AntiSpy creates over 500 registry entries.

[Gary]

I wondered why my machine seemed a bit slow after installing, and
uninstalling AntiSpy. I looked in the registry for the AntiSpy
directories and first four letters of the executables. I was appalled at
how many I found. I began counting, then found I had to count by sevens
(many of the entries seem to have about seven subkeys.) The approximate
total came to about 480 keys or subkeys, and about ten percent more
values. Fortunately a restore worked to get rid of them. The total would
have been much higher for a system with more than one user.

This provides a simple explanation for why AntiSpy
a: Slows down your system
b: Appears to be so buggy

and a possible explanation for why AntiSpy runs out of "memory" on a
machine with a gigabyte of ram.

The windows registry already suffers from a serious bloat problem. One
program adding 500 registry keys and values only serves to make this
problem much worse.

One of AntiSpy's features is testing the registry, and I have to
question the wisdom of having a registry testing tool make 500 registry
entries. This is a fundamental axiom for testing technique: do not
change what you are trying to test.

Of course, I also consider it a bug that the uninstall does not remove
these registry keys.

I will take another look in June. If the final product has a trial
version I may also give it a try, but I will not use it if it still
creates hundreds of registry entries.

Gary Humenuk
(My first 'computer' was a 029 keypunch machine.)

 

[Curt B]

Gary, where in the registry did you find all of those
entries? The only ones I found were the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\GIANTCompany\
AntiSpyware
Default (Value not set)
InstallPath C:\Program Files\Microsoft AntiSpyware
SystemFeedback 0
CleanerExe
Default (Value not set)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
I didn't find any reference to AntiSpyware.

I have Microsoft AntiSpyware Version: 1.0.501

 

[Darren]

Do a search for gcas in the registry and you will see all
496 entries. Almost 800 KB of registry bloat left behind.

 

[Gary Humenuk]

I wondered ...

Gary Humenuk
(My first 'computer' was a 029 keypunch machine.)

Sorry, I didn't spot the other anonymous Gary. I'm not him, and only my
email address is anonymous. My ISP already filters 1700 spam a week so I
don't need any more.

Gary Humenuk

I use to dream about owning an IBM 370. Now I'm glad I don't. I cannot
afford the hydro bill.

 

[Gary Humenuk]

Gary, where in the registry did you find all of those
entries? The only ones I found were the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\GIANTCompany\
AntiSpyware
Default (Value not set)
InstallPath C:\Program Files\Microsoft AntiSpyware
SystemFeedback 0
CleanerExe
Default (Value not set)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
I didn't find any reference to AntiSpyware.

I have Microsoft AntiSpyware Version: 1.0.501

I searched in the registry for the string "antis" presuming, correctly,
that most would be for AntiSpy. I then searched for the string "gcas"
which found the majority.

After restoring to pre-trial state, "gcas" was not found at all and
"antis" was only found in two entries unrelated to this tool.