Need Safe Spyware Program for the PC

By purchasing a reputable product, like Ad-aware.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

 

Talk to Randy Schatten...!!! He's a member here... i don't turn on my computer in the morning without calling Randy first...

 

Excellent question! There are many 'fake' anti-spyware applications that are out in teh wild. And while you might search for spybot or adaware, the search results might take you to something very similar.

There are a few good apps out there. I personally recommend three: hijackthis (you can send me log files if needed), spybot, and adaware. All can be downloaded safely...here: http://www.spychecker.com/software/antispy.html

I've been toying around with GIANT lately. But it is not free. The other three applications are free, can easily be updated and can be scheduled to run as well. The scheduling part of Spybot is there, and you can add /AUTOUPDATE to the switch in the scheduler, which is not included in the command line. Adaware can be scheduled, but little documentation about how to do it. I'll see if I can get around to writing something up for it. Personally, when running all three (hijackthis only if things are really bad and you use IE) and schedule weekly to clean up shop if needed while I am away at work. The other three days of the week are all drive scans for antivirus applications.

Best recommendation, which works for most people: use mozilla (firefox actually) as a browser www.mozilla.org

p.s. - thanks Carbie.

 

Two other notes:

- Pest Patrol version 5 works very well, but costs $40. I use Ad Aware, Spybot and Pest Patrol.

- In addition to scheduling the programs, run them in the "custom scan" mode every now and then and scan the ENTIRE "C" drive. They don't do this in the default mode, they scan the likely places of viruses. I have found many that are in non-likely places on the hard drive.

 

I assume that you can install a couple programs and have them running without conflict.

 

yes, zero problems. spybot will warn you that you have adaware installed, but it doesn't matter. one catches some stuff, the other catches some stuff. one thing I tend to believe is that no one tool will solve your problems. and hijackthis, it just shows what is the current BHO's, or rather, browser helper objects. BHO's are small plug ins, and the help you out by loading up an application at a visited site or call, such as adobe acrobat reader, so you can view while visiting a page.

 

Dude, don't thank me, you're the man...! Now if i could just get you let me pay you for my website...

 

hijackthis and adaware are pretty much standard fare. A lot of companies use these in the corporate environment for "PC cleanup" and hijackthis has great logging capability that any nerd can interpret. Right on the money, Randy!

 

Links through Cnet are usually Legit

 

AdAware SE *Personal* (the free version) has very few command line options, unlike AdAware 6. With v6, I wrote a batch file that downloaded the updates and ran a full scan, then scheduled the batch file to run every night. With the new version, command line switches of any use at all are restricted to the Plus and Professional versions. All the switches are displayed if you run ad-aware.exe /?

I personally use the following for spyware removal, in this order:
1. CWShredder
2. HiJack This
3. Ad-Aware SE

 

I use spybot all the time and it works great. It doesn't catch everything, but it does alot.

 

I just ran spybot and it found 92 items and fixed them
then adaware found over 100. It said they were quarantined. Does this fix or get rid of them?

After running these I am getting error messages when I start the computer. I put a pic of it in my other thread.

 

Just to let some people know. There is no #1 Spyware tool. I read an interesting article that no spyware tools [up to posting time] finds all the spyware.

The suggestion is to use a coupe of free ones:

1) Adware
2) Spybot
3) TDS-3
4) CWShredder
5) TrojanHunter
6) BOClean

Hope this helps

 

I heard (don't know if it's true) that Ad-aware puts its own malicious spyware in while getting red of the rest ?

I use Spybot (search and destroy). Seems to have worked well till now. And when I uninstalled Ad-aware after a complete scan with updated refereces and scanned with Spybot for the first time, it found a lot of crap that either was not picked up by Adaware or was installed by it. So I'm happy with my switch.

 

Got a squeeky snake? 'Cause there's lots of snake oil out there.

Was doing some typical boredom browsing ("spark the mistuned engine pings") when I got several "internet explorer" windows warning of spyware infestations.

