# Ad-Aware -- attackware? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2003, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925 "2003-04-02T08:41:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/1 "2003-04-02T08:41:56Z")
There’s this folder of programs on my computer called eAcceleration. It includes eAnthology and Stop-Sign. Recently Stop-Sign has been popping up to warn me that Ad-Aware is “attackware” and offers to get rid of it. It also says it’s finding viruses on my computer but only cites cookies which it says are “possible spyware cookies.” I had been recommended Ad-Aware by several Dopers here as a good antispyware device and had come to trust it. So when another program pops up offering to get rid of Ad-Aware, it made me suspicious. I ran Ad-Aware to see if this Stop-Sign thing was malicious, but no, it only rounded up the usual suspects (cookies). What is this all about? 😕 I didn’t download this eAcceleration stuff; my kids have been known to download stuff when I’m not around, even though time and again I have strenuously told them do NOT download anything without asking me first. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/2 "2003-04-02T08:48:57Z")
My guess is that eAcceleration is itself potential spyware and is trying to stop you deleting it by makign you nervous about your anti-spyware software. I have never heard anything bad about Ad-Aware. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/3 "2003-04-02T08:58:10Z")
Well, I was going to upgrade to Adaware 6.0 but the feedback section at [C|Net](http://download.com.com/3302-2144-10186632.html) gave it only a 70% positive review, with many of the negative comments saying chilling things like how it hoses your whole computer, etc…I’ve had no problems with the old version (5.82) but has anyone had trouble with the new version? That said, anything called “eAcceleration” is most likely spyware trying to trick you into uninstalling “enemy programs”, especially if it just showed up on your computer out of nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/4 "2003-04-02T08:58:50Z")
So you have a program installed on your computer. You didn’t install this program, don’t know what it does, never use it for anything, haven’t heard about it, and it’s telling you to get rid of your antispyware program? What are you waiting for? Get rid of it. eAccelerator, that is, not AdAware. ---
**Author:** ![jkusters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@jkusters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jkusters)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/5 "2003-04-02T08:59:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > **I ran Ad-Aware to see if this Stop-Sign thing was malicious, but no, it only rounded up the usual suspects (cookies).** There’s a chance that your ad-aware definitions file is out of date. If you go to the ad-aware site (danged if I know what it is, I drive a Mac), you can look for the most recent definitions file, download and/or install it. The eAccellerator might then pop up as spy-ware (or potential spy-ware). Of course, if you’ve already done this, um, never mind… 🙂 JOhn. ---
**Author:** ![ChalkPit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@ChalkPit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChalkPit)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/6 "2003-04-02T10:23:06Z")
**KGS** > [@](#): > > has anyone had trouble with the new version? I have had no trouble with AdAware 6.0 It is more user friendly than 5.82/5.83 and the reference files update more frequently than with the older versions. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/7 "2003-04-02T10:38:40Z")
This is almost certainly a lame counter-attack by the spyware community; it beggars belief to think that Lavasoft would have gone to so much trouble building up a solid reputation just to then get ‘attack-ware’ on your computer. The same trick has been tried by virus authors too; there was a spate of them a while back that would actively try ti disable AV software. If updating Ad-Aware doesn’t flag up your eAcceleration (a dead giveaway name for spyware, IMHO) et al, maybe you could report the fact to Lavasoft so that they can update their software to catch it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/8 "2003-04-02T10:43:17Z")
Here’s the url: [http://www.eacceleration.com/](http://www.eacceleration.com/) Despite their weasel words, if you go to the download page, it tries automatically to install Stop-Sign on your computer - don’t do this if your permissions are set too low. That’s a sure sign of unscrupulous spyware companies. ---
**Author:** ![Kjetil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc8723/32.png) [@Kjetil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kjetil)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/9 "2003-04-02T10:44:14Z")
Hmm… So, can the eAcceleration people be sued for slander, or whatever the business equivalent is called? ---
**Author:** ![Kjetil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc8723/32.png) [@Kjetil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kjetil)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/10 "2003-04-02T10:54:41Z")
[Pestpatrol](http://www.pestpatrol.com/PestInfo/D/DownloadReceiver.asp) [Also:](http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/24065) > [@](#): > > A company known as EAcceleration has been having one hell of a time in our Security forum. Their security product, dubbed “EAnthology” was so jam packed with spyware and assorted bad habits that it found itself listed for termination by most major spyware detection software. Through user feedback in [this thread](http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,4498348~root=security,1~mode=flat), the developers managed to correct some of the software’s problems, add multiple requested improvements, and have since been [removed](http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,5170969~root=security,1~mode=flat) from at least one spyware detection company’s offender lists (though the phrase “too little, too late” comes to mind). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/11 "2003-04-02T10:57:13Z")
