I just opened up my "Network" node in Windows Explorer and there is an entry there called "login.dotomi.com". I did not add it. Dotomi's website describes itself a marketing company and is apparently owned by AOL. I did not add this connection and I do not know how to remove it. I am really concerned. I have reported this site to Microsoft's "Report a website" (Internet Explorer | [wheel] | Safety | Report unsafe website) and I apologize to them if this is not their doing. But before now, I have never visited their site. How can anyone add a site such as this to my network without me knowing?I know we entering a new era of hacking and security concerns, but shouldn't W2K8-R2 protect against this?How can I remove this and prevent this security hole from happening again? Thanks, Bob.

Hi, Its rather strange. If its possible, please capture a screenshot to show this entry. Currently, please first ensure the Windows Server 2008 R2 system is up to date with the latest security updates and Service Pack. Then, if you have antivirus program installed, perform a full scan. You can also use the Microsoft Safety Scanner which is a free downloadable security tool that provides on-demand scanning and helps remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. It works with your existing antivirus software. Microsoft Safety Scanner http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx Hope this helps. Regards, Bruce

Hi, Its rather strange. If its possible, please capture a screenshot to show this entry. Currently, please first ensure the Windows Server 2008 R2 system is up to date with the latest security updates and Service Pack. Then, if you have antivirus program installed, perform a full scan. You can also use the Microsoft Safety Scanner which is a free downloadable security tool that provides on-demand scanning and helps remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. It works with your existing antivirus software. Microsoft Safety Scanner http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx Hope this helps. Regards, Bruce

Bruce, The entry disappeared soon after I submitted the question so cannot take a screen shot anymore. The system is updated regularly from Windows Update and has current Symantec definitions. I ran Microsoft Safety Scanner and it found nothing. This sort of makes this even scarier. I can't find any evidence of being hacked, but then, other than RDP logons, what evidence would there be anyhow? And why would a hacker want to connect to dotomi anyhow? Judging from they appear to do - make zillions tracking people for marketing and not respecting people's privacy, its looking more and more like they installed something. There appear to be other complaints about this company such as http://www.pharmacyreviewer.com/forum/personal-advice-politics-books-movies-sport-money-travel-anything-off-topic/20918-dotomi-more-web-tracking.html. In the meantime, I have put an IP Block into my router for dotomi.com and login.dotomi.com and the current IP for login.dotomi.com (74.217.101.3) in case they have some kind of bot installed that "phones home". I also reported them to: http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/report_badware/ http://securitylabs.websense.com/content/reportMalicious.aspx According to http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=1876, it is possible for advertisements to be a source of "malvertising" that infects systems. Geez. You know, I thought I had a pretty safe system and have taken appropriate precautions. But when this happens, you feel violated. Shame on dotomi. Thanks, Bob.

Bruce, The entry disappeared soon after I submitted the question so cannot take a screen shot anymore. The system is updated regularly from Windows Update and has current Symantec definitions. I ran Microsoft Safety Scanner and it found nothing. This sort of makes this even scarier. I can't find any evidence of being hacked, but then, other than RDP logons, what evidence would there be anyhow? And why would a hacker want to connect to dotomi anyhow? Judging from they appear to do - make zillions tracking people for marketing and not respecting people's privacy, its looking more and more like they installed something. There appear to be other complaints about this company such as http://www.pharmacyreviewer.com/forum/personal-advice-politics-books-movies-sport-money-travel-anything-off-topic/20918-dotomi-more-web-tracking.html. In the meantime, I have put an IP Block into my router for dotomi.com and login.dotomi.com and the current IP for login.dotomi.com (74.217.101.3) in case they have some kind of bot installed that "phones home". I also reported them to: http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/report_badware/ http://securitylabs.websense.com/content/reportMalicious.aspx According to http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=1876, it is possible for advertisements to be a source of "malvertising" that infects systems. Geez. You know, I thought I had a pretty safe system and have taken appropriate precautions. But when this happens, you feel violated. Shame on dotomi. Thanks, Bob.

Dotomi is an online direct marketing company. What you saw was a cookie making a call to dotomi to serve you a personalized message based on a website you had browsed (one of their clients). You went to very elaborate measures to block dotomi, when all you would have to do is opt out of their messaging. Do some research on who Dotomi is, you'll see there is no 'infecting' or 'hacking' going on and the lengths they go to to preserve data integrity and privacy. With less than 5 minutes of research, I found this: http://www.dotomi.com/privacy.html Pretty simple....

