Microsoft Anti Spyware (Beta)

[Aaron]

On 9 Jan 2005 11:42:31 GMT, Aaron



Payware or not, it can either be a great and useful tool for the
masses, or yet more bloated MS shovelware.

Sure, except it wouldnt belong here for discussion.

Well, I'm happy as a clam until the July expiry. I think we'll get yet
another generous 3 or 4 month extension on it when the next beta is
released in a month or so. I hope!

Just for grins, go here and scroll down near the bottom for a shocking
SUMMARY.

http://spywarewarrior.com/asw-test-results-5.htm

I saw this a few months ago already actually. But yes, this was one of
the results that confirmed to many that Giant is a antispyware product
that is worthy of the name, rather than being a rip off like most these
days.

I forgot to mention: My favorite feature of MSAS is that it recognizes
Firefox as malware, and deletes it. <GDRFC>

Darn MS, so that was what they were up to! Oh well, when they add tabbed
browsing to IE, Maxthon will be next on their sights

 

[Mike]

Mike wrote:

Of course it runs. It's quite a quaint little thing innit?

Yus. It's also a slight pita.

 

[Slarty]

Try copying "autoexec.NT" in the \windows\system32\ folder.

I tried that, and then rebooted the W98SE machine in case that file needed
to register itself, but the result was the same. It refuses to install on a
non W2000 or XP machine.

Cheers,

Roy

 

[ad]

I forgot to mention: My favorite feature of MSAS is that it recognizes
Firefox as malware, and deletes it. <GDRFC>

I would expect that from Microsoft. But saying that, it do not happen
here.
I have downloaded MS anti spyware and it have not bothered about my
firefox at all. what if have done is tell me that some software I am
running is spyware, but I know very well it is not.
I do not think i will be keeping this Anti spy thing on my computer for
long. Still I will say one thing for it and I am shocked, is that it
works on a Windows XP system that have not got SP2.

 

[Lizard]

Microsoft Anti Spyware beta located a registry entry and asked to
quarantine or delete it. This was after running the latest spybot and
adaware updates.

I went ahead and let it remove the entry but afterward reinstalled spybot
to see if the entry was placed there intentionally as a block. SB did
reinstall the key with its software and all immunizatione was done.

The key is

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet
Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\searchsquire.com

This was an Explorer adware exploit according to the MS software. There
seems to be a conflict as to this key. Is Spybot correct or Microsoft??

 

[Helen]

Microsoft Anti Spyware beta located a registry entry and asked to
quarantine or delete it. This was after running the latest spybot and
adaware updates.

I went ahead and let it remove the entry but afterward reinstalled spybot
to see if the entry was placed there intentionally as a block. SB did
reinstall the key with its software and all immunizatione was done.

The key is

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet
Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\searchsquire.com

This was an Explorer adware exploit according to the MS software. There
seems to be a conflict as to this key. Is Spybot correct or Microsoft??

That's the same one it (MS Anti-Spyware {Beta}found on my machine. I deleted it.
I ran Spybot S&D after MS-AS and it located 3! Then I ran Ad-Aware. I like
to run them all just to see what's going on and which one list something the others
don't. I also disabled MS Messenger and blocked 'fastclick'.... MS dosen't like
for 'fastclick' to be blocked/deleted. But I did it anyway. No doubt
slickwilliegates
is up to something.... me thinks it's analagous to a line from a song years ago that
stated: "with every breath you take, every move you make, I'll be watching you.."
Well, AFAIC, that describes slickwilliegates...with every click you make...every
key you touch...I'm watching you.....If you want ANYTHING private, don't put
it on the internet! It's that simple. Otherwise, whatever you put on your computer
and or in an ng is out there for the WORLD!

 

[Mel]

Microsoft Anti Spyware beta located a registry entry and asked to
quarantine or delete it. This was after running the latest spybot and
adaware updates.

I went ahead and let it remove the entry but afterward reinstalled spybot
to see if the entry was placed there intentionally as a block. SB did
reinstall the key with its software and all immunizatione was done.

The key is

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet
Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\searchsquire.com

This was an Explorer adware exploit according to the MS software. There
seems to be a conflict as to this key. Is Spybot correct or Microsoft??

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/adware.searchsquire.html

 

[Helen]

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/adware.searchsquire.html

Oh, yeah, that must be a 'spy' MS planted, because who'd ever heard of it until this
MS anti-spyware program came along.

AND, I have in excess of 100 thousand files on my computer, and MS's anti-spyware
program only reports having checked 20,000 files! DUH! Both Ad-Aware and
Spy-bot S&D check ALL my files! So, what's the deal? I think slickwilliegates
is up to more no-good! Ad-Aware is still more reliable IMHO!

 

[Lizard]

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/adware.searchsq
uire.html

Yes, MS said it was adware, thats why I let them delete it in the first
place. I became suspicious when I looked at the reg keys around the
scearchsquire.com entry and they all had the same key value. All of
these looked like dilers and bots.

I checked for entries listed for the adware on the symantec link and none
of these files are on my xpsr2 machine or in the registry. This leads me
to believe the spybot entry is a block, and therefore a false positive on
the part of the Ms antispy prog. I will leave it alone. BTW I did turn
off the System restore and rebooted after I deleted the searchsquire
entry in the registry. It was not there before I reinstalled spybot. It
showed up after the install.

