[daoyee]

Does anyone know of any spyare other then MacScan and Internet Cleanup (which I don't think is really a spyware cleaner)

[Yossarian]

You don't need it, since there's no spyware for mac. We're the good guys /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[daoyee]

As much as I would love to share your optimism, I cannot. One can never be too careful during times like this.

[drmbb]

He's not being flippant - do your own web searches, and you won't find a single confirmation of any known spyware for Mac OS X. Even MacScan's own website doesn't list any, and never has, because there isn't any.
That's also the reason why you won't find information on tools to remove spyware in OS X - nobody's bothered to waste their time writing a program to address a non-problem.

[car1son]

You mean like this doesn't exist?

[daoyee]

Thank you car1son!! My point exactly. There have never been a REPORTED case of Mac Spyware. That does not mean it does not exist.

[daoyee]

I must now applogize to Allume Sytems makers of Internet Cleanup. After carefully reading your website, it does sound like Internet Cleanup is a viable solution to Spyware. I think the real product I meant was Spring Cleaning. Which does something completely different.

[macnuke]

went to the link you posted.. downloaded a 1.4M app (stuffed size)... doesn't seem like something you can have installed unknowingly into your Mac.. at least mine requires my permission to install... and it's a local appication from what i read.. not like Spyware on your PC's which are small, mean and efficient at polluting your PC's registry (what's a "registry"?). it's more of a LOCAL Administator tool for Macs with multiple users. and Administrator pretty much has to run it local.
just my observation.
m

[drmbb]

MonitorX is, strictly speaking, not spyware. It is a legitimate monitoring software for remote admininstration trouble shooting. It may also be used by organizations that need to strictly monitor their users computer use - such programs also exist for windows and UNIX. Banks often use such software for machines which require a strict audit trail of all use. It requires admin access to your machine to install.
It is not installed remotely, and without your knowledge, by activeX web apps (for example), or other nasty, secretive ways of stealing information from your computer, or reporting private information illegally. Nor does it circumvent OS X's built in permissions (ie. it must be installed and configured by someone with admin access).
Again, show me any evidence that anything like adware and hidden popup presentation apps (very commen in the WInPC world) exist for the Mac. You will not find, for example, any program for the Mac similar to Lavasoft's Ad-Aware - noone's written them because there's no market for them.

[Praxis]

Exactly. There are no known spyware OR viruses for Mac OS X. Only OS 9. So for now, you're safe.

[drmbb]

/forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Yup, I'm a strong believer in justified paranoia (especially in terms of computers and the internet), but this just does not qualify, in my current world /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif (which admittedly doesn't always jive with the "real" world, whatever that is at any given time).

[car1son]

Well, I can't speak to what spyware is in your universe.
As you say, MonitoredX is a legitimate program marketed by a legitimate company (I'm sure if you ask them, Gator would make the same statement, but in this case I actually agree with it.) However, it's not Timbuktu or Apple Remote Desktop for remote diagnostic. What it does permit me, the Admin, to do is to keep track of what my employees do on my computers at my office, and what my kids do on my computers (which I allow them to think of as their computers) at home. (And I'm sure it could also be employed to keep track of what a spouse does or what a roommate does, depending on circumstances and what you want to do with it.) It's a pretty good program, because it keeps track of both the screen as well as the key strokes, so it's easy to sort out the people doing work or homework from the people reading news or checking the stock market, people chatting (and with whom about what), and from people viewing porn or downloading MP3s.
I prefer to think of this as a "Resource protection" and "Parental supervision" respectively rather than "Spying", but I will concede that the latter is a tenable point of view.
No, it's not Gator, and it didn't get installed by Limewire (by the way, anyone working for me who runs Limewire is fired. The kids, on the other hand, only get a stern but boring lecture on personal responsibility.)
I don't think I would blithely make the statement that there is no spyware unless I knew exactly what the person asking the question was concerned about.
PS.
BTW, MonitoredX is not the only such "legitimate" app, just (IMO) the most comprehensive. There are other keystroke monitors plus GURLWatcher for browser tracking.

[CrecenS]

In reply to:

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As much as I would love to share your optimism, I cannot. One can never be too careful during times like this.

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If only Windows users thought like this... Monitor X is spyware in this below sense, although its administrative, not harmful per se - it is admin installed, a far cry from javascript installers that infect Windows systems without user knowledge.

In reply to:

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Spyware consists of computer software that gathers information about a computer user and then transmits this information to an external entity without the knowledge or informed consent of the user. The term was first used on October 16, 1995 in a usenet post that poked fun at Microsoft's business model. It was later used in reference to things used for spying such as tiny cameras. However, in 1999 Zone Labs used the term when they made a press release for the Zone Alarm Personal Firewall. Since then, it has been used to refer to the above mentioned software programs. In 2000, the first ever anti-spyware program, OptOut, was released in response to this, and many more have been made since then.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware
The definition goes on however, to differentiate malware type spyware from non-malware (Monitor X) type spyware:

In reply to:

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Spyware as a category overlaps with adware generally speaking, the more unethical forms of adware often get dubbed "spyware". Malware uses spyware for explicitly illegal purposes. The way in which software installs itself or operates without the user's knowledge or informed consent -- forms the key defining characteristic of spyware.
Data-collecting programs installed with the user's knowledge do not, properly speaking, constitute spyware, provided the user fully understands who collects what data. Likewise, intrusive adware (of the sort that delivers unrequested advertising pop-ups, for instance) may not properly constitute spyware, provided the user knows of its installation.
More broadly, the term spyware often applies to a wide range of related malware products which do not constitute spyware in the strict sense. These products perform many different functions, including harvesting private information, re-routing page requests to illegally claim commercial site referral fees, and installing stealth dialers.

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The consequences section explains the effects of spyware, but notice that it only mentions Windows computers, not Macs. I paid for my last year of college cleaning this crap of peoples' Windows computers.

In reply to:

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Unprotected Windows-based computers, particularly those used by children or credulous adults, can rapidly accumulate a great many spyware components. The consequences of a moderate to severe spyware infection (privacy issues aside) generally include a substantial loss of system performance (over 50% in extreme cases), and major stability issues (crashes and hangs). Difficulty in connecting to the Internet also commonly occurs.
As of 2004, spyware infection causes more visits to professional computer repairers than any other single cause. In more than half of these cases, the user has no awareness of spyware and initially assumes that the system performance, stability, and/or connectivity issues relate to hardware, Windows installation problems, or a virus.
Some spyware products have additional consequences. Stealth dialers attempt to connect directly to a particular telephone number rather than to the user's own ISP: where connecting to the number in question involves long-distance or overseas charges, this can result in massive telephone bills which the user has no choice but to pay.

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[MacGizmo]

MonitorX isn't spyware. You cannot have your personal Mac (for which you are the only user) magically install the app all by itself without you knowing it.