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(misc)-> stopzilla :anti spyware malware crap !! DO NOT INSTALL !! |
submited by Russell Thu 05 Nov 09 Edited Thu 05 Jun 14 |
My boss's compuputer got infected with a virus and/or some malware app. we got the virus with anti-vir but he still had some malware crap installed that would pop-up windows and redirect searches on goolge or yahoo. SO I told him to google "spy bot search and destroy" and download and install that. .. well wouldn't you know, that it redirected him to STOPzilla Before he realized the error, he had installed the free version ( it takes like two clicks) and we had a devil of a time removing it.
We are not the only ones, other people having troubles removing it:
How do i uninstall stopzilla? - Yahoo! Answers
Stopzilla wont uninstall - Tech Support Guy Forums
Forums - unable to uninstall stopzilla - PC Advisor
Where Did Stopzilla Come From And How Do I Get Rid Of It
(there are more, this is just what I took the time to list)
Unistalling it wasn't actually that hard. it's just that the uninstall link they provide DOES NOT WORK I had to kill the process, then delete the files (from program files/stopzilla ) and reboot. I also removed the registry entries, but I am not sure I needed to do that. TURNS OUT THIS IS WORSE, read below
I am, however really bothered by their marketing tactics. For one thing if a Malware app thought it was a good idea to redirect the user from spybot to stopzilla , there must be a reason.. Stopzilla is spending lots of money on ads. is shows up in google add boxes all over the place, (quite likely on this page, so clicking such an ad would mean they are funding their critics :-) ) It seems apparent to me that the malware apps' developer stood to benefit Financially from the prospect of somebody downloading and installing the program.
Now I can't prove this yet, but either the Stopzilla guys Know about this or at a minimum they don't take the care to see that they aren't financing they very type of application they claim to work to stop with their marketing.
A page on the is3 website (stopzilla's authoring company) indicates that They know about the unethical tactics used to promote their program That message is dated 6months ago. It is clearly still going on, so either the virus we got was old, or is3 is only paying lip-service to the problem.
In addition to this, (which is more than enough for me to brand them as scum) I have noticed MULTIPLE comments from people who say they kept billing credit cards when they should not have:
There are hidden cost. They will keep billing your credit card
"DANGER !!!!! BEWARE" Unethical credit card charging
I also found multiple flowing happy reviews. I believe these to be astroturf. (including comments to the article from zdnet below). Perhaps I'm jaded, but the only positive reviews I believe are the ones that say "It works but it slows down my computer a lot and there is free stuff that does just as well"
Because that's the point. There is free stuff that does just as well, and DOES NOT engage in deceptive marketing practices. (using malware to re-direct to the site, and not letting the program un-install via normal methods). If I was going to spend money on an application to fix holes left in my operating system, I woudn't spend that money on STOPzilla.
Some useful reviews of STOPzilla:
Malwarebytes :Newest Rogue Threats
PCmag.com:
STOPzilla costs more .... does less.
Reviews of STOPzilla
Web Of Trust Reputation Scorecard (currently lists stopzilla as poor.)
Reviews of Stopzilla on fileforum There is a funny one with a good rating. It's too silly to be astroturf, must just be a joke. (all the rest are poor ratings)
List of Domain names on the same server is stopzilla
ZD.net: Anti-spyware 'deceiving consumers' Not specificity about STOPzilla, but it might as well be.
(Nov 6,2009)
OK it's worse, Turns out the program was *STILL* installed on my boss's computer. in addition to the c:\program files\stopzilla folder there is ALSO a c:\program files\common files\is3\anti_spyware folder. This must also be deleted. What scares me a little was that this program was set to run on start-up, and tried to go out to the internet (anti-vir pro stopped it ) .. it probably would have downloaded and installed a new version of itself or something else even more nefarious. I do not know where that "load on start" is hidden in the registry.
To delete the folder and the files in it, we had to kill the "SZserver.exe" process then delete the files. I wasn't able to delete all the dlls at first,because they were locked. (I deleted all the files I was able to ) but after a reboot I could delete the whole is3 folder.
I'd just also like to comment that the only possible reasons for such a program needing so many dlls are either really sloppy programming ( just stick each function in its own dll ) or to deliberately lock as many files as possible making it hard to delete.
Either way such a program has no business being on a computer.
Nov 13,2009
I believe I have identified edits on the Wikipedia STOPzilla page by a ip address that is in Weston FL That is about an hour's drive of IS3's Boynton Beach home.
Replys:
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