Shoutbox

Hi and hello.

Let me write this just for some of you to have a laugh, others to see perhaps what in many cases is sadly too obvious and the others to tell me if I really did so wrong.

The story started this morning when I found an emoticon pack (100 emoticons... nice!) for MSN Messenger 6 on a (I think) quite popular spanish language website about Messenger and all that stuff.
The first thing that made me wonder was that it was an executable file. The second thing that legal stuff message before starting the.... installation?
Then I got two warnings from my antivirus program (TR/Bris.Spy.1 and TR/Bris.Spy.2) and another one from my firewall telling me about some strange software trying to access Internet. Oh, and also I got a folder on my desktop with 100 gifs. At least that went well.
So I went to the board of the website I got the pack from and looked for a thread about it. Indeed there was an announcement, and also someone said something about starting Ad-aware after installing the pack.
I added a post informing about the two troyans and the unwanted software, added the URL for Ad-aware since someone asked for it, and adviced not to install that pack because of obvious reasons.
A bit later there came a reply from someone who looked like an intelligent person (several thousands of posts and admin status), saying that there is no troyan included in that pack, only some spyware that means nothing (actually he didn't say it that way, I can't translate it directly... but he definately made it look like if it really means *nothing* at all and for no one to care). Oh and he told me to learn the difference between spyware and troyans.
So I replied ("for the experts", as I stated) and told about the exact spot on the harddrive where to look at the files, making it obvious one thing was the spyware itself (or adware?) and another thing the two files hidden inside the c:\windows folder. Although now that I think of it, perhaps they really were only one piece of software? Doesn't matter. I also added an URL with extended information about spyware and the trouble it causes, for people to tell themselves if it is a matter "of nothing",  and for the nice guy with admin status I added a note about how dangerous it can be not to inform people correctly about issues like these, and for all of us to learn that. Literally I posted "Nothing worse like wrong distributed information. Let's see if we learn that".

Two hours later I was banned from that board without further notice.

Do you think I overacted?

On a side note... if not before anyway, after that I really appreciate Patchou, not only for giving us such a great piece of program but more than that for being a really great programmer, including the very correct distribution of his software.

I think you should always be careful about posting information about spy ware, key loggers, trojans, viruses ect. at best deleting your post about it and then a privet message telling you too be careful would have been adequate...

Blah, freedom of speech exists nowhere.

I suppose maybe you might have overacted, but it seems to me that (if I understand what you said) you acted fairly. It looks like you actually told them about the trojans/whatever, not just came onto the board and said "THERE'S A TROJAN ON MY COMPUTER YOU BASTARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111", as most people do.

Even so, it's their board, and I know from experiences here that loads of people coming here and saying one thing without looking for similar posts is annoying, and has caused a ban or two. You're probably not gonna get back onto that board, not that you'd need to, and it's within their power to do that.

I remember when I first found out about the "spyware" in msgplus I got really annoyed... and of course, I overacted. I didn't start shouting and insulting and stuff, and in the end people cleared the issue up with me, and I found it was a simple misunderstanding, and I'm still here. So maybe they overacted more than you... and yes, I respect Patchou too... both for giving us this optional sponsor (not spyware as I thought! ), and for putting up with my complaints... and the several hundred other complaints from more annoying people.

Well, I think I was being respectful all the time, and yes, only wanted to inform about the troyans. There was no other thread about it so I used the existant one. I rather think that person got annoyed because of me being right with the danger of spyware (specially the one you aren't aware of). Sad anyways.

Glad to be here with nice people

what is the site's url?
i wanna read that thread (i know that its a spanish site, that is not really a problem )

Freedom of speech doesnt really exist.

Maybe the admins weren't pleased with you but it sounds like you had good intentions so there was no need for that.

u did a great job! seriously. those traitors, not informing ppl bout the wrong things of a prog. with this u got my respect!