Not a very efficient program for spyware discovery !

T

Tom Roberts

The Beta Anti Spyware doesn't seem to have enough
definitions in it. It never seems to find anything in my
computer. I run it every day when I sign off. I have 6
different anti Spyware programs on my computer and they
almost always find something on my computer after surfing
the net. My spybot which is also free finds about 8 to 20
traces of spyware, and Spykiller finds about 4 to 10
traces. Ad-Aware finds about 4 critical tracking spyware
and about 20 MRU's each time, it's free too and
automatically updates even. My Webroot Spy Sweeper almost
always finds 10 to 15 invasive cookies or traces of
tracking. Spy Audit is another free program and it finds
about 4 or 5 each time.
Microsoft anti spyware has only found one since I have
had on my computer in two months. It needs an automatic
updating system. It truly has found only one spyware in
two months. I go to some vicious sites and need all the
help I can get. They even lock up my computer sometimes.
I've had to reload my XP three times just to clear it up.
Now your site says my XP is not valid anymore because of
the hardware changes since I registered. (modem and video
card and hard drive added.)
Spyware is really invasive program nad sends in
advertisements via IM. I think you should be more
vigilant about stopping this phenomenon if that is what
you truly want to do and haelp people with smoother
computing
 
A

Alan

Let me guess, the others are finding tracking
cookies/dataminers?

Well you know what, they ARE NOT spyware. They are
COOKIES!!! Spyware, as the 'ware' in the name implies,
are software. Cookies ARE NOT software, they are data
files. Cookies of any type are a privacy issues, and
antispyware programs SHOULD NOT concern themselves with
finding privacy issues, as much as security issues!
Unless you are talking about cookies that store
personally identifiable information, which sholuld be
blocked.

MRUs in NO WAY are spyware, they are a list of the Most
Recent Used files. These are NOT a problem. In order
for someone to see these lists, they MUST HAVE access to
your system. For this to happen, they MUST hack into
your system. Most hackers don't care about PCs, they
care about networks and corporate computers/servers, as
they can find out much more usefull stuff by hacking into
a big network and corporate computers/servers.

Many of these other programs have created a major panic
amongst the less experienced computer users. They think
that these "spyware" are a major problem. They aren't!
They might lead some advertiser, who is used by many
different host domains (i.e., sites), to know what types
of sites you visit, and then place trageted ads that go
along with the sites you visit. However, they CAN NOT in
any way take over your system. These cookies might cause
a problem with privacy, but they in NO WAY are your
biggest threat. The biggest threat to you are the
programs that can breach your security meassures and let
people know who you are, your SSN, your credit card #s,
your bank account #, etc.

If you go into IE, and set the Cookie settings to Medium-
High and set any good firewall to block third-party
cookies, those other programs WILL NOT return anything.
If they do, then run with other programs. Do this,
because people have seen where a program has said it
found all of these problems, and after digging around
their system, they found a data file that contained all
of those "problems." That program used this file to
report phony problems, and suggested buying the full
version to fix the problems. When they did, no problems
were found! They got the run-around trying to get a
refund. One person even had the company producing the
software to want to run a "special program" on his
system. He said no, and later found the data file that
was installed when he installed the "demo" version. He,
like myself, think that the "special program" was
actually to remove the data file from the system, so no
one could catch them defrauding the public.

Alan
 
R

Ron Chamberlin

Hi Tom,
In the Beta1 version, the program doesn't go into the cookie jar, nor does
it chase data miner objects.

Ron Chamberlin
MS-MVP
 

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