Which was interesting, as I'm using Firefox, not IE. (Nice try carpetbaggers.)

Caveat Emptor.

Cogito ergo sum. Stupido ergo consumer.

 

Just for your own sake use Firefox instead of Internet explorer.

Since I use it I get less spyware!

 

FWIW, Microsoft is getting into the anti-spyware game.

------------------------------------------------------

by Paul Thurrott, [email protected]

Microsoft Purchases GIANT Company Software for Antispyware Solution

This morning, Microsoft pleasantly surprised me by purchasing GIANT Company Software, which makes what I believe is the best antispyware solution on the market. The acquisition includes all of GIANT's products, technology, and staff. Microsoft will soon launch a beta of an upcoming version of Giant AntiSpyware, which will likely be branded a Microsoft product, and will present the solution as the ultimate security companion to Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).
"Spyware is a serious and growing problem for PC users, and customers have made it clear that they want Microsoft to deliver effective solutions to protect against the threat," Mike Nash, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Security Business and Technology Unit, said. "Through this acquisition we're excited to be able to provide near-term relief to Windows customers by offering new technology to help keep spyware and other deceptive software off their PCs."
I spoke with GIANT Cofounder Andrew Newman just the other day, before the Microsoft acquisition was finalized, and he told me that his company's spyware solution is unique for several reasons, including its community-driven approach to identifying malware. The company has created an online resource called Spynet that helps catalog and identify the types of executables people install on their PCs. "The Spynet technology helps users decide what is and is not spyware," Newman told me. "The biggest goal is to develop a system that is knowledgeable and intelligent about what applications are spyware. We have the users contribute to it as well. What's amazing is that the Spynet community is helping us determine the actual logic that goes into the system."
Although Microsoft has committed to shipping a public beta of the next version of Giant AntiSpyware sometime in the next 30 days, the company hasn't yet determined final product plans, pricing, and a delivery timeline. However, Newman told me that GIANT was working on an enterprise version of its product, which was to have hit the beta stage by the end of 2004. That means Microsoft could very well have sewn up spyware solutions for both its XP and Windows 2000 clients and its Windows Server 2003 and Win2K Server products.
As a matter of full disclosure, I investigated numerous antispyware solutions this year after a nasty series of Trojan horses hit my laptop, and I found Giant AntiSpyware to be the best solution by far, well ahead of more well-known applications such as Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy. I strongly recommend that all XP and Win2K users take a look at Microsoft's public beta of the next version of Giant AntiSpyware when it's released early next month. If we're lucky, Microsoft will simply roll the technology into future versions of Windows.

 

Randy,

Would you still make these same recommendations now.... 10 years later?

Mike

 

Can't speak for Randy, but I'd bet most would still suggest "Spybot S&D", "Adaware." and perhaps "Hijackthis" as good ideas. Put CCleaner into that list, and you are in pretty good overall shape.

 

Unfortunately, all of those are, essentially, clean-up tools for active infections.

For intrusion protection, I still think that Microsoft Security Essentials works best. I've tried most of the rest (anti-virus/malware) but keep coming back. Of course, I do software updates as needed.

But if anyone has a true "anti-spy" solution then I'm all ears. Or even an intrusion detection program/process as well (with notification).

 

Interesting, MSE just caught a JAVA exploit attempt. From the National Review of all places.

http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/threat/encyclopedia/Entry.aspx?Name=SoftwareBundler%3AWin32%2FSquareNet

https://www.oshidefender.com/threats/Win32.SquareNet.B+application/details
.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Honestly Microsoft's mrt (malware removal) built in works good from the accounts I've read.
& modern AV engines seem to detect is more than the Spybot days. If you want to manually invoke it via: start menu > type "mrt.exe" > enter

www.av-comparatives.org for AV data on which ones the best (changes with every revision)

You can run Kaspersky free scanner for a second opinion & spot checking..
I'd stay away from any registry cleaners; use them to clean cache & memory, sure.

ComboFix & Hijackthis are great power user tools, which probably don't apply here

 

Thanks!

Mike