Probably not. They have merely coined a new term ‘Attack-ware’, which, in view of the fact that it attempts to disable spyware, is actually not terribly inaccurate. A google search on “spyware eAcceleration” (without the quotes) turns up a number of anti-spyware sites; the consensus seems to be that eAcceleration is spyware. Add to this the fact that their home page burbles on and on about targeted marketing, I think the case is (as inspector Clouseau would say) clos-ed. ---
**Author:** ![Eurograff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Eurograff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eurograff)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/12 "2003-04-02T11:16:37Z")
Yep, eAccelerator is generally considered spyware, along with gator, xupiter and others. Apparently it was bundled with Audiogalaxy, which isn’t developed anymore (IIRC). I’d suggest updating your Ad-Aware 5.83 to 6.0, and don’t put too much weight on [download.com](http://download.com)’s user comments. They’re probably just angry with 6.0’s brand new WinXPish look, and many have also switched to Spybot S&D during last autumn when there were no upgrades from Lavasoft, and don’t want to turn back. By the way, this hostile behaviour against anti-spyware programs is nothing new: here’s info of the [famous Radlight incident (outdated now)](http://www.spywareinfo.com/newsletter/archives/april-2002/04222002.html). ---
**Author:** ![Kjetil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc8723/32.png) [@Kjetil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kjetil)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/13 "2003-04-02T11:25:47Z")
Just for the record… **Mangetout** , I think they might have tried to coin a new term, but a quick web and newsgroup search gives me the impression that it’s older (I don’t know how old eAccelerator is, but I haven’t heard of it before, and the oldest newsgroup post mentioning it was from 1997) and also it’s generally used on websites referring to DDoS attacks and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/14 "2003-04-02T11:28:49Z")
Thanks, everybody; I knew I smelled a rat! ---
**Author:** ![FranticMad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c68b51/32.png) [@FranticMad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FranticMad)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/15 "2003-04-02T11:53:02Z")
Adaware 6 works well on my machine. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/16 "2003-04-02T13:39:09Z")
Ad-Aware is OK but falling behind the times, the free version is getting more limited. Look into ‘Spybot search and destroy’. Much more powerful and much better. And that was my opinion (humble or not). ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/17 "2003-04-02T17:08:12Z")
As a bit of a hijack ('though it looks like the OP has been answered, so I don’t feel too guilty), why the hell isn’t Spyware illegal? I mean, it hijacks your computer for the author’s purpose. Although they claim that the user agreed to have it installed, it’s been my experience that they try to sneak it in surreptitiously. We have to have a separate program just to GET RID of the spyware. In what way is this different from a trojan? Just 'cause it’s got a corporation backing it? Because it (arguably) performs a service (even if you didn’t ask for it)? For that matter, why don’t AV programs target spyware? ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/18 "2003-04-02T17:12:33Z")
Spybot is freeware, but please make some contribution as it helps keep them going. I hope the MODS do not think of this as spamming, but these folk have turned out a good program, with all features enabled and you make a voluntary contribution. I like to encourage them. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/19 "2003-04-02T17:14:57Z")
Becaue, in almost every case, you expressly permitted the installation of the software. Those click-through legal releases that nobody reads? Read 'em. Of course, there are a few that fail to include this in their small print, but most do. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925/20 "2003-04-02T17:27:28Z")
I agree with the consensus here, but I’ll just add one minor point that might help with the OP. If you have an anti-virus program, and you install another, each will regard the other as a virus. This can cause vicious problems and conflicts, and the problem is not as widely known as it should be. Lots of people, when they have their first serious virus problem, download or install some anti-v software, find that maybe it doesn’t completely solve the problem… and so then they go and install a different anti-v package, unaware that they are making things worse, not better. You ALWAYS have to delete one before you install another. It just MAY be the case that anti-ad and anti-spy software works the same way - put two on the same machine and they reach regard the other as the problem. So there’s not necessarily any problem with either software package as such, it’s just that they can’t co-exist. But that’s just a minor point. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ad-aware-attackware/165925.md?page=2)