Most spyware you've ever seen on one machine - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Holo · 12-18-2003, 07:33 AM

I recently helped a neighbor clean out an old PC she got from her niece that's in college and decided to run Spybot on it. It was an old 166Mhz and it was really crawling bad. I soon found out why. Spybot came back with over 5000 entries! It had to reboot and start before windows loaded to fix it all. It was almost a museum of spyware...every piece of spyware I've ever heard of was there and other's I'd never seen.

Ever found a lot of spyware on a friend's or relative's PC? Did you try and teach them to avoid it? And did they listen?

The_Dude · 12-18-2003, 02:12 PM

LOL! that sure is a lot.

i dont think i've ever topped a 100 on mine. (with ad aware that is).

i'm not that big a fan of spybot.

sailor · 12-18-2003, 02:21 PM

My brother tends to install a lot of crap on his machine. I havent ever found that much before though...

flamingpeach · 12-18-2003, 02:33 PM

The first time I ever ran ad aware i got 250 entries.

I run it on a regular basis now, and only ever get one or two.

soccerchamp76 · 12-18-2003, 02:37 PM

First time with Ad-aware I had a little over 200

d4in · 12-18-2003, 03:26 PM

just cleaned a customer's machine with ad-aware and it had 1088, but my personal record is 1892 with ad-aware and after running it, ran spybot to find another 453. Best bet is to use them in tandem because it seems like one by itself doesn't ever do the full job.

Zello · 12-18-2003, 04:06 PM

I don't remember exactly which computer had the most. However, on campus out of the 10-15 computers I have cleaned up. One computer ran so slow that after I managed to get internet explorer up, there would be endless popups pointing to www.thehun.net. If I tried to close them, it would eventually prompt windows to close the process which would take out all of the internet explorer windows.

I dont think this computer had quite as many as 5,000!!

It was such a pain just getting to the spybot search & destroy website to download it. From now on im just going to have a CD with the programs I need.

Dilbert1234567 · 12-18-2003, 04:25 PM

9000 on my moms old system

Dustallica · 12-18-2003, 04:35 PM

I cleaned one of my co-workers laptops...he had about 170+.

Blistex · 12-18-2003, 07:05 PM

A friend of mine is still in the process of messing up a machine he had laying around.

It's a PIII 450 running Win Me and he's got no updates or protection software enabled. He surfs to warez and porn sites and always hits "OK" to everything that pops up. He's been doing this for over a month and we've started a pool on how many bugs and such that adaware will find.

He's gonna run adaware on X-Mas Eve and the closest to the magic number gets the pot! It's currently at $300.

Hrothgar · 12-18-2003, 10:45 PM

The most I've ever found on any ones computer I've been cleaning up is 180+.

arch13 · 12-19-2003, 12:19 AM

512 on college owned machine was the worst i ever saw in person. I've heard horror stories though

BulletCatcher · 12-19-2003, 04:36 AM

One of the computers where I work had 4437 a couple of weeks ago. You can check out the fun I had removing it in THIS thread.

txd · 12-19-2003, 05:53 AM

I believe the first time I ran adaware I hade about 19 most of which were cookies, I have run it on a friends computer and seen about 250

Nefir · 12-19-2003, 06:01 AM

I have observed that the most spyware-ridden demographic is the married middle-aged female, with children.

Seriously, ladies, just because there's a man in the house to fix things for you, why not take that empowering step and NOT open that email attachment guaranteed to prevent your account from expiring? I know your husband might not be all that he once was, but thats no reason to click on links offering penis enlargement. Bonzi buddy is NOT cute - he is a menace and threat to humanity, so treat him as such. You do not need Gator to remember passwords, unless you are suffering from alzheimers, in which case I know a place where you can live out your life comfortably in the care of professionals.

Now then, this one particular woman had at least 5 different resident malicious programs running in the background, her browser was a spyware-ridden mess, she had Bonzi Buddy, Gator, Xupiter, and a couple of other major annoyances that I haven't heard of before. AdAware also detected several thousand tracking files. What is it about people that makes them so gullible?

NbCal · 12-19-2003, 07:24 PM

582 is the most I have seen, from my sisters computer. Most I have had on my computer was about 20 the first time I downloaded and ran ad-aware.

edit: yep my sister also had bonzi, gator, and xupiter on her computer also.

bltzkriegmcanon · 12-19-2003, 08:38 PM

I just ran that proggie on my pc, about 600, and i've been running ad-aware only for about a year and a half, never thought it missed that much stuff.

Krycheck · 12-19-2003, 08:43 PM

396 as seen here: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...986#post848986

I guess now I don't feel so bad

bltzkriegmcanon · 12-19-2003, 08:45 PM

jeebus, that's a bunch

punx1325 · 12-19-2003, 10:29 PM

481 was the most I have ever seen.

