Latwest Update: Scan results FP?

[sandybeach]

Ran full scan running Update from May 06th/09
and for the first time EVER (many years) S&D results showed:
Problem Type: (ONLY)Bookmarks Location: Mozilla (Both Users)
Total found 168 Bookmarks (Gold star at end of each detection).

Findings were about spread equally between each of 2 users bookmarks &
EVERY single one was for a Known Safe & Trusted Site!!

Examples:
HP Customer service, Avira .com, AVG, Spybot (home), cnet.com,
Malwarebytes, Trend Micro, McAfee, virustotal.com, Jotti.org, Hoaxslayer etc.etc I have 1,153 Bookmarks!!! Other User about 100. Suffice to say I have no intention of dumping these bookmarks (vast majority do not have cookie privileges on this machine). Unfortunately, I was offered NO choices so I just shut down S&D without fixing.

I believe either 1) these are False Positives or
2) S&D is congratulating me for having such nice bookmarks ....with a "gold star" for each!!! LOL!

I'm not sure that machine/OS/SD version info would be of big help.
Am I only one ? New idea to put "something" on the right where it say click for more info on the start scan screen where there never has been tips or anything else? Thanks, Sandy

[Buster]

Hello Sandy,

which Spybot-S&D version do you use? I guess you are still using 1.4 or older. Please download the latest version here:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html

best,
Buster!

[sandybeach]

1.6.0 & only accepting updates that don't involve Tea Timer or SD Helper.
I have had weeks of trouble every time I tried to RE&RE to 162 including total loss of User profiles , hangs, etc. I finally managed to get 1.60 to stick
after several tries using complete un-install methods (Adv. settings)& reg fix several times.

The only version (from 1.4, 1.5, various, 1.60, 1.62) that never caused a single problem was 1.4!!!

The 160 works ok but ONLY IF I don't take updates to TT & SD Helper.
Accepting those updates causes hangs, crashes & monsters being awoken in OS
(which is probably the main problem as XP SP1) w/Sea Monkey1.42. I still use TT but don't use IE at All but do Immunize at each update. This has functioned fairly well 'til this
bookmark story which has NEVER shown before & apparently is not just me.
Hoping it'll get fixed in next update.

I mostly posted just to get confirmation that it's a FP & that others also got this. Thanks for your time in posting back! Sandy

[bitman]

Sandy,

Though I see you've upgraded your SeaMonkey since last year, I notice you are still running on Windows XP SP1, which is no longer suported by Microsoft. As of late last year you also had several other core security and other applications out of date.

http://forums.spybot.info/showthread...936#post239936

Is there a reason you have avoided updating Windows to at least Service Pack 2 or prefferably SP 3? If you've had problems with these upgrades, and by your mention here of OS hangs and crashes I'm guessing you might, then the Spybot version is the least of your problems.

As I stated back in October, if you continue to operate on an outdated OS and security applications you are guaranteed to have issues with your PC. If you are having difficulty upgrading the OS then that MUST be fixed first to allow anything else to be stable.

Bitman

[sandybeach]

recall that advice which continue to ignore at my peril. Actually, my SP1
is very stable despite the dozens of chosen patches I've applied but I am running out of (particularly) security programs that still support it. Even the last Java for this set up is at life's end. Hello, Ubuntu!!

AVG & Adaware both lost me for this reason but seeing how many SP2 & SP3 folks are having troubles with those (as well as the SPs & IE7 & 8), it may be a blessing in disguise. I DO have 2 SP2 laptops available as need be(XP & Vista) and swear that they're are several 100's more holes & patches for them than my desktop. No one is even writing malware for this old OS. 2nd Blessing.

If you're suggesting I should dump S&D for this same reason...sadly...so be it.
I still wish I had my 98 SE still. That was even more secure.

Strangely, my daughter, who has 4 users (2 under 10 yr old kids) & has NEVER applied 1 single patch to her SP1, only totaled 3 minor attacks for the full year 2008!! Each cleared in less than 1/2 hour. I spend more than that just updating every week!!! LOL!

I do suppose we'll both be divorcing S&D soon w/ much regret for Spybot has been my MOST trusted companion on the web.

[bitman]

Actually, there are several times more known exploits for the unsupported Windows XP SP1 platform, since its missing many of the patches that have never been supplied for it in the last few years. End of support by Microsoft means no more critical updates, which is why you have less patches, but many of the holes still exist.

Though some of the newer malware may have moved on to new vulnerabilities discovered in later service packs, you can't be certain which of these also existed in the earlier SP versions since these are no longer tested or confirmed. let alone patched.

Unfortunately you've learned a completely invalid method of protection, while the proven method is to keep the system patched with OS and application updates. Your daughter's experience is pure chance and is not likely to be maintained as the children age and begin to explore further, I've seen this myself having watched two boys grow through their teens.

You are taking an extremely dangerous path, which the issues you're having with any current software shows clearly. The fact that protection software will not run in a stable manner simply means you don't have protection, it doesn't stop any malware from executing and in fact just leaves more entry points for old and current malware to exploit.

Bitman

[sandybeach]

to Team Spybot for fixing the FP (Bookmarks) from the last update to fixed in the may 13th/09 update. Got my normal No Threats on next scan.