Spy Sweeper install blocked

[Bart]

In my ME days, I purchased Spy Sweeper from a reputable dealer who gave me
the file "sspsetup1_1796742905.exe" and a key code to activate the
installation. I upgraded to XP Home SP2 and tried to run the above file to
reinstall the program. However, I now get a dialog box telling me that
"Windows found that this file is potentially harmful. To help protect your
computer, Windows has blocked access to this file." I have a LinksSys
wireless router with a hardware firewall, I have XP's firewall turned off,
and I have Panda Titanium 2005 A/V install but disabled for the moment to
see if Panda is the problem with this file. I tried to run the file but get
the same dialog. I know this file is OK since I got it going with ME and it
is from a responsible and trusted dealer. What am I missing?

Bart

 

[Will Denny]

Hi Bart

I have in the past 3/4 months found Spy Sweeper has been causing problems.
No idea why, but I ditched it - suggest you do the same.

 

[Ed]

I have in the past 3/4 months found Spy Sweeper has been causing problems.

Could you elaborate on these "problems" please? I use SS and if there
is a problem, I would like to know.

Thanks,
Ed

 

[Bart]

I will consider your solution. Can you suggest a replacement? Have Panda
A/V, Ad-Aware SE installed now.

Bart

 

[Will Denny]

Hi Ed

Numerous problems - SS:

Doesn't find all the spyware that it purports to finds.
Freezes at random places during the scan.
Updates are far and few between and then hardly ever complete.

I can't work like that.

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

There are several other spyware programs that you can try:

Spybot - http://www.safer-networking.or­g/
CWShredder - http://forum.aumha.org/downloa­ds/cwshredder.zip
Spy Sweeper - www.webroot.com

and of course the MS anti-spyware program as well:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

I know it says it's Beta, but it's OK to install and use.

Try SpyWareBlaster to stop intrusions:

http://www.javacoolsoftware.co­m/spywareblaster.html

Also see the following links:

http://aumha.org/a/parasite.ht­m
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/un­wanted.htm

 

[pcbutts1]

Right click on the file, click properties, click unblock.

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[pcbutts1]

I still use it. The only issue I have with it is that it hangs when you shut
down the pc. I have to shut down SS first or click end now when the dialog
box pops up.

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[D.Currie]

Could you elaborate on these "problems" please? I use SS and if there
is a problem, I would like to know.

Thanks,
Ed

The company is going through some expansion, and they're hiring a whole
bunch of people, which can be a good thing long-term. Short-term, you've got
a large percentage of new personnel. They've also got a list of things
they're fixing/improving, so the jury's still out on how that ends up.

The major thing I didn't like was the update interface, which I found just
plain annoying, and if there's a problem with the computer getting online
and the update wants to run, it's really obnoxious.

It also seems to be a bit resource-hungry. If you've got an XP machine
that's running well, it's fine. But if you have an older computer (as many
of my customers do) and/or it's already having issues, adding that software
can make it unusable. And I've had few computers where that software just
wasn't compatible, causing more problems than it was supposed to fix.

Mostly what I don't like is the interface and the whole whiz-bang it goes
through at startup. I don't have it on any of my computers, so maybe there
are better ways to set it up, but when I find it on customer's computers, I
tend to shut it down while I'm repairing, and enable it when I'm done.

If it runs good for you and you're happy with it, that's fine, but it's not
on my "most recommended" list. We'll see what happens when they're done
revamping things; maybe I'll like it better.

 

[D.Currie]

In my ME days, I purchased Spy Sweeper from a reputable dealer who gave me
the file "sspsetup1_1796742905.exe" and a key code to activate the
installation. I upgraded to XP Home SP2 and tried to run the above file
to reinstall the program. However, I now get a dialog box telling me that
"Windows found that this file is potentially harmful. To help protect
your computer, Windows has blocked access to this file." I have a
LinksSys wireless router with a hardware firewall, I have XP's firewall
turned off, and I have Panda Titanium 2005 A/V install but disabled for
the moment to see if Panda is the problem with this file. I tried to run
the file but get the same dialog. I know this file is OK since I got it
going with ME and it is from a responsible and trusted dealer. What am I
missing?

Bart

If the file was on a floppy or it was copied to your hard drive and copied
back to some removable media, it's possible that the file got infected or
corrupted. Just because it was originally good doesn't mean that it's going
to stay that way forever.

Also, there are probably newer versions of the software, so you might want
to check with webroot and see if your key will work with a current version.

There's a chance that the version you have is just too old or incompatible
with XP.