There is a progam called Gator which has been making its rounds on the Net. It usually comes with other programs, such as WeatherBug. Gator seems harmless enough, but has been causing problems for some. Here’s what my employer has to say about Gator (bolding mine):
Everyone reading this might want to check their computer for Gator and remove it.
Yeah, Gator’s a POS. It’s marketed as a password reminder utility-you fill in all your email accounts with UN and PW, and it’ll “remember” them for you. I don’t think I have to tell anyone how dangerous this is. I mean, remembering and changing passwords is a PITA, but I’d rather have that than my machine used in a DOS attack.
I use Ad-aware to scan for stuff like this. Window Washer is also another good utility, but can be unstable, esp. in an ME environment.
Just in case some haven’t seen this yet. Although this would be more of a problem for those with a cable modem or some other direct Internet connection, I don’t think anyone would want to be involved in a denial of service scheme.