hand, if you are using strictly advertisement supported add-on services that Comcast offers and they disclosed the fact that because you are using those services, you will be subjected to those advertisements, than they may be justified.

On the second point:

Yield Manager (Right Media) collects information from/about you and this can also be considered a form of malware. See:
Privacy Policy for the Yield Manager Website
http://content.yieldmanager.com/privacy.html
I can only assume that is why that "SDHelper" is blocking Yield Manager.

[elbrute]

@ md usa spybot fan

I have v 1.4.0.3 running with SDHelper active. 1/23/2008 detections loaded.
I have no problem with Comcast's portal pages.
When I ran v 1.5.x.x with the same settings, It interfered.
Is there something different with the SDHelper between the two versions?

Also, the people on the Comcast forums have been complaining about the ads for some time now. I don't think it'll do any good though.

Dave

[xylem]

md usa spybot fan,

Thanks for taking the time to provide an exhaustive explanation; more help than I've gotten from any forum before.

On your advice I have explored the method you suggest and I will use it. Before doing so, however, I turned SD helper back on and found, by repeated loading of the Comcast Hoempage, that it was blocked most of the time but not always. It seems to depend on the ad in one prominent part of the page. The ad is randomized, and if it is a Comcast specific ad (like the Fan, Comcast Dating or Comcast Jobs) then it (and the other functions) loaded fine, but other kinds of ads (perhaps malicious-yieldmanager types) caused SD to stop the loading entirely. So Spybot is doing it's job and I appreciate you explaining it to me.

I pay Comcast Big Bucks for their service but they don't seem to care (as elbrute said), and lambaste me with ads. And also interested in spying on my browsing habits :sad:

--
Elbrute,

I, too, have used previous versions of SB S&D without problems, and wonder what changed. However, it's clear that the onus is on Comcast for this one, and I doubt that they will resolve it also.

Thanks to both of you,
Cheers...

[md usa spybot fan]

I have v 1.4.0.3 running with SDHelper active. 1/23/2008 detections loaded.
I have no problem with Comcast's portal pages.
When I ran v 1.5.x.x with the same settings, It interfered.
Is there something different with the SDHelper between the two versions?

I, too, have used previous versions of SB S&D without problems, and wonder what changed.
I believe that the primary purpose of SDHelper in both Spybot 1.3 and 1.4 was to block the storing of third party cookies from advertizing sites. SDHelper in Spybot 1.5 appears to block the URLs of the advertizing sites themselves so that not only are the third party cookies blocked but the advertisements themselves are blocked.