Ogre840 · 12-20-2003, 01:52 AM

once i had a few hundred with adaware... then i got spybot.. and still didnt get rid of it all (fucking grokster... fucking people telling me it was a good program)

both of those programs, plus shutting down all the autorun spyware progs from starting didnt stop them.

i finally had to reinstall windows... this was just a little while ago...

then... at work i ran adaware only on a computer... had 900 some spyware files on it... it was sad... try doing layout on that machine! and photoediting... and word processing... at the same time. all before deadline.

yodapaul · 12-20-2003, 12:01 PM

I once got a call from a client, There computer was opening porn windows and they couldn't get the windows to close. I went over and found 56 different windows open.

So I ended the IE process(it is xp) and ran adaware I found about 3000 entries. Then I ran a Anti-Virus and found 130,000 infected files. After getting all that cleaned up, I ran adaware again and found another 2000 spyware files.

That was a long day.

muckluck · 12-20-2003, 02:40 PM

I had 400 on my desktop.Not much compared to some of you, but still quite a bit. I hate spyware

nash · 12-22-2003, 03:02 PM

After four months of usage, Spybot S&D detected 1 (Alexa) on my laptop!

God of Thunder · 12-23-2003, 06:02 AM

Over 5000!!!!!!

You win. The most I have ever come across was about 600. I ended up re-formating the damn thing and starting over.

After a lengthy lecture, my friends cousin promised to never download Bonzi-buddy, gator and all that other crap and I promised to not charge him for my time.

BoCo · 12-23-2003, 06:48 AM

It's a shame that most computer users are never even told about spyware or how to remove it. Everytime someone at work asks me about computer problems (usually because their system is running way too slow lately) I turn them on to Ad-Aware, and evertime they tell me they came back with a few hundred spyware files.

I wouldn't want MS to try to make its own spyware program, but I wish they'd make a deal with Lavasoft to include it with Windows.

Viking1064 · 12-23-2003, 07:36 AM

BoCo, that is a great idea. Maybe you should notify Microsoft about your idea.

yournamehere · 01-02-2004, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by yodapaul
I once got a call from a client, There computer was opening porn windows and they couldn't get the windows to close. I went over and found 56 different windows open.

So I ended the IE process(it is xp) and ran adaware I found about 3000 entries. Then I ran a Anti-Virus and found 130,000 infected files. After getting all that cleaned up, I ran adaware again and found another 2000 spyware files.

That was a long day.

So who lost their job over that one?

sixate · 01-02-2004, 12:44 PM

I recently had to reformat a friend's PC. He fucked it all up. Anyway, I ran Spybot first, and came up with over 2700. Then Ad-aware still came up with over 250. Plus his PC had a virus(s), and he had no virus protection on his PC. So to teach him a lesson I reformatted without backing anything up. He lost about 45 gigs of MP3's and porn.

soccerchamp76 · 01-02-2004, 01:36 PM

That will teach you to take care of your PC. You learn fast when all of your precious data (MP3s, videos, documents, etc) is erased.

12-18-2003, 07:33 AM	#1 (permalink)
Holo A Real American	Most spyware you've ever seen on one machine I recently helped a neighbor clean out an old PC she got from her niece that's in college and decided to run Spybot on it. It was an old 166Mhz and it was really crawling bad. I soon found out why. Spybot came back with over 5000 entries! It had to reboot and start before windows loaded to fix it all. It was almost a museum of spyware...every piece of spyware I've ever heard of was there and other's I'd never seen. Ever found a lot of spyware on a friend's or relative's PC? Did you try and teach them to avoid it? And did they listen? __________________ I happen to like the words "fuck", "cock", "pussy", "tits", "cunt", "twat", "shit" and even "bitch". As long as I am not using them to describe you, don't go telling me whether or not I can/should use them...that is, if you want me to continue refraining from using them to describe you. ~Prince

12-18-2003, 02:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
The_Dude The GrandDaddy of them all! Location: Austin, TX	LOL! that sure is a lot. i dont think i've ever topped a 100 on mine. (with ad aware that is). i'm not that big a fan of spybot. __________________ "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Darrel K Royal

12-18-2003, 02:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
sailor beauty in the breakdown Location: Chapel Hill, NC	My brother tends to install a lot of crap on his machine. I havent ever found that much before though... __________________ "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." --Plato

12-18-2003, 02:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
flamingpeach hip mama Location: redmond, washington	The first time I ever ran ad aware i got 250 entries. I run it on a regular basis now, and only ever get one or two. __________________ I've eaten my veggies all my life so bring it on, I am educated and strong for the revolution.

