I just popped in for a visit and my newly upgraded internet protection system went ballistic.

What is

http://neosurge.biz/adlog.php?

used for on Warcry? My scanner has it classified as a Dangerous Hacking/Proxy Avoidance element and advises to never revisit this site???

Are you aware of this bannerad system and it's stigma?

I don't know what this is though I'll check it out. I have the 'premier membership' so I never see banner ads. I'll see what I can find out.

I use Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2007. It never gave me a warning with its 2006 package.

Just doing a cursory search with Google, I found:

http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/neosurge.biz/summary/

http://www.aboutus.org/WarCry.com

http://www.aboutus.org/NeoSurge.biz

http://www.alexa.com/data/details/main?url=neosurge.biz

http://whois.domaintools.com/neosurge.biz

Did you find anything on the adlog(bannerad system) that originated from the neosurge domain. It was the adlog that was trying to place an intrusive element into my PC. Neosurge via Warcry was only the delivery system.

Did some further searching and found what tried to breach my security.

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Similar to adware, data miners(tracking cookies) can collect a user's information for a third party recipient.

This cookie is installed when you visit the following URL: "adlog.com."
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Studying your bannerads reveal many originating sites that deal in intrusive cookies. It's simply the age-old issue of privacy vs. stealing an unknowing subjects virtual routines, to better help future, potential sales.

As fast as the bannerads can churn out data miners, security blankets will identify and block, only to have newer data miners churned out in response. It's the ever-escalating virtual arms race where the only real winner is the security companies that market protection against spyware, malware and virus.

I totally understand your concern but am not sure what can be done other than have the site admins take a look at what you've found. Other than that, you can also buy a premium membership for $10/year. ;)

Your "security software" is throwing a fit because the ad-serving system Neosurge uses tried to set a cookie on your machine. That's a bit excessive, really, and it's kind of sad that these companies design their software in a way to try to scare users as much as they can, in order to make them feel like the software is protecting them.

It's a cookie. A text file that only the site that saves it can read. It's not spyware, or a virus, or a security risk. At the very most it is probably setting a cookie to try to get an accurate count of how many actual unique users see the ad.

My suggestion, if you really are afraid of cookies, would be to go into your software configuration and tell it to block off-site cookies without notifying you. It doesn't need to go into panic mode every time it sees one.

My real suggestion would be to make sure you have anti-virus protection, make sure you have anti-spyware protection, get your PC behind a standard NAT proxy/firewall, and turn off all the other "helpful" security/privacy features that the package includes. They're not actually protecting you, and all they'll do is make the internet an even more annoying place to be.

It's not so much as third party sites stealthly attempting to track my habits to establish a sales pattern on me as it is they are attempting to do so for free on my end. If where I go and how often is important to them then pony up some cash to me for my data.

There is nothing free about the internet anymore and that should also include the users. Start paying us for our information and then we can decide on what sites we want to reinvest that payment into for their usage.

The idea of funding websites for the purpose of quietly dropping trackers on the PCs where a majority of the users barely understands what a cookie is and doubtfully have their systems up to the task of preventing them will never be a sound business venture to me. It only makes the internet security providers richer.

Put the money where it should be...on the consumers whose existence is powering this whole situation. I don't expect anything free in this virtual universe and no one should likewise expect it from me.

If I have $5000 dollars and am looking to buy a laptop I can walk into 10 stores and not expect a cover charge at even one of them. If I vist 10 retail websites for the same reason I can expect to walk away with 10 to 30 data miners on my system, taking up my real estate, eating a small portion of my bandwidth for the sole purpose of observing my habits in an attempt to sell me something and turn a profit for themselves...all under stealth.

Seriously man, it's the internet. If your bloated security software goes panic-mode from cookies then this has to be happening near constantly, since 99% of the web uses banner ads and ad links.

Tools > Internet Options > Privacy > Advanced.

Set it to override automatic cookie handling and to not allow cookies.

WarCry uses advertising to fund itself. They are FAR less intrusive than other sites, IGN to give one example, of a hugely annoying and invasive ad site. For $10.00 a year you can totally bypass all ads on WarCry. That is not the case with other sites.

Actually, I tried both the Vault and NWN 2 News after recieving the threat level here and it was wierd. Maybe they use the same ad trackers and were blocked because I added the Surge to my profile, but neither drew down the alert.

I've only drawn that level of warning from a single other site(non-NWN) but now that it's in my profile Warcry doesn't add anything to my PC on my visits here so it's all good now.

Though now that I'm building under NWN2 I don't have time for daily visits other then the Vault and a quick peek here to see if anything is happening.

WarCry does add things to your system since you're logged in. You couldn't post that reply without a cookie added to your system.

If this crap bothers you that bad then my suggestion would be to cancel your internet service and uninstall your web browsers.

LOL Adbars are not Warcry silly.

Warcry cookies allow their site to recognize me and help keep me current for participation in their forums. Tracers though are for a one-direction exchange of information. Where Warcry cookies handle my details for interaction on this site as a mediator of information exchange, tracers lay low and study my interaction across the internet as a whole and then siphon off bandwidth I pay for to report my actions to a central source they are linked to.

Given, uninstalling my web browsers(if it's even possible to fully uninstall IE) and canceling my net service would insulate me from trackers is a guaranteed way to stop them, there are other alternatives for those that give some serious thought to the matter...

...establishing a defensive picket around your virtual umbilicol cord via firewalls, internet security packages, PC configurations and/or router.

...relying less on IE and utilizing safer/more secure? browsers like Firefox

...if set on using IE, staying uptodate on critical patchs via windows update

...avoid frequenting sites that attempt to establish a delivery of some of the more insidious attempts at stealthy observation in favour of those that employ more obvious methods of ad tracking and are easily blocked by basic firewalls

Your suggestion, though viable, is a more scorched earth approach to the issue in a field of various options.

Thank you for your helpfulness and advice, but I think I'll stick with my current method of allowing a Warcry cookie on my PC, in case PW interest should reemerge on this site, and blocking all other cookies that may attempt a delivery. ;-)