Suggestions on antispyware programs please

[Oppie]

It started when I noticed my XP Pro box starting to get really slow -

Opening even Widows explorer took up to 20 seconds (and this on a 2.2GHz box
with 1G ram). I started to wonder about malware especially since a nearby
machine caught the 'brave sentry' which was a pain to get rid of.

Tried windows Defender (which a full scan removed some things) and the
safety scan available at live.com. Both found things but nothing really
fixed the performance. I was playing with the eval copy of Webroot's
SpySweeper and found something it identified as 'find.fm toolbar'. This was
only two registry keys (and since you have to buy the program to have it
remove things) so I manually removed the keys. BIG change! Explorer starts
within a second and a similar improvement for othe programs.

Just curious about which anti-spy program is recommended. Something is
obviously needed and I have greater faith in paid programs vs the freeware
'SpyBot' (which seems good too at present).

Also a registry question. The entire registry exported as .reg is 80Megs! Is
that normal?

Thanks,
Oppie

 

[Joe Wright]

It started when I noticed my XP Pro box starting to get really slow -

Opening even Widows explorer took up to 20 seconds (and this on a 2.2GHz box
with 1G ram). I started to wonder about malware especially since a nearby
machine caught the 'brave sentry' which was a pain to get rid of.

Tried windows Defender (which a full scan removed some things) and the
safety scan available at live.com. Both found things but nothing really
fixed the performance. I was playing with the eval copy of Webroot's
SpySweeper and found something it identified as 'find.fm toolbar'. This was
only two registry keys (and since you have to buy the program to have it
remove things) so I manually removed the keys. BIG change! Explorer starts
within a second and a similar improvement for othe programs.

Just curious about which anti-spy program is recommended. Something is
obviously needed and I have greater faith in paid programs vs the freeware
'SpyBot' (which seems good too at present).

Also a registry question. The entire registry exported as .reg is 80Megs! Is
that normal?

Thanks,
Oppie

There are ng's dedicated to spyware and a/v software. My personal
preference is Avast! antivirus which also handles spyware. I don't want
a flock of programs when one handles most details.. I also run Spybot
with Teatimer so any registry entry change is alerted and requires my
acceptance.

 

[DanS]

It started when I noticed my XP Pro box starting to get really slow -

Opening even Widows explorer took up to 20 seconds (and this on a
2.2GHz box with 1G ram). I started to wonder about malware especially ....
<SNIP


Just curious about which anti-spy program is recommended. Something is
obviously needed and I have greater faith in paid programs vs the
freeware 'SpyBot' (which seems good too at present).

In my experience, there's not ONE and ONLY one anti-spyware to use.

It is advisable to use more than one to clean a PC.

Spybot (free) & Adaware (there is a free version) when used together wll
cleanup MOST problems. MSAS was good too until it went to beta 2 and was
changed to 'Defender'.

I have cleaned up several PC's that were horribly infected with the above
two tools, and HiJackThis!. By horribly, I mean an AdAware scan reported
800 objects, 30 minute boot up times, etc. For the few crapwares not able
to be removed by the AS tools, you can always find a stand-alone removeal
tool, or manual instructions. (And yes, there are spyware infestations
that the paid for tools can not remove either.)

One of the best things you can do to prevent further infection is to NOT
use Internet Explorer as a browser. There are alternative's, like Opera,
FireFox, and Netscape.

As far as free vs paid software, while GENERALLY that may be perceived as
true, there are many good FREE programs that I use daily that are
excellent alternatives to commercial programs. A few:

AVG Free
IrfanView
7Zip
Radio Mobile (an RF propagation tool, while not having all the bells and
whistles as the 'big' ones, being free is about $10,000 less expensive
than buying the commercial versions)
FileZilla (Only THE best FTP client available, free or paid)

The list goes on and on.....


Regards,

DanS

 

[Rock]

It started when I noticed my XP Pro box starting to get really slow -

Opening even Widows explorer took up to 20 seconds (and this on a 2.2GHz
box with 1G ram). I started to wonder about malware especially since a
nearby machine caught the 'brave sentry' which was a pain to get rid of.

