Page 4
The Behrend Beacon
Popular software
may be monitoring
your habits and
slowing your PC
by Doug Bedell
The Dallas Morning News
When Roger Olney used the KaZaA
file-sharing service to download a util
ity for his home computer, he got a
rude introduction to the slippery world
of spyware.
First, he mistakenly downloaded and
installed a file called eblaster.exe.
"I am aware now after some research
that eblaster is a program that moni
tors keystrokes (gulp) in super stealth
mode (shiver, double gulp)," Olney
told members of the discussion group
alt.privacy.spyware, where he turned
for emergency help.
But, as group members would later
inform him, the KaZaA Media Desk
top program itself was already moni
toring much of Olney's activity.
Unbeknownst to most users,
Sharman Networks Ltd.'s KaZaA--the
world's most popular post--Napster
file-sharing program, has built-in soft
ware that spies on its users.
KaZaA is partnered with Brilliant
Digital, which makes software that is
downloaded and invisibly installed
with KaZaA Media Desktop.
Also, Brilliant's software automati
cally hooks users into yet another net
work, Altnet, which can track behav
ior as well as store and retrieve targeted
banner ads and pop-ups.
It even seeks to profit from siphon
ing off processing power from its cus
tomers' computers.
Last year, the revelation that
Brilliant's software had been piggy
backing on KaZaA led to some con
sumer backlash. Technically, the Altnet
program could be called adware, track
ing software that users agree to down
load as part of the End User License
Agreements. But EULAs are so filled
with legal jargon that they're largely
unread.
Many KaZaA users protested that
Brilliant's tactics qualify it as spyware,
software that monitors users without
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asking permission. The EULA lan
guage is 5,000 words long and almost
incoherent, they argue.
One programmer even developed
KaZaA Lite (www.kazaalite.com),
which is KaZaA without Altnet.
Still, more than 60 million users
worldwide have installed the KaZaA
Media Desktop. Most are unaware that
their machines can track their behav
ior and hook into Altnet.
"The masses are being victimized all
the time," says Grey McKenzie, CEO
of Spy Cop Inc. (www.spycop.com),
makers of a program that detects spy
and adware. "I think you now have to
protect yourself against these pro
grams, just like you scan for viruses."
Spyware and adware are being in
creasingly used by programmers to
make money. When McKenzie started
his company three years ago, for ex
ample, Spy Cop's database recognized
only about 30 commercially available
spyware programs mostly monitoring
software used by spouses, parents and
corporations
Today, after expanding Spy Cop's
reach to include adware, McKenzie's
database encompasses more than 350
monitoring programs.
"It's a huge industry now," McKenzie
said. "Let's face it. There's big bucks in
getting people's attention, and people
willingly partake of these programs.
Then suddenly they notice they're get
ting pop-ups all over their computers
when they visit certain Web sites."
McKenzie's company sells Spy Cop
for $49.95, but free adware/spyware
scanners are also available. They in
clude Ad-Aware by Lavasoft
(www.lavasoft.de), which last year won
PC World Magazine's top award for
software.
Ad-Aware has become an indispens
able tool for many savvy computer re
pairers. Increasingly, users are com
plaining about problems directly attrib
utable to adware and spyware.
F. Lee Pyles, owner of Compyles
Computers in Rowlett, Texas, says it
has become commonplace to find doz
ens of monitoring software installations
on machines he repairs. Often, these
programs run in the background, invis
ibly sapping processing power.
"I had one the other day that had more
than 125 executable files that Ad-Aware
found," Pyles said. "It was running like
a dog. No sooner had I removed all that
stuff and it was like I'd released the
emergency brake on a car It just came
back to life."
Some monitoring software programs
are almost impossible to uninstall. They
may contain fake uninstallation com
ponents that trick users into reinstall
ing, rather than deleting them.
"Other times, you'll try to uninstall
and they'll want you to take a survey,
or they ask you, 'Why are you leav
ing?" said Pyles. "Others will try and
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take you to their Web site. And they'll
never completely clean out the directo
ries they create. You've got to do that
manually."
Much of the modern adware and
spyware programming is poor quality,
says McKenzie.
"It messes up your computer big
time, and who's to know?" he said. "If
people realize that this kind of stuff is
going on, maybe something will hap
pen."
Perhaps popular spots such as
Download.com will some day become
spy- and adware free zones, he says. But
until consumers encounter widespread
identity theft or machinery problems,
McKenzie holds little hope for reform.
"You've got an epidemic here,"
McKenzie said. "This kind of program
ming gives an 8-year-old the ability to
become a seasoned hacker. And that's
just scary."
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Friday, April 18, 2003
To industries for fresh lob seekers
The job market for recent college graduates is as brutal as
it has been in two decades, but industries poised to capitalize
on the aging population and the uncertainty facing the nation
still offer ample opportunity.
In a survey conducted by the National Association of Col
leges and Employers, companies expect to hire 3.6 percent
fewer graduates than they did a year earlier.
"It's going to be very tough out there this year," said John
Challenger, chief executive of outplacement firm Challenger,
Gray & Christmas. "There are lots of rejection notices out
there."
An estimated 1.3 million college graduates are due to hit
the pavement this spring in an attempt to join a U.S. workforce
that numbers about 135 million.
But with turnover rates highest at entry-level positions, the
jobs are certainly there, Challenger said. Knowing where to
look is the key.
Here are the strongest professions job experts say are worth
considering right out of college:
Healthcare. Aging baby boomers should provide plenty of
opportunity for caregivers like pharmacists, physical thera
pists, audiologists, etc. There are currently 126,000 open nurs
ing positions, according to report by HotJobs.com, while many
currently employed nurses are nearing retirement age.
