Is XoftSpySE any good???

[nybarton]

I ran a free scan using the subject program and among many potentially
unwanted files, low risk and moderate risk items, it also turned up about 15
high risk and severe risk items. It is rated as one of the top malware
removal programs, but before I spend $40 to activate the removal process,
does anyone have any comments about this program? Does it really remove
malware completely? I'm a "dummy" about these things, but I do know my
computer is running slowly and something needs to be done about it without
my having to do complicated maneuvers that absolutely boggle me. In other
words, I need a program that does it all without much input from me. Thanks.

 

[Daave]

I ran a free scan using the subject program and among many potentially
unwanted files, low risk and moderate risk items, it also turned up
about 15
high risk and severe risk items. It is rated as one of the top
malware
removal programs, but before I spend $40 to activate the removal
process,
does anyone have any comments about this program? Does it really
remove
malware completely? I'm a "dummy" about these things, but I do know my
computer is running slowly and something needs to be done about it
without
my having to do complicated maneuvers that absolutely boggle me. In
other
words, I need a program that does it all without much input from me.
Thanks.

There have been three replies to your query so far; haven't you seen
them?

Once more, among those of us here, it does *not* have a good reputation
because at one point in time, all of the following were true:

1. false positives
2. questionable license terms
3. use of aggressive, deceptive advertising, including exploitation of
the name "spybot" by affiliates
4. earlier versions were Ad-aware knockoffs
5. the cost is $40

But even if XoftSpy is no longer considered "rogue/suspect," why not
just use
*free* anti-spyware apps?

These are all highly regarded:

AdAware: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php

Spybot Search & Destroy: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

A-Squared: http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/

Spyware Blaster: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

CWShredder: http://us.trendmicro.com/us/products/personal/CWShredder/

Although malware can certainly slow down a computer, there are other
causes, too. Yes, make sure you are clean of malware. But also make sure
you don't run unneeded processes. Delete temp files. Defrag. Detailed
instuctions can be found at:

http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm

 

[nybarton]

Daave......thank you for "repeating" your response to my request. No, I did
not see any other replies, only yours. I did post the same inquiry
yesterday, but for some reason it did not show up so I reposted it today. I
just did a check for "replies to my post" and the only one that shows up is
yours. This happens to me every so often. I will send a message to the
newsgroup and usually wait several hours or even a day before checking, but
my message doesn't get posted, at least not that I can see. Apparently, you
did see my prior message which I couldn't find and still can't find.

In any event, thank you for saving me $40. I do have AdAware and I do run
it on a schedule. However, I'm dealing with some sort of stealth tracking
program that is lurking somewhere in the shadows of my computer and does not
show up during a total system search. I believe that program may be a major
player in slowing down my computer. I did post an inquiry here about that
program on 5/22/07, around 9:00pm, subject "What is this program???". My
message was as follows:

"Whenever I have to reboot, I get a dialogue window showing a program is
ending. It doesn't last long enough for me to get the entire name, which is
very long, but it starts with "banuzttx8u.......". It happens every time I
close down Win XP. I've tried searching for it, but nothing comes up. What
the heck is this program that's still open every time I close Windows??
Thanks"

The replies I got were a bit complicated for me which is why I inquired
about the subject program.

If you have any further suggestions, please advise. Again, thanks.

 

[Daave]

Daave......thank you for "repeating" your response to my request. No,
I did not see any other replies, only yours. I did post the same
inquiry yesterday, but for some reason it did not show up so I
reposted it today. I just did a check for "replies to my post" and
the only one that shows up is yours. This happens to me every so
often. I will send a message to the newsgroup and usually wait
several hours or even a day before checking, but my message doesn't
get posted, at least not that I can see. Apparently, you did see my
prior message which I couldn't find and still can't find.

Sounds like a problem either with your news server or your news reader.
You should try the Microsoft news server: msnews.microsoft.com.

You can also always check Google Groups (not a good way to post, but
it's a good archive of posts). The easiest way is to go to:

http://groups.google.com/advanced_search

Determine the Message ID from your headers. Here's yours:

(e-mail address removed)

Enter that in the Message ID box and click on the Lookup Message button.

LOL! Now I can't find your message! Well, *normally* that works...

Anywho, here's the thread:

http://groups.google.com/group/micr..._frm/thread/ed3e45db3dfaafb8/9dd8f5caf8a201b1

(watch the wrap)

And here's a record of all your posts:

http://groups.google.com/groups/sea...KfbStNEvUvpBeQcbibjSUBBHON9nbRSMewQ&scoring=d

Or you could just go to http://groups.google.com/ and enter
author:nybarton.

In any event, thank you for saving me $40. I do have AdAware and I
do run it on a schedule. However, I'm dealing with some sort of
stealth tracking program that is lurking somewhere in the shadows of
my computer and does not show up during a total system search. I
believe that program may be a major player in slowing down my
computer. I did post an inquiry here about that program on 5/22/07,
around 9:00pm, subject "What is this program???". My message was as
follows:

"Whenever I have to reboot, I get a dialogue window showing a program
is ending. It doesn't last long enough for me to get the entire name,
which is very long, but it starts with "banuzttx8u.......". It
happens every time I close down Win XP. I've tried searching for it,
but nothing comes up. What the heck is this program that's still open
every time I close Windows?? Thanks"

The replies I got were a bit complicated for me which is why I
inquired about the subject program.

Follow David Lipman's instructions:
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support/msg/9ae7ff09ccc459d5

Or you may want to see:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware