I was having problems running BOINC with BoincView for several days and only just found that the problem was with the BOINC client.

My Spyware program was stopping it! I didn't make the connection until I turned on Alert Viewing and discovered that it was being stopped from running because it apparently contains "ShopAtHomeSelect" Spyware.

OK, so what's up with this I have to ask . . . Do I now need to stop using BOINC or is it a False Positive?

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Keirn Hilleary

Too low they build, who build beneath the stars.
Edward Young - 1745

I would uninstall and get a fresh download from the boinc download site. Just in case something corrupted it, this is especially true if you downloaded from anywhere other than the BOINC site. If your spyware program still blocks it then it is a false positive.

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BOINC WIKI

BOINCing since 2002/12/8

I took your advice, and removed BOINC. I scrubbed the registry and reinstalled the application. Oddly though, it is still being reported as having "ShopAtHomeSelect" embedded in it.

One thing I've noticed about all these so called "Anti-Spyware" applicationx is that they are subject to false positives and their manufacturers provide little factual information in their footprint descriptions. That is to say that when their applications flag a suspicious process and you go to their site to read about the suspect spyware, you'll more often than not find no usefull information about the spyware if any at all. It may have been nothing more than a process similar to one used by spyware so it is blocked.

My Anti-Spyware application (GhostSurf)actually takes it upon itself to quarantine a suspect file and perform some sort of Super-Hide function to it. It removes the file from view by either hiding it or sucking it into some unknown data file somewhere. Tenebril won't exactly tell me what they're doing either. It will at times, do this without any alert. Imagine the fun I've had when it quarantined a program and I had no idea as to what happened until I thought to look at Spycatcher's Protection list. I can't come down on them too hard cause a blanket rule on a process is about the only thing they can do.

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Keirn Hilleary

Too low they build, who build beneath the stars.
Edward Young - 1745

Just a question?

Why would you intentially change the title of my Post.

The original post read "ShopAtHomeSelect spyware in BOINC Client".

If you felt it somehow discouraged users I believe otherwise. Having done so merely detracts or invalidates my findings.

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Keirn Hilleary

Too low they build, who build beneath the stars.
Edward Young - 1745

Just a question?

Why would you intentially change the title of my Post.

The original post read "ShopAtHomeSelect spyware in BOINC Client".

If you felt it somehow discouraged users I believe otherwise. Having done so merely detracts or invalidates my findings.

Lets call the original title 'Sensationalist'.... there is absolutely nothing in the official distro's which u can get here: http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download_all.php . Anti Spam software is known to throw spokes in wheels....change....there are many to be had and personally, if you have a proper browser configuration, firewall and antivir, a periodic scan...weekly or so, is sufficient.

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Keirn Hilleary

Too low they build, who build beneath the stars.
Edward Young - 1745

My Pardon,

It was not my intention to Sensationalize. It was merely a question to the fact that the original post's title had been changed to read something other than that which had been originally posted.

You see, my intention was to discover if others might me experiencing similar FALSE spyware alerts so that, I/we could report these FALSE alerts to our Anti-Spyware creators and tell them to update their footprint files to exclude BOINC.

It is afterall your site and your message board; this entitles you to change or omit anything that you so choose. But at the same time I thought it was a community board, where others share their ideas and concerns.

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Keirn Hilleary

Too low they build, who build beneath the stars.
Edward Young - 1745

To me it seemed misleading rather than sensationalist.

"ShopAtHomeSelect spyware in BOINC Client" ... does seem to be making claims we know aren't true, if people are only looking at the thread titles (which many people do). This could have the effect of scaring people off.

perhaps "ShopAtHomeSelect spyware reported in BOINC: false positive or true?" would have been better, although far too long! :-)

I use both SpyBot (free) and ZoneAlarm SS's antispyware (paid-for), and I've never had a problem with either of them. Both of them ask before deleting files (although I think there is a setting to change this if necessary).

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have you/can you notify the manufacturers of GhostSpy? It might deter other BOINC users!

cheers
Danny

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Hey Danny,

Yes, I have done just this and as a matter of fact, they changed their data file to exclude BOINC. Your welcome!!!

My original post was merely an attempt to help others. In my case it was reported as "ShopAtHomeSelect" though, for others their anti-spyware applications may report another name based on their footprint data.

Seem's though that in my attempt to communicate I offended the creaters of BOINC. If I wanted to be a sensationalist, I would have posted something like;

"Biological Organisms Infest Northern California"

Not to cause a stir but, I invite you to read Participant's Rights & Responsibilities Article-I at this page.

http://szdg.lpds.sztaki.hu/szdg/forum_thread.php?id=204

Wherin it is stated:

Article I

Right: The participant has the right to pose a question, answer a question, make a statement, or express an opinion without fear of retribution by the Something@Home Project. Expression of an opinion unfavorable to the Something@Home Project shall not be considered grounds for moderator action. Posts shall not be altered in a way that substantially alters the sense or meaning of the post.

I think by changing my original title to merely "Running BOINC Client" did somewhat violate this article.

I keep forgetting though, I'm in America not in Hungary where free speech is protected!

That's a joke you all . . . Lighten Up!

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Keirn Hilleary

Too low they build, who build beneath the stars.
Edward Young - 1745

You haven't offended the creators of BOINC.
The people helping here are volunteers, some in crunching, some in testing the new software, some just passing on their knowledge gained over several years. Or all three.

The moderators here have different rules to the one you quoted, and the title that you chose was considered "sensationalist" and / or "alarmist". It could easily be interpreted in ways differed to that you intended.
And, with these boards being scanned by search engines such as Google, Yahoo, etc, this "misinformation" could easily be rapidly spread around the computer users of the world.

Point taken . . .

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Keirn Hilleary

Too low they build, who build beneath the stars.
Edward Young - 1745