Is Anti Spyware Really Necessary?

[Gary A]

I used Webroot Spy Sweeper for quite a long time and never had any problems. It did regular scheduled sweeps and usually found something. I then upgraded my Bitdefender to Plus V 10 and also bought Advanced Windows Care V2 Pro. Spy Sweeper no longer finds any problems. It tells me "Congratulations, no spy ware found". That's well and good but Spy Sweeper hogs a lot of resources and is always slow to start. I completely turned off Spy Sweeper for several days then turned it back on and did a sweep. It found nothing so when the subscription runs out I will not renew it. It appears Bitdefender and Advanced Windows Care are doing a decent job.

[harleyclarkey]

My com messed up pretty bad last week to the point of crashing and not rebooting. The problem came in through a zip folder on MSN. I was chating and it came with.."see our photo, Don't we look good together" I thought it was from the babe. I saved the file, scanned it with AVG which passed it as safe and bingo....a Trojan...Vundo. Hard to remove. IIt was my fault for opening the file as AVG could not get to the zipped part of it. Windows DID warn me and I stupidle ignored it.

You need all the help nowadays to keep your com safe. The best...matter of opinion as always!...is Spy Sweeper. It is advised to have 2 spyware programmes. so maybe Spybot as well....or Spyware blaster. I would also add Adaware.

I am assuming you have virus protection?? Get AVG...still good.

What was the filetype of that picture? Uncheck "hide extentions for known file tpes" in folder options.

Maybe you inadvertedly openend an 'exe' or other active filetype because the filetype is hidden by default. Jpg should be ok to open anyway. If someope sent you a picture that is not jpg then it is at least conspicious.

Obiwan...I dumped the file off my com as fast as possible. It just came in as a 4Kb file that opened up to 88Kb. and the virus (Trojan Vundo) with it.

[Shellrlen]

Yes, Anti spyware is vital. Read a lot more bout anti spyware from https://thevpn.guru/spyware-explained/. Spyware is installed onto a user’s PC without their knowledge and works in a concealed mode, rendering users not aware of the problematic and fraudulent stuff that take place. Any PC owner utilizing the internet is at a threat from malicious software such as spyware, as it penetrates into your personal PC via the internet platform. People who utilize online payment solutions like credit and debit cards for paying stuff are at danger. Hidden spyware can save and share their info like credit card details; that’s why putting individuals are danger of fraud or, even worse, recognize theft. It is significant to make sure that the PC use has the right security features in place to stop the installation on spyware on the computer. Anti-spyware software ensures that your safety is preserved against dangerous malware that is made by hackers, to subvert your OS.

[Henryford]

I use the free Malwarebytes and Superantispyware programmes. They sometimes pick up nasties which get through my firewall.

[cmarshall]

Here's a step that increases your security with no cost and very little difficulty.  Login to your router and set the default DNS server to 9.9.9.9 with a backup to 149.112.112.112.  Be sure to remove the entry that points to your ISP's DNS server.

 

Quad9 is DNS server maintained by IBM and some other companies that blocks known malware sites.  It is constantly updated by that consortium.

 

Read more about it here:

https://www.quad9.net/faq/

 

However, if you have the skills, it is better to take advantage of every tool to protect your data, including these:

 

1.  run a virtual machine manager such as Vmware Workstation ($$) or VirtualBox (free).  Then isolate your sensitive functions such as logging onto banks, email, etc. to one vm.  Never surf the web on your "safe" vm; only connect to trusted sites.  Create another "dirty" vm, Windows or linux, and use that one to surf the internet.  If you can run linux as your host installation, that is better, but never surf the web from the host OS either.  

 

So, now you have isolated the data that needs to be secure.  By all means run Zonealarm and Malwarebytes on both your vms, if they are Windows, but you'll find that they don't catch anything on your safe vm and only very rarely on the surfing vm.

 

2.  If you have the skills run pihole from pi-hole.net on a raspberry pi.  Configure the upstream DNS servers to be quad9 as above.  In addition to the blocking of malware sites by quad9, pihole will block known advertising sites.  The result is that most of the ads are eliminated from all apps on all devices on your lan.  

 

3.  The question with anti-spyware is why should you trust it?  It could be spyware, for instance.  Zonealarm and Malwarebytes have been around long enough that I trust them.  

 

It's much better to prevent access from malware than to clean up after intrusions.