 

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=BBQ=AB?=]

I checked for entries listed for the adware on the symantec link
and none of these files are on my xpsr2 machine or in the
registry. This leads me to believe the spybot entry is a block,
and therefore a false positive on the part of the Ms antispy prog.
I will leave it alone. BTW I did turn off the System restore and
rebooted after I deleted the searchsquire entry in the registry.
It was not there before I reinstalled spybot. It showed up after
the install.

I don't use the 'immunize' feature of Spybot. Is this its principal
tactic, to place dummy registry keys? It would like to immunize me
from 2315 things.

 

[Lizard]

I don't use the 'immunize' feature of Spybot. Is this its principal
tactic, to place dummy registry keys? It would like to immunize me
from 2315 things.

Sorry, I was wrong. I found the entry in the spybot hosts list. This
would block pop-ups. That makes sense. All the orther entries are listed
in the reg too. But why did MS antispy only find this when all the other
are in there too. hmmmmm

I guess I wouldn't need to use the immunize in SB because I keep
Spywareblaster up to date. It is redundant,

 

[jo]

Yus. It's also a slight pita.

Wossit done?

 

[Aaron]

I don't use the 'immunize' feature of Spybot. Is this its principal
tactic, to place dummy registry keys? It would like to immunize me
from 2315 things.

Hmm this appears to be a misunderstanding. The immunization option in
spybot and in spywareblaster basically does this

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240797

About

HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Internet
Settings\Zone Map\Domains\Searchsquire.com

run regedit, go to that key and you will see a Dword Value.Make sure it
says 4. Then it's fine.

I think this says the domain is in your restricted zone?

 

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=BBQ=AB?=]

Hmm this appears to be a misunderstanding. The immunization option
in spybot and in spywareblaster basically does this

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240797

Ah, thanks. Things make sense now.

About

HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current
Version\Internet Settings\Zone Map\Domains\Searchsquire.com

run regedit, go to that key and you will see a Dword Value.Make
sure it says 4. Then it's fine.

I think this says the domain is in your restricted zone?

I don't need the key, but hopefully that'll help others.

 

[Mike]

Wossit done?

Nothing in particular.. It's just a pain to do stuff like browse
the messages with certain things 'missing'. For egg sample, 'sort
by author' seems to be missing. heh.

 

[jo]

Nothing in particular.. It's just a pain to do stuff like browse
the messages with certain things 'missing'. For egg sample, 'sort
by author' seems to be missing. heh.

OIC.

There are newer versions of the app about that offer the additional
functionality you require.

fifl

 

[Lizard]

Hmm this appears to be a misunderstanding. The immunization option in
spybot and in spywareblaster basically does this

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240797

About

HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Internet
Settings\Zone Map\Domains\Searchsquire.com

run regedit, go to that key and you will see a Dword Value.Make sure it
says 4. Then it's fine.

I think this says the domain is in your restricted zone?

righty-right, the value is 4.

 

[Richard Steven Hack]

Okay, from the top...
"According to one reviewer"... Well, you just had another reviewer
(me) say the opposite so now you're even. Whatcha gonna do?!

Look for another reviewer, of course! The guy I read basically said
it was fine when it ran, but it crashed several times. Sure, he could
have had an oddball system, and frankly I wonder how Microsoft could
have screwed up the Giant product in such a short time.

In any event, I try not to use stuff that crashes (even Opera pisses
me off relatively frequently when it does this - fortunately it
restarts where it left off, which is mollifying somewhat) - especially
betas.

And has not the general consensus been that BOTH Ad-Aware AND Spybot
S&D ought to be used?

That was my point.

Did you read anywhere in my post that I was
advocating the elimination of either of the two products?

No, and my point remains the same regardless.

My post was against the hysterical anti-Microsoft ninnies who attacked the product
without regard for its own intrinsic merits.

And I did not attack it mindlessly - I said at least one reviewer said
it was buggy at this stage, and that while it provides more protection
than Ad-Aware, it still misses some things. Hardly hysterical.

I believe all three products have their place on the PC-user's
desktop.

I agree.

My question to you is: Are you only able to win arguments against
straw men?

I wasn't arguing - I was pointing out what I'd read about it. You're
the one arguing.

And you read the contrary assertion WHERE?

Every time somebody makes a point of saying something got more spyware
than something else. The unstated assumption is always that one can
ditch A because A caught less than B - which is not true (so far).

 

[Richard Steven Hack]

Sounds like an MS hater to me.

Oh, you got that right - but it has nothing to do with this particular
software since I am well aware they bought it from somebody else.

Looks like Giant and now MS are way ahead of their completion.

And Phringus asked me: And you read the contrary assertion WHERE?
I guess it was you...

Now that's true!

I'm glad we agree.

Everything moves too fast to keep up with. Even those with
unlimited resources like Symantec and now MS. However, they can stay pretty
close.

Well that remains to be seen. Cringely predicts MS won't be able to
keep up, but I don't know what he bases that on. I guess it depends on
whether MS wants to put the money and people into it that it warrants,
given their reputation.

We'll see...

 

[Richard Steven Hack]

I would expect that from Microsoft. But saying that, it do not happen
here.

I have downloaded MS anti spyware and it have not bothered about my
firefox at all. what if have done is tell me that some software I am
running is spyware, but I know very well it is not.

Yes, according to a couple reviews, false positives seem to be a
problem for the program. However, I'd prefer more false positives than
missing stuff given how badly spyware can screw up a system.