Best Anti-spyware

[drummer]

What are the bset anti-spyware programs out there? Should I get more than one? Which ones?

Also what about anti-virus? Right now I have AVG. Can I have more than 1? Should I? Thanks!

[Firefoxx]

The best protection is in what you do... prevent rather than remedy.

1. Avoid using IE (and OE), and use java/javascript only when necessary.

2. Be wary of what you click/install/open

3. Use a firewall (the built-in one is fine)

4. Keep your computer security fairly up to date

Use your computer wisely, and you won't need these programs (although an offline virus scan is recommended every once in a while).

[Steve2UK]

The best protection is in what you do... prevent rather than remedy.

1. Avoid using IE (and OE), and use java/javascript only when necessary.

2. Be wary of what you click/install/open

3. Use a firewall (the built-in one is fine)

4. Keep your computer security fairly up to date

Use your computer wisely, and you won't need these programs (although an offline virus scan is recommended every once in a while).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

All good advice - but stuff happens................

I reckon AVG is fine on its own - free, thorough and frequent updates.

For spyware, MS Antispyware (Beta) seems to do the business - and it's free. I also like Computer Associates PestPatrol (frequent updates) and Webroot SpySweeper. I've noticed that no one anti-spyware programme seems to pick up everything - but (following most of Firefoxx's advice) most of the stuff picked up is trivial. Personally, I want one anti-spyware progarm watching what happens all the time I'm online.

If you're up for it, the Zone Alarm firewall (free version) is thought by some to be more thorough than the XP firewall - but if you configure it wrong, you'll leave yourself open.

[waldwolf]

Seconding Firefoxx's recommendations, there's a lot of truth in the old saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Antivirus, spyware detectors and firewalls are all well and good, however ...........

- Do detectors always work?

- Do firewalls always block malware attempting to enter/exit my computer?

- Is my firewall working properly?

You can check your system and firewall for potential "leaks", utilizing two free tests developed by one of the worlds most respected security experts, Steve Gibson. They are:

ShieldsUp!

LeakTest

Periodic re-testing is highly recommended.

cheers

[melus]

I like XoftSpy - http://www.paretologic.com/. It's fast and has regular updates to download.

Edited June 1, 2005 by melus

[Abandon]

The best protection is in what you do... prevent rather than remedy.

1. Avoid using IE (and OE), and use java/javascript only when necessary.

2. Be wary of what you click/install/open

3. Use a firewall (the built-in one is fine)

4. Keep your computer security fairly up to date

Use your computer wisely, and you won't need these programs (although an offline virus scan is recommended every once in a while).

I second that. I would add that much, if not most, of preventiion comes from staying away from unreputable web sites. Which means porn sites basically. Just about every friend who has asked me to clean out his system had been trauling porn sites. Other than that be careful with email attachments as that is still the most common way to get your computer virussed up. you can right click attachments and place on your desktop, and then scan the desktop (and rest of the system if you want) at Trend free on line scan :

http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/global/enterprise.htm

I use only this online scan as it seems to be the best I have looked at (tried avg, and Panda). Being a bit careful I have never gotten a virus other than through friends using the computer and opening attachments and looking at porn sites.

I use adaware6 occasionally, and have zone alarm free (which is far lighter on resources and easier to use than the full version).

[Welshman]

I use McAffee, which has constant automatic updates, but that doesn't stop some of the worst offenders - adware and browser hijackers.

One way of minimising the problem is use another browser - probably the best out there now is Firefox, with Opera close behind. One of the reasons is that, as about 90% of the world's population use the default browser (IE) then hackers and other &lt;deleted&gt; who write these things target IE.

I find Firefox can be a little annoying sometimes as the whole page has to be loaded before you can even hit the back button - but can't have everything.

Two programs which are useful to have are AdAware and Hijackthis. Both can be downloaded free off the internet - just do a google on both. AdAware will search for adware programs (but be sure to allow the program to update itself regularly). Hijackthis will tell you what programs kick in at boot up. This is useful for finding some obscure program which is messing with your browser or favourites etc. You can click on the suspect ones and Hijackthis will delete the load.

