GreasyPalm

TheLydons

Thank you for the link.

I'm already a member, but I haven't purchased anything via them, although I do have some credit sitting in my GP account.

Unfortunately, I have read more bad press about them than good, but I am a fair person, if it comes out that they do provide a good service and people do get their rebates, I'll happily promote them too.

At the present time, I haven't received many GP members thoughts, so it might be worthwhile checking with the web admin team & Martin about doing a survey on it, like the gambling one that is on the go at the moment.

s@sha

It might very well be detected as spyware by spyware detection software, but that doesn't mean that it's BAD spyware that you don't want!  It's up to you - I'd rather not miss a potential rebate.

I'm not very technically minded so forgive me if I do seem vague, & it was months ago so my memory is a bit hazy but it did seem as if signing up to greasypalm opened the floodgates for all sorts of unwanted problems. We suddenly had a lot of spam emails, and absolutely loads of pop-ups which we didn't have before, and the PC was running much slower than it should be because of all the spyware. And it was all sorts of spyware, not just the rebate checker.

I don't like things being installed on my PC without my knowledge, even if it does mean I get a rebate...the problems we had just weren't worth the hassle & put me right off signing up in future for anything similar.

scheming_gypsy

Unfortunately, I have read more bad press about them than good, but I am a fair person, if it comes out that they do provide a good service and people do get their rebates, I'll happily promote them too.

They give you free money.

Scenario 1
you don't use them you don't get free money

Scenario 2
you use them and you get free money

Scenario 3
You use them but don't always get your free money.

Conclusion
Nothing to lose by using them.


Final word
If people are so worried about who knows what sites you're going on then you're either a !!!!!! or need to get out more. I'm pretty confident that hackers are more concerned with bigger fish than if you got all the BOGOF's available at tesco.co.uk.

Spyware - don't worry too much, somebody following you and diving in bushes whenever you turn round? get worried.

TheLydons

Technically speaking, they don't give you free money. You are awarded a £2.50 credit in a virtual account when you first sign up. If you want to get this money, without participating further, it will actually cost you £2.50. In the terms and conditions of the site, it states that if you want to withdraw sums under £25, you have to pay an administration charge of £5.00.

Scammers as a rule, do not prey on big sites, as they know that the security aspects of the big players are quite high tech and often inpenetrable. They will, however, clone sites and emails from the larger sites, claiming to have affiliation, when they do not and they then target the less web-savvy, who trust the email/website. Look at the increase in cloned bank websites, cloned correspondance from Ebay and the latest, Amazon.

I am not paranoid about visiting websites and have no problem with sharing information with them. However, I want to be in control of what information I do pass on and don't want it leeched by a third party that I would never share my information with.

I have been a long time promoter of the web and buying online, persuading people that it is safe to do it. I do it all the time, in fact, I prefer it over traipsing to the shops or the telephone. However, in the last year, there has been an increase in the amount of scams/cons going on and they are very difficult to detect.

An example being, I recently visited another affiliate of GreasyPalm, ie. one that gives you cashback for signing up. This particular site was claiming that it had been backed by GMTV and had a link to it's website. The link was http://www.gm.tv and when I followed it, it seemed genuine. However, the real link to GMTV is http://www.gmtv.co.uk/. If you take a look yourself, they are identical, but one is being cloned in real-time by using ColdFusion. The false one has a lot of spyware in the site and pop ups appear everywhere, however, this does not happen on the genuine one.

Ask anyone in the IT trade, the best security person to have on board is a former hacker, they know all the tricks. Although, I am based in security, I am not a hacker but I know people who know people and I know how things operate. Personally, I get a kick out of getting the better of scammers by letting people know what is going on, so that the scammers have to work a hell of a lot harder to scam me!

Whistleblowing maybe, but why the hell not!

Too many people find out the hard way, when they have had their credit card cloned, bank accounts wiped, you name it, it has been done already. Just be careful and don't trust everything that you read. Do enough research to make yourself happy with the site and proceed.

Personally, I have no intention of dictating to people what they can and can't do whilst on the web, of course that is their own choice and I would never pass judgement on it. But so long as people fall victim to scams and ask questions about it, I will continue to reply.

TheLydons

Final word
If people are so worried about who knows what sites you're going on then you're either a !!!!!! or need to get out more. I'm pretty confident that hackers are more concerned with bigger fish than if you got all the BOGOF's available at tesco.co.uk.

Spyware - don't worry too much, somebody following you and diving in bushes whenever you turn round? get worried.

Web users fall victim to hackers/crackers/scammers without their knowledge everyday. If you have a large hard disk (anything over 10Gb), use broadband and don't have a firewall running, you just might win the "!!!!!! Website Image Hosting Account" Sweepstake.