Tried windows Defender (which a full scan removed some things) and the
safety scan available at live.com. Both found things but nothing really
fixed the performance. I was playing with the eval copy of Webroot's
SpySweeper and found something it identified as 'find.fm toolbar'. This
was only two registry keys (and since you have to buy the program to have
it remove things) so I manually removed the keys. BIG change! Explorer
starts within a second and a similar improvement for othe programs.

Just curious about which anti-spy program is recommended. Something is
obviously needed and I have greater faith in paid programs vs the freeware
'SpyBot' (which seems good too at present).

Also a registry question. The entire registry exported as .reg is 80Megs!
Is that normal?

Thanks,
Oppie

There are several good free programs. Here are some links about dealing
with malware.

THE PARASITE FIGHT
Finding, Removing & Protecting Yourself From Scumware
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm

Richard Harper's Guide to Cleaning Pests
http://rgharper.mvps.org/cleanit.htm

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

PC Hell Spyware and Adware Removal Help
http://www.pchell.com/support/spyware.shtml

http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

 

[Rock]

There are ng's dedicated to spyware and a/v software. My personal
preference is Avast! antivirus which also handles spyware. I don't want a
flock of programs when one handles most details.. I also run Spybot with
Teatimer so any registry entry change is alerted and requires my
acceptance.

With non viral malware, no one program can do it all. Avast is not an all
purpose anti-malware program. It's primary purpose is anti-virus.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Just curious about which anti-spy program is recommended. Something is
obviously needed and I have greater faith in paid programs vs the
freeware 'SpyBot' (which seems good too at present).

Nothing wrong with freeware. In many categories, freeware is the best choice
available.

Regarding the "best," there is no single best, and you need several for
adequate protection. Note what Eric Howes, who has done extensive testing
on Anti-Spyware products, states:

"No single anti-spyware scanner removes everything. Even the best-performing
anti-spyware scanner in these tests missed fully one quarter of the
"critical" files and Registry entries" See
http://spywarewarrior.com/asw-test-guide.htm

I recommend a combination of

Spybot Search and Destroy
Adaware
Spyware Blaster

 

[Bruce Chambers]

It started when I noticed my XP Pro box starting to get really slow -

Opening even Widows explorer took up to 20 seconds (and this on a 2.2GHz box
with 1G ram). I started to wonder about malware especially since a nearby
machine caught the 'brave sentry' which was a pain to get rid of.

Tried windows Defender (which a full scan removed some things) and the
safety scan available at live.com. Both found things but nothing really
fixed the performance. I was playing with the eval copy of Webroot's
SpySweeper and found something it identified as 'find.fm toolbar'. This was
only two registry keys (and since you have to buy the program to have it
remove things) so I manually removed the keys. BIG change! Explorer starts
within a second and a similar improvement for othe programs.

Just curious about which anti-spy program is recommended. Something is
obviously needed and I have greater faith in paid programs vs the freeware
'SpyBot' (which seems good too at present).

To deal with issues caused by any sort of "adware" and/or
"spyware," such as Gator, Comet Cursors, Smiley Central, Xupiter, Bonzai
Buddy, or KaZaA, and their remnants, that you've deliberately (but
without understanding the consequences) installed, two products that are
quite effective (at finding and removing this type of scumware) are
Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and SpyBot Search & Destroy from
www.safer-networking.org/. Both have free versions. It's even possible
to use SpyBot Search & Destroy to "immunize" your system against most
future intrusions. I use both and generally perform manual scans every
week or so to clean out cookies, etc.

Additionally, manual removal instructions for the most common
varieties of scumware are available here:

PC Hell Spyware and Adware Removal Help
http://www.pchell.com/support/spyware.shtml

More information and assistance is available at these sites:

Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

The Parasite Fight
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[jim]

With non viral malware, no one program can do it all. Avast is not an all
purpose anti-malware program. It's primary purpose is anti-virus.

True. Like AVG, Avast specializes in viruses...or virii...or whatever.

Lavasoft Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D are good for the spyware.

Further, i would not base my opinion on Widow Explorer, a program developed
and meant to be very tactful and not too fast -- dealing with
well-configured widows can be a touchy subject....

jim

 

[jim]

I recommend a combination of

Spybot Search and Destroy
Adaware
Spyware Blaster

Excellent! I use these three and as a background application, run
Spywareguard.

jim