12-18-2003, 02:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
soccerchamp76 Go Cardinals Location: St. Louis/Cincinnati	First time with Ad-aware I had a little over 200 __________________ Brian Griffin: Ah, if my memory serves me, this is the physics department. Chris Griffin: That would explain all the gravity.

12-18-2003, 03:26 PM	#6 (permalink)
d4in Computer Nerd Location: Bishop, TX	just cleaned a customer's machine with ad-aware and it had 1088, but my personal record is 1892 with ad-aware and after running it, ran spybot to find another 453. Best bet is to use them in tandem because it seems like one by itself doesn't ever do the full job. __________________ I am not a vegetarian because I love animals; I am a vegetarian because I hate plants. -- A. Whitney Brown

12-18-2003, 04:06 PM	#7 (permalink)
Zello Crazy Location: Vincennes, IN	I don't remember exactly which computer had the most. However, on campus out of the 10-15 computers I have cleaned up. One computer ran so slow that after I managed to get internet explorer up, there would be endless popups pointing to www.thehun.net. If I tried to close them, it would eventually prompt windows to close the process which would take out all of the internet explorer windows. I dont think this computer had quite as many as 5,000!! It was such a pain just getting to the spybot search & destroy website to download it. From now on im just going to have a CD with the programs I need. __________________ Sorry, you can not add yourself to your own list.

12-18-2003, 04:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
Dilbert1234567 Devils Cabana Boy Location: Central Coast CA	9000 on my moms old system __________________ Donate Blood! "Love is not finding the perfect person, but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." -Sam Keen

12-18-2003, 04:35 PM	#9 (permalink)
Dustallica Crazy	I cleaned one of my co-workers laptops...he had about 170+.

12-18-2003, 07:05 PM	#10 (permalink)
Blistex Psycho Location: Tiger I Turret	A friend of mine is still in the process of messing up a machine he had laying around. It's a PIII 450 running Win Me and he's got no updates or protection software enabled. He surfs to warez and porn sites and always hits "OK" to everything that pops up. He's been doing this for over a month and we've started a pool on how many bugs and such that adaware will find. He's gonna run adaware on X-Mas Eve and the closest to the magic number gets the pot! It's currently at $300.

12-18-2003, 10:45 PM	#11 (permalink)
Hrothgar He's My Girl Location: The Champagne Douche	The most I've ever found on any ones computer I've been cleaning up is 180+. __________________ The fortunes of war favored Hrothgar.

12-19-2003, 12:19 AM	#12 (permalink)
arch13 Loves my girl in thongs Location: North of Mexico, South of Canada	512 on college owned machine was the worst i ever saw in person. I've heard horror stories though __________________ Seen on an employer evaluation: "The wheel is turning but the hamsters dead" ____________________________ Is arch13 really a porn diety ? find out after the film at 11. -Nanofever

12-19-2003, 04:36 AM	#13 (permalink)
BulletCatcher Crazy Location: America's Outback	One of the computers where I work had 4437 a couple of weeks ago. You can check out the fun I had removing it in THIS thread.

12-19-2003, 05:53 AM	#14 (permalink)
txd Addict	I believe the first time I ran adaware I hade about 19 most of which were cookies, I have run it on a friends computer and seen about 250

12-19-2003, 06:01 AM	#15 (permalink)
Nefir Junkie Location: Louisville, KY	I have observed that the most spyware-ridden demographic is the married middle-aged female, with children. Seriously, ladies, just because there's a man in the house to fix things for you, why not take that empowering step and NOT open that email attachment guaranteed to prevent your account from expiring? I know your husband might not be all that he once was, but thats no reason to click on links offering penis enlargement. Bonzi buddy is NOT cute - he is a menace and threat to humanity, so treat him as such. You do not need Gator to remember passwords, unless you are suffering from alzheimers, in which case I know a place where you can live out your life comfortably in the care of professionals. Now then, this one particular woman had at least 5 different resident malicious programs running in the background, her browser was a spyware-ridden mess, she had Bonzi Buddy, Gator, Xupiter, and a couple of other major annoyances that I haven't heard of before. AdAware also detected several thousand tracking files. What is it about people that makes them so gullible? __________________ You do not use a Macintosh, instead you use a Tandy Kompressor break your glowstick, Kompressor eat your candy Kompressor open jaws, Kompressor release ants Kompressor watch you scream, Because Kompressor does not dance

12-19-2003, 08:45 PM	#19 (permalink)
bltzkriegmcanon Holy Knight of The Alliance Location: Stormwind, The Eastern Kingdoms, Azeroth	jeebus, that's a bunch __________________ What do you say to one last showdown? - Ocelot, Metal Gear Solid 3 The password is "Who are the Patriots?" and "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo." "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo." Gotcha. - The Colonel and Snake, Metal Gear Solid 3

12-19-2003, 07:24 PM	#16 (permalink)
NbCal Tilted Location: Newport Beach, CA	582 is the most I have seen, from my sisters computer. Most I have had on my computer was about 20 the first time I downloaded and ran ad-aware. edit: yep my sister also had bonzi, gator, and xupiter on her computer also. Last edited by NbCal; 12-19-2003 at 07:26 PM..