Finally, for some really stubborn programs, you may need to take drastic action. If you have a really persistent problem, then try starting your computer in 'safe' mode. Then run your anti-virus and anti-adware programs. The reason for this is that many of these programs can defend themselves. But if you're running in safe mode, then the programs are dormant and killer programs can track them down and eliminate them.

Hope this helps

[Abandon]

love the avatar Welshman.

there's a thread furthur down comparing different browsers if anyone is still using Explorer

[Boatabike]

my report from shields up using Zone alarm pro.

ne or more ports on this system are operating in FULL STEALTH MODE! Standard Internet behavior requires port connection attempts to be answered with a success or refusal response. Therefore, only an attempt to connect to a nonexistent computer results in no response of either kind. But YOUR computer has DELIBERATELY CHOSEN NOT TO RESPOND (that's very cool!) which represents advanced computer and port stealthing capabilities. A machine configured in this fashion is well hardened to Internet NetBIOS attack and intrusion.

My comp is cool hurrrah!!!!

Unable to connect with NetBIOS to your computer.

All attempts to get any information from your computer have FAILED. (This is very uncommon for a Windows networking-based PC.) Relative to vulnerabilities from Windows networking, this computer appears to be VERY SECURE since it is NOT exposing ANY of its internal NetBIOS networking protocol over the Internet.

My comp is secure hurrah!

I recomend ZA as a firewall it is in fact easy to use and set up and if you check it on sites like shields up you get a nice mesage telling you its a cool comp lol.

[bartender100]

my report from shields up using Zone alarm pro.

ne or more ports on this system are operating in FULL STEALTH MODE! Standard Internet behavior requires port connection attempts to be answered with a success or refusal response. Therefore, only an attempt to connect to a nonexistent computer results in no response of either kind. But YOUR computer has DELIBERATELY CHOSEN NOT TO RESPOND (that's very cool!) which represents advanced computer and port stealthing capabilities. A machine configured in this fashion is well hardened to Internet NetBIOS attack and intrusion.

My comp is cool hurrrah!!!!

Unable to connect with NetBIOS to your computer.

All attempts to get any information from your computer have FAILED. (This is very uncommon for a Windows networking-based PC.) Relative to vulnerabilities from Windows networking, this computer appears to be VERY SECURE since it is NOT exposing ANY of its internal NetBIOS networking protocol over the Internet.

My comp is secure hurrah! 

I recomend ZA as a firewall it is in fact easy to use and set up and if you check it on sites like shields up you get a nice mesage telling you its a cool comp lol.

I don't use Zonealarm,only Microsoft AV,and got the same results from Sheilds Up,but when I tested on Leaktest,it said I was open.

[kreon]

my report from shields up using Zone alarm pro.

ne or more ports on this system are operating in FULL STEALTH MODE! Standard Internet behavior requires port connection attempts to be answered with a success or refusal response. Therefore, only an attempt to connect to a nonexistent computer results in no response of either kind. But YOUR computer has DELIBERATELY CHOSEN NOT TO RESPOND (that's very cool!) which represents advanced computer and port stealthing capabilities. A machine configured in this fashion is well hardened to Internet NetBIOS attack and intrusion.

My comp is cool hurrrah!!!!

Unable to connect with NetBIOS to your computer.

All attempts to get any information from your computer have FAILED. (This is very uncommon for a Windows networking-based PC.) Relative to vulnerabilities from Windows networking, this computer appears to be VERY SECURE since it is NOT exposing ANY of its internal NetBIOS networking protocol over the Internet.

My comp is secure hurrah! 

I recomend ZA as a firewall it is in fact easy to use and set up and if you check it on sites like shields up you get a nice mesage telling you its a cool comp lol.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't use Zonealarm,only Microsoft AV,and got the same results from Sheilds Up,but when I tested on Leaktest,it said I was open.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

leak test program is 3-years old, would not trust it!!!

i have ZA Pro, avast anit-virus, ad-aware, spybot and spyware blaster, plus use maxthon with adblocker, geez how more secure can you get than that!!

