Tag Archives: incredimail

even more malware / spyware problems (and modem problems)

Computer Aid Posted on by

This system was the most difficult so far (and it still has problems that I can’t resolve!)

Some of the malware found: doubiousHandle1, winantiviruspro2006, enconfidence, funweb, mywebsearch, hotbar, newsupdate, winantivirus2005pro, incredimail, and many others.

To remove it all, I first had to upgrade to SP2, and then install and run:

  • Ewido
  • Antivir
  • AVG
  • SpywareBlaster
  • Spybot
  • BHODemon
  • Hijackthis

Most of the above found nasties that the others did not 🙁 

Since this was a dialup internet system, and since many problems resurfaced after my first visit, I took it to the office for a thorough clean (which I should have done at the start).

I also ran autopatcher to update it to the latest patches, before I connected it to my wireless network.

After I managed to cleanup everything I took the PC back, but then it had some modem problems… It wouldn’t connect… no dial tone… I was eventually told that the PC has a ‘strange’ modem… the ‘line in’ and ‘phone out’ plugs are reversed! I plug the phone line into the phone socket, and it then works!

A few days later, I get called because the computer is spontaneously starting when it is shutdown… I figure its a bios setting that ‘wakes’ the computer whenever an incoming call comes in.

I get there and yep, it is the bios setting, however, during some testing, I notice that the customers phone will divert to voicemail without the phone ringing… but if I unplug the modem, then the phone rings normally… even if the computer is shutdown!

Now this is just not worth tracking down! I tell the customer to disconnect the phone line when the internet is not in use (until they get broadband… then the problem should go away).

The PC is also slow to shutdown… and after all the tuning and malware removal, all I can suggest is a windows reinstall (which the customer cannot afford at the moment).

incredimail – malware in disguise

Computer Aid Posted on by

Well, I finally got my first dissatisfied customer.

A lady needed help re-installing ADSL internet, after a PC rebuild. She didn’t have her adsl password, so I just got the isp to reset the password.

End of story (so I thought).

I get called back a few days later (she used incredimail before the pc rebuild & really liked it) saying she doesn’t like outlook express & needs to have the outlook details entered into incredimail (which she installed herself).

No problem, I copy the details across, & while I’m there, she is happy for me to install my anti-spyware software and disable outlook express, so she can only view existing messages, but not send or receive new emails. She doesn’t have the full payment, so I let it slide, & she says that the remainder will be waiting for me next time I’m passing by.

I pass by 2 days later & she asks if I can take a quick look at a printing problem. Printing from incredimail only seems to print a “screenshot”… ie the to & from fields, a scroll bar, and only part of a message.

I notice the printer has been re-installed a few times & she complains about how intrusive winpatrol is… and how outlook express is still active.

What? I had put false pop & smtp server names into OE, so there is no way it can still be active. I take a look & I can see OE has about 4 emails sitting in the outbox (but not sent). Obviously someone mistakenly wrote those emails in OE instead of incredimail. I try to subtly hint at this. Hint is probably too subtle, as there is no acknowledgement by the customer.

I leave OE, disable winpatrol, & focus on shittymail incredimail. But it has no print preview & doesn’t have much in the configuration/customisation area.

I reboot, to see if maybe winpatrol was somehow preventing incredimail from doing things it shouldn’t be allowed to do…

Wait 2 minutes at the shutdown screen before using the power button to force a switch off.

Wait 3 – 4 minutes at the xp startup screen, before realising that there is no disk activity, but also no login screen (just the XP bar moving across the screen).

Great… just what I don’t need (car is acting up, its 4:30 & I was trying to get to the mechanic by 5:00… that won’t happen now). I restart in safe mode & disable all startup programs (from the startup folder & from the registry). But the system will not boot into normal windows mode…

Anyway, she wonders aloud about just how experienced I really am & she is not at all happy about what I have done (and what she has paid). I offer to fix the computer overnight & bring it back to her the next morning, but she refuses. So all I can do is give her a full refund, and apologise … although I didn’t do anything that could have caused the computer to behave like it did. She “knows” I’m the only one to have worked on the computer, and so it must be me, since it was working perfectly when I connected the ADSL internet.

I didn’t mention that she installed the printer drivers & incredimail… it would just inflame the situation.

The next morning she sends an email saying that the computer started normally that morning & that there are no hard feelings. (and maybe I should carry a database of all known computers with me, so that I can fix these sort of problems).

From now on, I won’t work on systems that have incredimail (except to remove it like any other spyware infestation).

Incredimail – I don’t believe it.

Computer Aid Posted on by

An 80-something year-old gentleman calls me saying he is having some problem with his incredimail junk folder & would also like to save his emails onto DVD but doesn’t know how.

I visit & find out that incredimail had a “junk folder” facility, which would allow you to filter spam very nicely. At some point, customer gets an email from incredimail saying “upgrade to junk folder plus” or something like that. So he upgrades, & then after a trial period, incredimail then disables the junk folder & say something like “to continue using the junk folder, you need to pay $XX” per month”

The customer just wants it back the way it was, but after some digging, I found that incredimail has stopped the use of the old junk folder & only offers the “pay per use” JF plus. They might think its a good strategy, but I reckon lots of people will just change email clients. Sure, lots of people really like the fancy graphics & other bells & whistles, but a quick browse through the forums shows that underneath the pretty exterior, incredimail is bordering on spyware, with a greedy company behind the scenes. Most people in the forums don’t seem to like it.

Getting email attachments onto DVD is both simple & difficult… the emails & attachments can be written easily enough. But explaining that there are many different types of attachments & its not easy to make sure that they can all play on a normal tv with a normal dvd player… well thats something else. Most video formats can be converted to DVD format, & most audio can be converted so it will play, but combining the two, & figuring out what can & what cannot be converted, & how to converted it, all requires some in-depth knowledge about computers, which is not easy to impart to an 80-something year old, in just 1 hour.

So, I just show how to save attachments to DVD, so that they can be re-examined at a later date, & explain that deciphering attachments is something for a future time.