Browsing Warning: Sponsors with virus sites on commonly used sites.

[!Donovan]

When I was on bleeping computer and kreslavsky, it had sponsors that go to sites that act like a virus protector but their malware/viruses. I saw a ad for stopzilla and cyber defender. Whatever you do, DO NOT CLICK THOSE SPONSORS! I was lucky enough to google about the anti-virus before I clicked the link. You have been warned.  The website is safe. JUST DON'T CLICK ANY SPONSORS!

[polonus]

Hi

Silently tracking their users' click-streams was one of the reasons that anti-spyware solution CyberDefender last year was given the status of  badware, but the developer of the software seemingly cleaned up his act. As security software CyberDefender has a dubious past according to StopBadware, a coordinated organization of Harvard and Oxford Universities and various IT-companies. Re:
http://stopbadware.org/reports/reportdisplay?reportname=cyberdefender

The program installed a toolbar that monitored a user's surfing habits and passed these data to CyberDefender. Furthermore the search settings were redirected so a CyberDefender search engine was shown. Then the software had a P2P network of its own to exchange updates that weighed heavily on both the connection and cycles of the machine in question.

Also the software grossly exaggerated all the threats it found to trick users in buying a license, a tactic also adopted with many fake av solutions. Nowhere these activities were made clear to the user.
In more recent versions the "badware" behavior has been dropped, reason for StopBadware to change their previous verdict. Anyway I would stay clear of this software for the time being, just considering its history in the past,

polonus