Spyware/Adware in Schools

[mrtechsystems]

This is my first Post is go easy

I was wondering how schools are battling againist Spyware/Adware on workstations now and what product do there use on a enterprise scale



Senior Tech 8)

[Dos_Box]

I go with Microsofts Anti-Spyware, with talk of active directoy integration it does exactly what you want. We looked into it as an LEA and it got to be hideously expensive to buy in a corporate solution. Like anti-spam, the industry has you over a barrel.

[RobC]

Spyware is the curse of my network, and if I get hold of the guy that wrote CoolWebSearch, I am going to subject him to the longest, most painful & most humiliating fate imaginable.

Unfortunately, the way our service is run, I'm stuck with running Ad-Aware from a network share. Tried running Spybot S&D, but it choked on the amount of crap being found.

[tarquel]

I install Spywareblaster and Spybot on them all.

Although the "Immunize" bit will (in XP) only give you protection for the local machine settings i.e. if another user logs on, they need to immunize also, etc., I haven't had any real trouble with spyware.

That being said, we do have our internet feed from the county feed which (at last fair play hehe) now recognises Spyware and blocks certain websites - not that it is fool proof by any means

One not to install is the MS AntiSpyware Beta if you are using GP on your Domain as it will pop up stuff all the time - keeps thinking everything is spyware or asking the user what to do..... definately not as god intended there lol

---
EDIT:
link to my private site where you can currently get various repacked apps from if in my sig - if user/pass if leaked, they will be changed. Pls no posting of it elsewhere. Cheers.
---


Regards,
N.

[Dos_Box]

Non of us here in Lancashire seems to have that big a problem with spywear (or am I just being naive?). But we have been discussing it between ourselves for some time now and we have all pretty much got it nailed down.

[Geoff]

The problem with spyware is that you don't know you've got a problem unless you specifically go and look for it with some specialist scanner. Its designed to hide itself and collect information on the machines usage patterns and popup adverts.

At CarrHill the average machine seems to get 10 or 20 bits on it. We've had a few tragic cases with teachers laptops though with hundreds of things on them.

Omce the local proxy goes live (Squid + dansguardian + smartfiler + squidguard + clamAV + Sophos ) I'll be scrubbing a lot more rubbish out before it even reaches the desktop.

[KeithFermor]

I have Ad-Aware, Spybot S&D (don't you just love the 'search AND destroy'!) and use HiJackThis to check for loaded registry items. Carry them all on ma faithful data stick for those times when nothing else will do...

Alongside these annoying little spyware, malware droids are the delivery agents; trojan horses et al. As long as our Sophos AV is maintained and distributed frequently, with a check & delete config, then the entry points are reduced.

Finally, its not just the sllooowwww down of systems thats bugging, its those little side effects that interefere with daily computer activity and are caused by (or appear to be as they disappear after cleansing) background installed spylets.

The fireaxe is always on hand for those finer techy moments!

[Geoff]

My favorite is a dialup hijackers on teachers laptops. We've had no end of fun with those.

[Dos_Box]

It really does make you wonder just where on the net they go when they are at home doesn't it?
I've always resisted the temptation to look at the history logs when reparing leporetic teachers laptops.

[Geoff]

Seems I stop having problems with the laptop once the owner gets their quarterly phone bill.

[Mungo]

We run a central McAfee (Network Associates) EPO server for all our schools. Certainly in the last 4 months McAfee have pulled their finger out in respect of spyware (v8). Licences for the county (4000 seats) worked out at just under £5 per seat per annum (been running it since 4.5.1) But there are added advantages to it also.

Had a school wanting to be rid of MSNMessenger from their school (installed by default). Add the .exe to the unwanted programs list and Hey Presto! 220 PC's cleaned of Messenger in the twinkle of an eye. One false move from Nelson Thorn and they are next.

Getting it back on there may be a different matter though!

[russdev]

i have looked very scary and at times had to have quite word with theacher and a child at home has gone on something which they shouldn;t reminding them that it is a ltft...

Russ

[tarquel]

You think they'd have the sense not to do that on school equipment but still... 'thought' does bypass them sometimes lol

anything "real" bad should be reported to the police you know - the school cant shout at you for it, nor should they try to either.

IMO that is

Regards,
N.

[mrtechsystems]

Thankyou for all your info much appericated and some really info here think I will stick with forum really good and fast yeah I have no protection at the moment on a Windows 2000 Network apart from Microsoft Antispyware which I run at home I have been told by my LEA that Webroot Spy Sweeper do and Enterprise edtion but I have no feedback from them

With regards to the Comment on Websearch I will personnally kill them myself also these auto install toolbars

[RobC]

Actually, talking about toolbars...

Does anyone else have a problem with the Yahoo toolbar installing on their IEs? I've blocked the toolbar download URLs for both Yahoo.com & Yahoo.co.uk and yet people are still ending up with this on their systems.

Ordinarily it wouldn't be a problem, but we use Symantec Web (in)Security for web filtering & for some reason, if the Yahoo toolbar is installed, SWS will not authenticate the user. I've tried contacting Yahoo, but got nowhere very fast.

And while I'm rambling on... if anyone else does use SWS, have you got Firefox to work with it? Firefox seems to do the same thing as the Yahoo toolbar, but I really can't figure out how to solve it.

RobC.