[alicebot-general] Alicebot MSN Spyware warning

[Dr. Rich Wallace]

Alicebot MSN Virus Warning

I have received a multitude of emails in the past few days from
subscribers to MSN Instant Messenger services, from people who have
chatted with a clone of ALICE on their system who have suspected that this
clone is downloading spyware onto their machines. The threat of malicious
bots releasing viral software has appeared before, but this is the most
serious incident so far. Like many clones of ALICE, this one appears to
contain the basic AIML content containing my email address and references
to the A. I. Foundation, which of course has nothing to with malicious
software. But it directs people to complain to me.

Unfortunately some of the free AIML software available for download may be
infected with the spyware. The A. I. Foundation recommends that you
download third-party free AIML software only with extreme caution,
especially those that connect to IM services. The Foundation is in no way
affiliated with any organization or individual experimenting with or
deploying spyware or keystroke logging software. We cannot be responsible
for AIML software developed by third parties, even if it uses the free
ALICE brain sets offered by the A. I. Foundation. The ALICE brain itself
and the alicebot.org web site has a "Green Light" rating from
Siteadvisor.com indicating no spyware or viruses have been detected among
our downloads.

The Pandorabots free hosting service does not connect to any instant
messenger services, so you are completely safe chatting with bots
Pandorabots.com web pages. If you want to be completely safe, please use a
web based hosting service like Pandorabots.com that does not require any
downloads.