12-19-2003, 08:38 PM	#17 (permalink)
bltzkriegmcanon Holy Knight of The Alliance Location: Stormwind, The Eastern Kingdoms, Azeroth	I just ran that proggie on my pc, about 600, and i've been running ad-aware only for about a year and a half, never thought it missed that much stuff. __________________ What do you say to one last showdown? - Ocelot, Metal Gear Solid 3 The password is "Who are the Patriots?" and "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo." "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo." Gotcha. - The Colonel and Snake, Metal Gear Solid 3

12-19-2003, 08:43 PM	#18 (permalink)
Krycheck Sultana ruined my evil persona Location: Los Angeles	396 as seen here: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...986#post848986 I guess now I don't feel so bad __________________ His pants are tight...but his morals are loose!!

12-19-2003, 10:29 PM	#20 (permalink)
punx1325 Junkie Location: San Diego	481 was the most I have ever seen. __________________ If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is....

12-20-2003, 01:52 AM	#21 (permalink)
Ogre840 Banned Location: OlyWa	once i had a few hundred with adaware... then i got spybot.. and still didnt get rid of it all (fucking grokster... fucking people telling me it was a good program) both of those programs, plus shutting down all the autorun spyware progs from starting didnt stop them. i finally had to reinstall windows... this was just a little while ago... then... at work i ran adaware only on a computer... had 900 some spyware files on it... it was sad... try doing layout on that machine! and photoediting... and word processing... at the same time. all before deadline.

12-20-2003, 12:01 PM	#22 (permalink)
yodapaul Insane Location: MN	I once got a call from a client, There computer was opening porn windows and they couldn't get the windows to close. I went over and found 56 different windows open. So I ended the IE process(it is xp) and ran adaware I found about 3000 entries. Then I ran a Anti-Virus and found 130,000 infected files. After getting all that cleaned up, I ran adaware again and found another 2000 spyware files. That was a long day. __________________ I'm Just here to help. Now, Where is your problem?

12-20-2003, 02:40 PM	#23 (permalink)
muckluck Psycho	I had 400 on my desktop.Not much compared to some of you, but still quite a bit. I hate spyware __________________

12-22-2003, 03:02 PM	#24 (permalink)
nash Psycho	After four months of usage, Spybot S&D detected 1 (Alexa) on my laptop!

12-23-2003, 06:02 AM	#25 (permalink)
God of Thunder Talk nerdy to me Location: Flint, MI	Over 5000!!!!!! You win. The most I have ever come across was about 600. I ended up re-formating the damn thing and starting over. After a lengthy lecture, my friends cousin promised to never download Bonzi-buddy, gator and all that other crap and I promised to not charge him for my time. __________________ I reject your reality, and substitute my own -- Adam Savage

12-23-2003, 06:48 AM	#26 (permalink)
BoCo Fear the bunny Location: Hanging off the tip of the Right Wing	It's a shame that most computer users are never even told about spyware or how to remove it. Everytime someone at work asks me about computer problems (usually because their system is running way too slow lately) I turn them on to Ad-Aware, and evertime they tell me they came back with a few hundred spyware files. I wouldn't want MS to try to make its own spyware program, but I wish they'd make a deal with Lavasoft to include it with Windows. __________________ Activism is a way for useless people to feel important.

12-23-2003, 07:36 AM	#27 (permalink)
Viking1064 Insane Location: New Jersey	BoCo, that is a great idea. Maybe you should notify Microsoft about your idea.

01-02-2004, 12:44 PM	#29 (permalink)
sixate Registered User Location: Somewhere in Ohio	I recently had to reformat a friend's PC. He fucked it all up. Anyway, I ran Spybot first, and came up with over 2700. Then Ad-aware still came up with over 250. Plus his PC had a virus(s), and he had no virus protection on his PC. So to teach him a lesson I reformatted without backing anything up. He lost about 45 gigs of MP3's and porn.

01-02-2004, 01:36 PM	#30 (permalink)
soccerchamp76 Go Cardinals Location: St. Louis/Cincinnati	That will teach you to take care of your PC. You learn fast when all of your precious data (MP3s, videos, documents, etc) is erased. __________________ Brian Griffin: Ah, if my memory serves me, this is the physics department. Chris Griffin: That would explain all the gravity.