Insurance. The greater the uncertainty, the greater the need
for insurance. Agents, adjusters, researchers and many more
positions should stay in demand. Average salaries range from
nearly $20,000 up to almost $85,000.
Biotechnology/Drugs. As baby boomers move deeper into
their golden years, the demand for prescriptions drugs will
pick up. Challenger also expects opportunities to grow as more
money is dedicated to gene research. Affymetrix and Applera
are examples of two companies on the forefront of genomics.
Financial services. Financial planners stand to gain from
investors looking to forego their company-sponsored 401 k
and take control of their own savings. Additionally, mort
gage brokers should continue to cash in on record low inter-
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Stetson University paper shut down
after profanity-laced April Fool's issue
by Tania deLuzuriaga
The Orlando Sentinel
One of the state's oldest college
newspapers was shut down this week
and the entire editorial staff fired af
ter publishing a profanity-filled April
Fool's Day issue that included racist
jokes and a sex column advocating
rape and domestic violence.
Stetson University on Wednesday
suspended publication of its student
newspaper The Reporter for the rest
of the school year. Members of its
staff said they were given 15 minutes
to clear their belongings out of the of
fice as the locks were being changed.
The Reporter, which the school
boasts was the state's first college
newspaper after its founding in 1887,
has had an annual tradition of poking
fun at the faculty, student groups and
itself with an April Fool's edition re
named The Distorter.
But school officials say the students
went too far.
"There's not much in this year's Dis
torter that you can laugh about,"
Michelle Espinosa, dean of students,
said Thursday. "We believe very
strongly in students' need for au
tonomy. But the students do assume
responsibility for their editorial deci
sions."
Ironically, the mock edition's lead
story claimed the student staff was
shutting down the paper because they
were tired of producing it. "We Quit!"
screams the headline in red across the
front of the paper. But it was the ar
by Shawn Langlois
CBS Market Watch
est rates and the nesting effect.
Education. Another sector that stands to flourish as more
and more people prepare to exit the workforce is education.
"There are a lot of educators approaching their retirement
dates," said Christopher Jones, vice president of content at
HotJobs.com.
Energy. With the Iraq and the Middle East in turmoil, the
need for alternative energy sources has never been more ap
parent. Not only will there be an increasing demand for re
search and development, but workers will be needed in mar
keting, sales, accounting, etc.
While job availability in the high-tech arena is scarce rela
tive to previous years, pockets of strength still remain.
"Technology is immense," said Jones. "In fact, there are
some others where we've seen only growth, like security spe
cialists, for instance."
With the proliferation of hacked databases and the need to
protect their information, this job title should stay popular
for a while.
Some of the leaders in this field include Network Associ
ates, RSA Security and Symantec.
tides inside that got the most attention.
The Howard Thurman lecture series,
designed to promote racial dialogue,
was satirized with an article about a rac
ist Civil War enthusiast drinking beer
at the podium, and the weekly sex col
umn was written in Ebonics. The paper
also included fake advertisements such
as one for a spray that "kills townies
dead" and another featuring profanity
in giant block letters, "Because we are
allowed to print it," it said.
"We pushed some buttons that may
not have needed to be pushed," sex col
umnist August Brown said Thursday.
The newspaper had been under pressure
from the administration to tone down
the content of recent editions. After the
April 1 edition, school officials said
they were "inundated" with calls and
e-mails from upset alumni, faculty and
students.
Several students at the campus Thurs
day said they thought the punishment
exceeded the crime.
"It was a little offensive, but it was
obviously a joke," said Liz Burdett, a
Stetson freshman majoring in interna
tional business. "What happened to the
First Amendment?"
Because Stetson is a private institu
tion, it can restrict what the student
newspaper publishes, said Mark
Goodman, executive director of the Stu
dent Press Law Center in Arlington, Va.
"If this happened at a public univer
sity, there's no question it would have
been a First Amendment issue," he said.
However, he questioned the ethics in
volved in the university's decision, say-
There are also opportunities in software sales, according to
Edwin Pollock, regional president at job placement firm Ber
nard Haldane Associates.
"Sales is probably the biggest opening we're seeing right
now," he said. "Of course, many of these companies are still
laying off lots of high-salaried people from the dot-com revo
lution."
Pollock suggested job seekers look to viable companies
that have reduced their workforce considerably, as they would
be the most likely to replace workers "at a more reasonable
compensation."
"Microsoft is doing great things with how they're hiring
grads," said Challenger. "The best people looking for the best
people."
Finally, Pollock offered this bit of advice should the search
come to a grinding halt: "Go to the company you want to
work for and volunteer to work for nothing, offer your ser
vices as an intern or whatever you want to call it."
"If you're good, the company will find a spot for you."
ing it raises serious questions about the
university's commitment to freedom of
speech
"There are good reasons that policy
isn't allowed at public institutions," he
said. "Just because it's legal doesn't
make it right."
However, university officials said
that just because the First Amendment
allows freedom of expression doesn't
mean it's ethical to print just anything.
"Having the right and having the re
sponsibility to use that right are two dif
ferent things," Espinosa said. "It's a vio
lation of the mission statement and ethi
cal guidelines described under the pa
rameters of the university."
She said school officials would be re
miss in their duties as educators if they
didn't make students aware of the ef
fect their articles have.
"We have to consider the community
of people that read our newspaper,"
Espinosa said. "We don't feel that a uni
versity setting is the appropriate forum
for that type of writing."
" We've learned a lot in the last week
as students and journalists," said former
editor-in-chief Teresa Schwarz. "I think
that's something they're overlooking."
behrcolls @ aol.com
Stetson's administrators will work
with student leaders over the summer
to start a new student newspaper in the
fall, Espinosa said. The former staff
members may reapply and will be con
sidered for re-hiring, she said.
"Each case will be determined on an
individual basis," she said