[francois]

hi'

no doubt that ZA is the best and one of the very few leakless.

about antivirus, I tried ... most of them, and finaly I have chosen Bitdefender 8

in standard version and it's very ok, can clean inside compress files or at least quanrantine the faulty.

none, I tried could do that trick!

McAfee let pass through a worm in a compressed attached file, norton as well, as kapersky and even panda ... panda found it, but no further action!

AVG, the "free", saw it and could not do a thing, as panda

only Bitdefender saw it, and quanrantined it ...

when opened the faulty file wasn't there anymore, it was in the quarantine box of BD

I'll never turn back to any of the others ...

and may I add, it's light on the system in a way that you may think it's not active

to find it : here http://www.bitdefender.com/index.php

francois

[RDN]

...I find Firefox can be a little annoying sometimes as the whole page has to be loaded before you can even hit the back button...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The "back button" I hardly ever use it! Every page opens in a new tab - isn't that why most people use Firefox?... "Tabbed browsing"?

[waldwolf]

......I don't use Zonealarm,only Microsoft AV,and got the same results from Sheilds Up,but when I tested on Leaktest,it said I was open.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

At the LeakTest site, you may have missed the following note re: XP's firewall:

........Just so you know, WinXP's built-in firewall does not attempt to manage or restrict outbound connections at all. It appears to be a useful firewall for hiding the machine from the Internet (it has "stealth mode" unsolicited packet handling), but you will still need to use a good third-party personal firewall if you wish to manage and control outbound connections from your system.

Would strongly recommend you install a seperate firewall, such as the free ZoneAlarm version, available at http://www.zonelabs.com. (If your on a broadband connection, make sure you have a modem/router with firewall capability.)

After installing the new firewall, run the GRC tests again. Then run your antivirus (w/latest update) to insure you have no "backdoor" trojans, keyloggers or other "call home" malware hiding in the background. (If you don't have an antivirus program installed on your computer, use one-or-more of the online virus scanners, such as Trend Micro, McAfee, Karpersky, Symantec, etc.)

cheers

[bartender100]

I used to use Zonealarm and took it off,if you look at Microsoft AV it has online protection of 59 checkpoints to stop intrusions.Including unauthorized adds to your start up folder

I tried to cut and paste them but could not.

Much the same as ZA,a Thai I know who runs an internet cafe says he only uses the MAV now,and has not had any problems.

As I said using this alone shields up gave me 100%

[fw1]

What do you guys make of www.adaware.com ?

I know it doesn't prevent anything from getting in but I've always found it to be pretty effective in taking out what's already there.

[Steve2UK]

What do you guys make of www.adaware.com ?

I know it doesn't prevent anything from getting in but I've always found it to be pretty effective in taking out what's already there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well worth using - free and definition updates seem to be available about twice a week. Seems very thorough and I like the way it separates "critical" and "non-critical" stuff it finds.

[Welshman]

A Warning about some anti adware programs

Generally if you stick with something like AdAware of Spybot you should be OK, but it seems that some of the more devious &lt;deleted&gt; out there are now resorting to use anti adware programs to actually attack your computer.

This website has a lot of information about anti adware and this page lists the ones to avoid.

http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-s...re.htm#products

[Plus+]

I had problems with running Zone Alarm on win98 machine and too many popup tips on win xp so I gave it up. Now I'm using Sygate and it seems to be friendlier.

I use Avast antivirus and I love it - nearly daily updates, minimum intereferencs, scans all incoming e-mail and warns of viruses in attachments even before I click on the messages themselves (preview mode in Opera, very useful).

Both Sygate and Avast integrate seamlessly with all my other programs and never crash or annoy me - very important because these two should be up and running all the time.

As for spyware - I tried tons of programs and have left only three or four that I liked for the ease of use, ease of updates and least interference. I regularly sweep the system using all of them at once - a big cleaning day - they usually leave out some staff that can be picked up by another program. Downloading updates never takes a lot of time. Otherwise I never let any antispyware to run in the background and annoy me with "service announcements".