Hopping Mad

[starrwriter]

I just tried an experiment and the results have made me hopping mad.

That Flash ad for Richard Gere's new film is placing a new entry in my registry. The ad server URLs are 64.136.28.121 and 64.136.20.121. When I placed these URLs in the Restricted Zone of my IE 6.0 browser to stop the registry change, none of the forum pages would load.

I don't want ANYTHING rewriting my registry! This opens the door for all kinds of spyware, trojans, viruses, etc.

(FYI, my OS is Windows 2000)

[subterranean]

I'm not sure..., is it refer to one of those pop ups?

[Admin]

The ad is served by Google. Those are two Google ips, if you blocked them you might not be able to see Google.com, but you should still see this site. This site's IP is 67.15.4.96

Websites also cannot directly write to your registry, only a program installed on your system can (unless you're confusing your registry with cookies).

If you are indeed seeing something write to your registry I'm guessing its the macromedia flash player plugin for IE that is doing it (as the ad is flash based).

In anycase if you were really serious about privacy you'd upgrade your OS to XP and probably use FireFox instead of IE.

Also, new registry entries aren't going to open the door to anything.

[starrwriter]

If you are indeed seeing something write to your registry I'm guessing its the macromedia flash player plugin for IE that is doing it (as the ad is flash based).
I have the latest version of Flash Player installed, so Macromedia is not doing it.


In any case if you were really serious about privacy you'd upgrade your OS to XP and probably use FireFox instead of IE.
No can do. This used computer came with Windows 2000 and XP costs twice as much as the whole machine. I've tried Firefox only to discover it has security flaws, too, and isn't as convenient as Internet Explorer.

According to Hijack This program, the forum ad places the following in my registry:

HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip..\{FF613738-1EF0-41D1-A345-D1902C1889C7}: NameServer = 64.136.28.120 64.136.20.120

Rewriting the registry is a security no-no with any OS.

[Admin]

Registry entries do nothing for security. The registry is like a big notebook for programs to write notes in. Now, if a program overwrote a note for running say, IE, that could cause a security issue. A new note for itself though is entirely benign.

Who is your ISP? NetZero?

[starrwriter]

Registry entries do nothing for security. The registry is like a big notebook for programs to write notes in. Now, if a program overwrote a note for running say, IE, that could cause a security issue. A new note for itself though is entirely benign.
The entry is being added to a security folder in my registry. I have no idea if it's overwriting an existing entry or not.


Who is your ISP? NetZero?
Yes, NetZero. Why?

[Admin]

Those IPs are actually netzero ips.

I'm guessing its flash player making a note of your netzero DNS servers for some reason.

[starrwriter]

Those IPs are actually netzero ips.
How did you discover this? When I try to access those URLs, I get "page cannot be displayed" message.


I'm guessing its flash player making a note of your netzero DNS servers for some reason.
I guess I'll have to take your word for it because I can't figure out what's going on.

[Admin]

Start>Run>CMD

tracert IPaddress



That will give you a listing of the path from you to that IP, and it'll name the IP for you.

You can also do IP lookups at Arin.net

[starrwriter]

Thanks. From now on I'll use Arin.net for IPs.

PS: Arin.net says those 2 IPs belong to Juno ISP, not NetZero. I have never used Juno, which has a free service and a paid service. More mysteries.

[rachel]

Well reading all this was about as informative to me as a crash course in speaking Martian. Our computer is so loaded with anti everything( a guy from a blue chip stock exchange whatever did all ours) and so every ten seconds it tells us this or that is being tried and we just tell it what to do and it does it. so any computer illiterate person can be confident at the end of the day that one's world is still alright. You two sound like you could fix stuff at Nassau.

[RobinHood3000]

Personally, I prefer Firefox over IE. Generally not as frequently targeted as IE, and vastly more user-friendly. I can open up all of the new topics on LitNet in different tabs and just go from one to the next with ease.

[starrwriter]

You two sound like you could fix stuff at Nassau.
Fix stuff in the capital city of the Bahamas? Nooooo, but maybe at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in Houston, Texas.

[rachel]

right that is what i meant. i was just so shaken about jakobin
sorry.
Good morning M'Lord.