GREAT LIVE WEATHER UPDATE SITE

BOWHUNTERCOP · 10-30-2002, 04:43 PM

GUYS IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE WEATHER, WIND SPEED, WIND CHILL, BAROMETER, DEW POINT, HUMIDITY, ETC GOTO THIS WEB SITE AND DOWNLOAD IT. ONCE DOWNLOADED EVERY TIME YOU TURN YOUR COMPUTER ON, IT TELLS YOU THE OUTSIDE TEMPATURE OF YOUR HOME AREA, AND YOU CAN PUT IN ANY TOWN, IN ANY STATE, AND GET LIVE UPDATES, OR 5 DAY FORCAST, ETC.

www.weatherbug.com

IAMBOB · 10-30-2002, 07:08 PM

Some additional points about "Weatherbug";
1:Weatherbug is popular and works well for many folk.
2: Most mainstream users of the internet do not mind that information is being gathered about their browsing habits online or that their email address is being given out.
HOWEVER: having said that....
3: Some people, especially long time internet - savvy types, prefer to be told up front, before installing the software, that the software is gathering information on them, recording what web sites they visit, and helping to put their email addresses on junk mail lists. I have seen some posts over at ZDnet that state Weatherbug contains the infamous "GATOR" spyware tool. It's hard to remove once you install it even if you un-install the Weatherbug.
RECCOMENDATIONS: Do a search on your favorite search engine containing the words "weatherbug" and "spyware". Learn about a program called "ad-aware". Learn how to use disk imaging software like "Norton Ghost" that will allow you to "force" your machine back to whatever software configuration you decide to save and even swap images so you can decide WHEN to run the weatherbug and the GATOR.
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COHODK · 10-30-2002, 07:58 PM

Hey Bob, thanks for the heads up!

mauser06 · 10-30-2002, 08:13 PM

ive been running weather bug forever! glad its not my email in there! no wonder my mom gets pounded with crap mail constantly!!! o well i guess...i love what it does..and it doesnt bother me my mom gets flooded with over 25 emails a day!

Jason N · 10-31-2002, 11:49 AM

I've been running weatherbug for years and the only junk mail I get is 1 everyother day from weatherbug....same addy everytime. I just delete it and move on.

Bowfever · 10-31-2002, 08:19 PM

I have had Weatherbug for a while and I love it. I also have ad-aware and zone alarm and I "think" I have control what goes on with my pc. I have had no conflicts with it.

IAMBOB · 11-01-2002, 10:38 PM

Here is a brief exerpt from PC World magazine concerning the "Gator" component found in some (but not all) versions of Weatherbug;

"(...)The program also sends periodic reports to Gator's server about the Web sites you've visited(...)"

The full article is on the PCWorld web site at www.pcworld.com
or try this direct to page link at;

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,63345,00.asp

A personal comment: I know a hard working police officer who is a good man overall. His job is important and sometimes very stressful and dangerous. He hunts the most dangerous game on the planet: The human perpetrator of crime. When he comes home to relax he sometimes enjoys visiting the so called "adult" web sites with his computer. The presence of "Gator" on his machine means that a record of his visits are sitting on Gator's commercial "server" computer where it can possibly be retrieved by a skillful computer hacker or if nessesary by the government.

Weatherbug, like some other free downloads, is very useful and popular. I just like making sure that people know what else they may be buying in to when they install such software.

Ad Aware - when kept up to date - is a great defense. Zonealarm - when kept up to date - is also very good but like any firewall there is a chance it might not warn you if the suspect program is mimicking or hijacking the actions of a "trusted" application: example: disguise it's actions as those of the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser or use the same "ports" as the browser.
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Wirehair · 11-02-2002, 08:37 AM

Thanks for the info