Ad-aware

[Hilary Karp]

Correct. It does not run in the background.

Ok maybe you got me on a technicality. I thought I remember Spyware blaster
as "immunizing" your system, putting "stops" in to prevent uploading of
spyware. Am I remembering correctly? So it's not "running", only when
getting updates & immunizing then... (??).

...D.

 

[ted s.]

Suit yourself. Spywareblaster, however, cannot be "run". Spybot
protects your computer if you immunize. AdAware only finds them after
the fact. Spywareguard cannot be "run" either but it, like
Spywareblaster and Spybot, will protect your computer. It is
advisable to have all of them on your machine.

Alias

Spywareguard does run in the background as real time protection against
spyware. See http://www.spychecker.com/program/spywareguard.html

 

[Alias]

Spywareguard does run in the background as real time protection against
spyware. See http://www.spychecker.com/program/spywareguard.html

I know. I meant you can't run it like you do AdAware.

Alias

 

[Alex Nichol]

Problem is lots of "legit" sites, ie maybe your bank or favourite
retailer forces you to have their cookies. I agree tho, it's not that
big of an issue. You can delete them manually anytime if you want.

It is one of the nice features of the new Firefox browser that its
Options - Privacy - Cookies allows you to list cookies and see, far more
clearly than with other non-specialist tools, what sites use them, and
delete selectively

 

[Alex Nichol]

Sure. However I have tried out Spybot & Spyware Blaster & I ran adaware, &
there was always stuff that adaware caught that the others missed. I mean
always. Now I just run adaware after this experience.

You cannot rely on any one tool to do everything. If you use AdAware
you are also likely to find things picked up by other software. But it
is perhaps the safest for the beginner; others are likely to draw
attention to things that *ought* to be retained. Spybot's Immunise can
overdo things if not used with caution. See Jim Eshelmans extensive
discussion at http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm

 

[Brian]

The free version of AdAware does not, (as mentioned earlier), provide for
blocking of spyware, however...

If you purchase the Plus version of AdAware, (less than $30), it includes
realtime monitoring and blocking of adware, spyware, etc.

--Brian Beckers
--IT Manager
--Giddings & Associates