What's the Point?

[Wally Segap]

I installed the Antispyware Beta because my Earthlink
Spyware Blocker does not block spyware. You have to run a
manual scan every time you sign off and then ask for
spyware to be removed. That does not do much good. Every
time you use the web, the spyware just gets put back on
again. I thought that MS Antispyware would BLOCK spyware,
but it does no such thing. I don't need to find and
disable spyware. I need a program that will PREVENT
spyware from being placed on my computer. Does anyone know
of a program that will do this?

 

[Jeff D.]

I thought MSAS *did* block some spyware. Have you tried
Spybot Search & Destroy? It has an "immunization"
feature that will help block spyware.

 

[trickyricky]

MSAS *does* prevent spyware from being installed on your
PC. Make sure you have all the Security Agents enabled and
that blocked alerts are also enabled. (Both are settings in
Options).

If spyware is still managing to get onto your PC, then
perhaps you need to review your use of the internet, since
the only way spyware really gets to infect your PC is when
you install it or install another software package that
includes spyware.

 

[JohnF.]

Not getting spyware on your machine involves more than loading an install
and forget program.

1. Properly configure your machine by disabling unneeded services and
closing unused ports.
2. Lock down user accounts to allow only those behaviors that are required
by the user.
3. Install and maintain a top tier antivirus solution that has been
configured correctly.
4. Install critical and security updates as soon as they are released.
5. Enable XP sp2 popup blocker and set it to block ALL pop-ups.
6. If a pop-up sneaks through, do not click on it to close it, use ALT-F4.
7. Do not install so called "Free" versions of shareware that use ad
support
8. If a website says you must install a control or app to allow you to
download files or access information from their site, find another source.
9. Review search engine results carefully before clicking any link
presented.
10. Avoid porn and warez sites
11. Set the "Installation of Desktop Items" in the Security Zones in IE to
Prompt or Disable.
12. Uncheck "Install On Demand" in the Advanced settings of IE.
13. If you must use p2p software, do so with caution and attention to the
files downloaded.
14. Update Sun JVM on your machine regularly and remove the previous
versions
15. Do not install bogus antispyware programs. Rogues are everywhere - read
up at www.spywarewarrior.com for good info.

Read this forum posting for a good review of how to step in the right
direction:
http://www.techsoup.org/fb/index.cfm?forum=2029&fuseaction=forums.showSingleTopic&id=57881

Alternative actions:
Other browsers like Firefox may help but not completely.
Other OSes like Linux or Mac OSX can really help but you then inherit their
limitations and other problems.
Get off the Internet - not a likely solution but there are other things to
do and other ways to get information.

Personally, I don't use any antispyware programs and I still have not ever
gotten spyware on my machine.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

Wally - sometimes with a problem it is better to describe it accurately and
objectively, rather than say "the car doesn't work."

My guess, from you description, is that you have spyware in place that none
of the products you've tested so far is capable of removing properly.
Because it is already in place, the real-time protection of Microsoft
Antispyware isn't preventing it from being active.

Can you describe the symptoms you are seeing on your machine--those are what
we need to hear about to give you pointers to a way to get cleaned.

Is your antivirus application also up to date? One thing to try might be an
online scan with an antivirus app which also targets and removes spyware.

Trend Micro's housecall product does this:

http://housecall.trendmicro.com