Spyware

[Third EYe]

Everyone is aware of Adaware and Spybot, right?

If you do not have both of these installed on your system, do it now, seriously. I've used them both on and off for a spell now, yet I felt they weren't enough. I purchased Webroot's Spy Sweeper this weekend and installed it on my wife's system. She's been using both Spybot and Adaware for over a year on a weekly basis, sometimes more. I ran both those products and then Spy Sweeper and it found an additional 158 issues.

if you can afford it, I recommend purchasing this one, I think I paid 29.99 for it. I've been impressed with Webroot's products for quite some time now.

The other 2 products are free, so at minimum get those two.

[Kathleen]

I've got Spybot 1.3 and Adaware 6.0, and I run them religiously on my system.

Knock on wood, I've only had one crash of my system, and that was back before I got these programs.

[Antrobus]

I bought and installed Spy Assasin as well as having Spybot. I need to download Adaware again. I had it before I upgraded from Windows ME to Windows XP.

[Third EYe]

Does Spy Assasin pick up things that Adaware and Spybot do not?

It's clear that not one of these progs finds everything, but it would be nice if one would.

[AgentSun]

i run both at least once a week. i've made it very clear and adament to my parents that they need to do so too.

[Third EYe]

I run once or twice a day.

[Antrobus]

Spy Assasin does pick up things the others miss. It seems that they all pick up different things. Guess you can't run too many!

[BrowderChick]

I run Spybot and AdAware about twice a day. Or as many times as I log off. That way when I log on, it will be clean. But I dont get that many hits. Maybe 5 at the most. I run other stuff too like Trend Micros Housecall all the time. I used to have PC Cillin in my old computer and I am yet to find something better. You cant buy it in a store so I loaded Norton as a backup til I got the new computer up and going and within the first week, Norton let a hacker into my computer. So now I cant get my PC Cillin in my computer because I dont dare use a credit card on line on this computer.

[JadedLegend3]

Can someone explain the difference between the two? I have AdAware, but not Spybot.

[Kurt_eh]

Or post a link to get them (just in case someone only has one on their system, but not the other :innocent: )

[AgentSun]

www.lavasoftusa.com - adaware

www.security.kolla.de - spybot

they do the same things, really.

[Kurt_eh]

Thanks AS!

I've picked up stuff in Ad Aware that spybot missed before, and heard of the inverse as well...

[divinedaydreams]

i run both at least once a week. i've made it very clear and adament to my parents that they need to do so too.

I recommend them to my parents but dad keeps telling that Earthlink stops all that stuff.

Right :rolleyes:

[divinedaydreams]

I also have Sygate Personal Firewall which I get minor hits on pretty frequently. Today though I got a bunch of Major hits. Something about someone trying to give my computer a boot command or virus. Stopped them so I'm happy with it.

[Sponge]

As far as firewalls go, I've got Black Ice Defender on my home PC. It's very good. Don't usually get anything more than a yellow alert (suspicious) - but occasionally it'll bring up a red (critical) when the occasional Slammer or StackBros attack gets tried. But it stops them all.

For spyware, I've just got Spybot for now. Spy Sweeper would be nice, but I can't get a credit card to pay for it (I'm unemployed, no one will give me one) - and wouldn't trust internet security with it in any case.

[SeasonOfDeath]

I downloaded the trial version of AdAware from Lavasoft and I swear it dumped a trojan on my hard drive. I got rid of it and now use Spyware Doctor for malware and cookie detection to supplement OfficeScan by Trend Micro.

[zap]

We had this convo here a while back. PLease read thru this link, espesially the information about your index.dat file. I got the suggested aceutilities program, and I love it! Here's the link.

http://www.watchfarscape.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23604&highlight=index.dat

[faustus]

we shouldn't need to have the programs. but that's a whole other matter

[Farscape Forever]

I agree that spybot s+d and Adaware dont' cover it all but beyond them you pretty much have to pay for a program.

Then your not really paying for the program as much as updates for the program, which i'm always leery of because of companies that'll disappear and then your left with a useless program.

[Third EYe]

I think webroot will be around for a spell.

I agree, we shouldn't need these progs. I bet if we let the hackers and crackers loose, spyware would stop.

[Farscape Forever]

You got a link for webroot? I think I might have tested that one out before? I know out of all the ones you have to pay for, I tested one that was to my likeing.

[Third EYe]

Webroot (http://www.webroot.com/wb/products/windowwasher/index.php?rc=648&ac=adw01gen)

[AgentSun]

i'm using spybot, adaware, and spy sweeper...i'm also using ace utilities. as for firewalls, i use zonealarm. the black ice firewall i considered before i stopped considering because of the virus that infected black ice, but not zone alarm. i use norton 2004 and my parents both use AVG, along with zone alarm and ad aware.