IP addresses are scanned every second of the day, those IPs who report a firewall, usually don't get any further into the "sweepstake". If you are one of the lucky few, that doesn't have security installed, you might just be lucky enough to be chosen as a remote image store. What that means is, you could have a load of !!!!!! images uploaded to your hard disk and not know a thing about it. Try explaining that to the local plod when your IP address has been tracked down as a host.

Why is it that they never catch the real culprits? It is because they use unsuspecting victims hard drives. Do you know what is on your hard disk today?

I have actually seen this in action, where hard disk space has been used and it is common practice in the Warez community. It is highly illegal, but it is still done, a lot of it is undetected. All that happens is that site might be closed down and within minutes a new one is up and running again.

In addition, the FBI do also try to obtain information from "chatty" users who boast about their online activities, but it's usually only the ones who are hacker-wannabes that get caught by the FBI. Personally, I have nothing to hide from the FBI or from the government, so they can carry on with their audits, doesn't bother me.

I, myself, don't want to be used for any illegal purpose and I would hate for anyone else to be used in that manner, just because they believed that it would never happen to them. It always happens to someone, just be proactive and that someone won't be you!

Please note : above information refers to the expanded topic of spyware/malware/internet security and not to GreasyPalm.

TheLydons

This may come as a shock, but I've come across a website that holds everyone's passport details*. The disturbing thing is that anyone can access other people's personal info. I've removed my info. I suggest you all do the same. The website address is http://www.humnri.com/enter/passport/












*^{this is a joke, there is fun to be had on the web - that's why I love it so!}

Peter-Pan_5

I`m a self taught grey surfer,Greasy Palm I have clicked

their links about 10/15 times filled in surveys,bought

goods how much have I been awarded,S.F.A nothing

has shown in my account,they are investigating?!

elGuapo_3

I don't really believe Greasy palm are anything to get too worked up about from a spyware point of view. I'm a web developer by trade, and have recently signed up - it's mostly just affiliate links.. there's no real need to install their software if you visit the target-sites via their members area.

I'd agree there is a possible risk with them not paying / disapeering of the face of the earth, but otherwise it seems quite harmless.

TheLydons

I whole-heartedly agree with you, on the surface, GP do provide a service that is useful to web-users and repeat online buyers. If it was completely transparent and they and their affiliates, truthfully declared what was being recorded during a site visit, then I would be more at ease. I too, am a member of GP.

Unfortunately, I don't accept the "data protection act" line, as I understand the act and know the loopholes in it. As with a lot of Acts and T&Cs there are always loopholes and they are always taken advantage of by those who know that they exist. An extreme parallel would be lawyers and the law - I mean how many people suffer from loopholes/technicalities or get off a charge with a loophole, when they are as guilty as sin!

I have written many policies and procedures for blue chip companies (that protect the company in a dispute), I have written T&Cs for my husband's I.T. company to protect him from being taken advantage of - it does happen, even when you do provide second-to-none customer service.

I have been called into settle two disputes that arose in my husband's company and in both cases, both customers had "incorrectly" quoted the Sales of Goods Act. My husband had been threatened with the Trade Descriptions Act, CAB and a few others. Whilst talking to these customers, I simply pointed out why their argument held no water and invited them to an open discussion with CAB to discuss. On both occasions, they declined - they were just trying their luck with a small business in a village.

We were then subject to negative publicity via "word of mouth", luckily for us, it didn't damage our reputation in the slightest, in fact, it strengthened it, as our customers knew that we were fair, didn't try to oversell, didn't promise anything that we couldn't deliver and if there was a problem, they were the first to know and we always checked with them before we started on any work.

I have read GPs T&Cs (from their point of view - ie. protecting themselves and also from a members point of view) and in my opinion, GP have more to gain from members, than the members will gain. Essentially, it is, in my opinion, a high tech pyramid scheme. Personally, I avoid pyramid schemes mainly because I know that whatever I contribute, some one else will make more out of my contribution, than I will ever make for myself. I would prefer to have less renumeration and to have 100% of the prize than 50% of a promise of a prize.

I apologize if I have gone on too long (again)!

I am not saying do not use GreasyPalm, I am just advising those who do participate or are thinking about participating, to not make the assumption that the sites that you visit via GP are on the level. A lot of them are, but there are a few that are just trying to make a quick buck. It may be in GPs interest to find out who these rogue affiliates are, as they might just give GP a bad name.

Fenella

I also am not very technical.
I have been paid out over £100 by Greasy Palm without any problems.