Dotomi is an online direct marketing company. What you saw was a cookie making a call to dotomi to serve you a personalized message based on a website you had browsed (one of their clients). You went to very elaborate measures to block dotomi, when all you would have to do is opt out of their messaging. Do some research on who Dotomi is, you'll see there is no 'infecting' or 'hacking' going on and the lengths they go to to preserve data integrity and privacy. With less than 5 minutes of research, I found this: http://www.dotomi.com/privacy.html Pretty simple....

jkruse14: I am going to assume that that you are acknowledging, and confirming that Dotomi has the capability to install mechanisms that phone home via networking. If this assumption is true: A bad guy is not going to post anything that says "I am a a bad guy".Cookies do not call home via networking links. They are picked up by the browser and go back and forth using a web site's HTML connection. From your referenced link "Cookies allow marketers to "remember you" when you return to their website". I wasn't on their website. What the H*LL is dotomi doing installing ANYTHING that can take over my networking?I never contacted dotomi before this, went to their website, or even heard of them. I never opted in, and should not have to opt out.Their "opt-out" button appears to opt you out from their emails, not from their phone-home software.A cookie that "calls home" is nothing other than pure unfettered malware. It was installed without my permission or knowledge.I made attempts to contact Dotomi originally but they failed to respond.Why should I or anyone, have to research dotomi. They did it without telling me. That's wrong. They didn't ask. That's wrong. Who are you to tell anyone that Dotomi is not "hacking" or "infecting"? Are you an employee of theirs? What makes you an authority? Personal computers are personal. They are owned by individuals and companies. They are not the possessions of marketing companies. How would you like it if some company installed a radio transmitter in your car without telling you, and reported your transit habits periodically by radioing it in? This is as pure an example of invasion of privacy as anything else out there. If it is legal to install software that can phone home without telling the owner, it would be equally legal to install software than can send confidential files to some central place or government - with laws as they are, taking a copy can't be called theft as long as they leave the original intact. The fact that a marketing company can install software without anyone's knowledge that is capable of sending data back surreptitiously indicates one heck of a major security flaw in Windows. One that we should all be aware of and demand to be fixed. This level of sophistication should be legislated as illegal and anyone, or any company, that practices it should be labelled as criminal. If dotomi was actually an ethical company, they would adhere to the spirit of privacy laws and ask permission before installing phone home software. Pretty naive...

jkruse14: I am going to assume that that you are acknowledging, and confirming that Dotomi has the capability to install mechanisms that phone home via networking. If this assumption is true: A bad guy is not going to post anything that says "I am a a bad guy".Cookies do not call home via networking links. They are picked up by the browser and go back and forth using a web site's HTML connection. From your referenced link "Cookies allow marketers to "remember you" when you return to their website". I wasn't on their website. What the H*LL is dotomi doing installing ANYTHING that can take over my networking?I never contacted dotomi before this, went to their website, or even heard of them. I never opted in, and should not have to opt out.Their "opt-out" button appears to opt you out from their emails, not from their phone-home software.A cookie that "calls home" is nothing other than pure unfettered malware. It was installed without my permission or knowledge.I made attempts to contact Dotomi originally but they failed to respond.Why should I or anyone, have to research dotomi. They did it without telling me. That's wrong. They didn't ask. That's wrong. Who are you to tell anyone that Dotomi is not "hacking" or "infecting"? Are you an employee of theirs? What makes you an authority? Personal computers are personal. They are owned by individuals and companies. They are not the possessions of marketing companies. How would you like it if some company installed a radio transmitter in your car without telling you, and reported your transit habits periodically by radioing it in? This is as pure an example of invasion of privacy as anything else out there. If it is legal to install software that can phone home without telling the owner, it would be equally legal to install software than can send confidential files to some central place or government - with laws as they are, taking a copy can't be called theft as long as they leave the original intact. The fact that a marketing company can install software without anyone's knowledge that is capable of sending data back surreptitiously indicates one heck of a major security flaw in Windows. One that we should all be aware of and demand to be fixed. This level of sophistication should be legislated as illegal and anyone, or any company, that practices it should be labelled as criminal. If dotomi was actually an ethical company, they would adhere to the spirit of privacy laws and ask permission before installing phone home software. Pretty naive...