[Antrobus]

Just to rant - I really think that the ISPs should be dealing with this and taking the burden off from their clients!!

It's like you have to dig a moat around your computer and then fill it with water and alligators to keep everyone out!!

[scrape_medic]

Okay just loaded adaware and it found 54 objects, including some I thought looked suspicious this afternoon, and though those particular threats were covered by symantec, those particular registry keys and values weren't........frell I could have saved myself alot of time.

Thanks for putting this thread here ThirdEye :)

[Farscape Forever]

Just to rant - I really think that the ISPs should be dealing with this and taking the burden off from their clients!!

It's like you have to dig a moat around your computer and then fill it with water and alligators to keep everyone out!!

The ISP's can't really do anything about it can they? I mean unless its being hosted off websites using webspace provided by them. Even then I don't know if it violates any user agreement.

If you look at a site like Uproar.com, thats a legitimate site that tries to rope you into getting Gator, how are you going to stop it anywhere else if its allowed in places like that. Not to mention that spyware gets bundled with some software, and aside from warnings nothing is going to get done about that if sites like Cnet will host the files.

[AgentSun]

yeah, antrobus, i know ISPs should handle this...but the thing is, i don't trust most ISPs that claim they do this, including AOL and Earthlink. the reason i don't trust them is that AOL has a pop up blocker, yes, but it doesn't stop them from sending AOL pop ups! and all the things like ad aware that we can download for free, many ISPs use as an excuse to charge 30 or 40 dollars a month for dial up!

[scrape_medic]

I feel a record coming on...........:)

[who45]

downloaded adaware....724 hits...uumm maybe that was my problem. :lol
Now is there a prize or record....I think I hold it :lol

[AgentSun]

YEAH! that's a record! at most mine had 40. last i scanned, i had 1. i scanned spysweeper and got 64.

[BrowderChick]

Mine was 283. I thought that was bad. :dunno:

[LT Garrix]

I've been running Ad-aware and S&D for a couple years now and they work pretty well.

I tried Webroot, but it really hasn't found anything. It turned up 3 after I ran the other two. For comparison I ran it a couple days later and it only picked up 3. S&D and Adaware found about 40 combined. So, I guess I really didn't notice a change, other than it ate up processor power. I won't be paying for the updates as it didn't impress me. Maybe I just don't go to sites that have stuff it recognizes.

I think TVGuide online grid is responsible for most of the spyware I've been getting. That and the Skiffy board. I'm running a test on that right now.

[AgentSun]

i think the free version of spysweeper is just fine. no need to pay for it.

[Third EYe]

The free ones are fine, but they do not detect half of what's out there. I'm thinking of purchasing another one in a month or so.

The only problem with spysweeper's free version is that it expires.

[LT Garrix]

Test complete. Since my last S&D scan I have only been to here, FMD and skiffy's board, well, my own site too, but that had better not be adding spyware, and it came up with 38. Gotta love Skiffy. At least we know how they pay the bills.

[who45]

The free ones are fine, but they do not detect half of what's out there. You mean there could have been more on mine.. :eek: :faint:

[Third EYe]

I have taken a net virgin system and connected the cat5 cable and did nothing more than power it up. I then ran adaware and found 3 progs. I ran spybot and found none, I then ran spysweeper and found 5, then ran adaware again and found 2.

You don't have to surf to get spyware it seems. That's scary.

[LiLOrion]

Well some spyware is on your computer I think for different programs/peripherals.

Spybot actually warns about deleting those spyware programs as you might not be able to run those programs on your computer if you do.

It also says that Adaware complains about temp files that Spybot sets up AFTER it runs its scan and deletes "bugs". Spybot says to ignore those detections by Adaware cause if you delete them you would be deleting the back-up/temp file that Spybot set up.

[zap]

yall are still going to have problems until you get to the index.dat file. aceutilities is the utility to buy to get rid of it. try it free for 30 days, then see if you don't want to buy it! I love it.

[scrape_medic]

Okay...here's the thing. Recently I have had to click on a link TWICE to get the page to load quickly. Click it once and it starts to load and then just hangs there for ages, but click it again and it loads almost immediately!

On another site I saw a link to the new Microsoftanti spyware (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx) so, I went there, and after having to go through the process of validating my copy of Windows, downloaded the new programme and ran it. Now there are a couple of spyware programmes that I know have been identified before, but never seemed to have been removed properly, and having recently just run Adaware, I was a little surprised to see the new programme finding and deleteing 5 new threats, including Bridge, which was one of the previously identified threats!

And the rub?.....Now I click once on a link and hey presto! there I am.

In my veiw....worth a look. :)