I had Installed Verizons DSL software on 1 of my machines. Anyway I had noticed activity leading me to suspect a spyware/Trojan infection. I downloaded a copy of Spybot S&D, updated it and ran it. It would get just a short way thru the scan and abort. (Scan aborted by user) But I didnt abort it. This made me very suspicious. I opened the task manager and looked at the currently running Proceses. I noticed 3 that I had no knowledge of. MotiveBrowser.exe, VzOpenUIServer.exe, and MotiveSB.exe. I did a search and found a Motive directory in my program files directory. Next I shut down all 3 processes by right clicking and clicking End Process tree. That killed all 3 processes. I then tried running Spybot. No problems at this point.
Anyway I had traced all these programs to the Verizon Installation so I opened Control panel--> Add remove Programs and removed all of it. No more problems at this point. Spybot functions fine. I did a Hyjackthis scan and it looks clean.
I guess the point of this is to not install any software that you don't need. At the time I didn't realise, I didn't need it.

"MotiveBrowser.exe".
"VzOpenUIServer.exe"
"MotiveSB.exe"

Are you trained in the use and investigation of the entries listed in the log this program generates?

HijackThis is an advanced tool that requires advanced knowledge about the Windows Operating System. Most of the log entries are required to run a computer and removing essential ones can potentially cause serious damage such as your Internet no longer working or problems with running Windows itself.

HijackThis is an enumerator and similar in some respects to a registry editor program which displays areas of the Windows registry where the majority of Viruses, Trojans, Spyware, Adware, and Malware reside. HJT will scan certain areas of your system and then create a log to help diagnose the presence of undetected malware in these known hiding places. It then relies on experts to interpret the log entries and determine what needs to be fixed.

Futher, removing entries in HJT before the problem is properly identified can make the malware undetectable to other detection and removal tools. Full system scanning tools like Ad-aware, Spybot S&D and SpySweeper will remove the registry entries as well as the related files which results in a more complete removal process. HJT this should only be used to clean up the entries left behind, after you have properly removed the malware.

If you do not have advanced knowledge about computers you should NOT fix anything using HijackThis without consulting a expert as to what to fix. If you choose to fix anything by yourself, you do so at your own risk.

Lets see. I used Hijackthis only for scanning. I didn't use it to modify anything. Im not that dumb. While I'm not an expert I am not a casual user either. I would rate myself above average on Windows knowledge. By saying the Hyjack log looked fine. I went thru every entry and traced out the applications to see if they were legitimate. It wasn't that hard since I don't have very many apps installed on that machine.
I love being insulted.

No insult intended. Just a few words of caution. You would be surprised as to the number of folks who use this tool incorrectly and end up with a a host of problems. Plus others, with less knowledge than you read these topic threads and get the impression that using Hijackthis is the quick fix answer to resolve their problems.

Anyway, your topic title questioned whether Verizon DSL software included spyware. Two of the files you found were related to Verison Online Support and one to AT&T. I did not find any of them related to malware and no similar reports from others using their software so I'm not sure why Spybot had a problem completing a scan while they were running.

Who's to say it wasn't spyware. I followed those links you gave and learned exactly nothing. The only info provided was info I already knew.
1. Large companies love to spy on folks hoping to get an advertising edge. Maybe verizon was trying to amass my and your browseing habits. Who knows.
2. If I was a clever hacker I would write my trojan to take over from a legitimate service. IE on bootup delete the legitimate service and substitute mine. If I write it to limit propagation then it would escape notice from honeypots etc and stay in the wild longer. Most virus and spyware scanners would miss it. Anyway its now deleted and off my PC so the point is Moot. I relate this so other folks will look at software with suspicion and hopefully keep their machines clean of bad applications.

Let me start by saying I know JACK about computers! but I read the entire thread abouve and decide to disable the process labelled vzOpenUIServer.exe, my internet connection SOAREDafter that! I too have Verizon DSL, and it's kinda slow at times, but after this.... WOW!

While I have no idea whether it includes spyware or not, that Motive smart bridge (or similar name) serves no purpose whatsoever in my opinion.

When long ago my company was pitching in for the cost of routers, their procedure clearly stated to not install any software provided by the ISP.

DSL worked fine for several years without it (changed to FIOS 2 years ago or so).

When you think about it, the purpose V. states is to help diagnose network connection. It is not needed. They can do it remotely. Secondly, if you have no connection, how would you connect in order to diagnose a network connection. I've been wondering about this logic now for several years