Debbie said:
Hello,
I know some Spyware programs but I don't know which one
is better. Any ideas?
SpywareBlaster
BHODemon
Browser Hijack Blaster
SpywareGuard
Thanks,
Debbie
I don't know anything about which are the best spyware programs. But as
to anti-spyware programs:
- BHO Cop (PC Magazine): This lets you see what Browser Helper Objects
have been added that will modify Internet Explorer's behavior. I have
this and it is a good utility.
- BHOdemon: Just a tad better only because it will read the associated
DLL and show you some of the info in it.
- SpywareBlaster: This works by adding kill bits in the registry that
will disable class IDs whether they are currently defined or will be
created later. The presumption is that spyware cannot run with these
kill bits in the registry. It doesn't remove any spyware. If spyware
is currently installed, it just makes it impossible for the spyware to
run. I use this product but I prefer to use others that actually try to
remove this crap out of my system; i.e., I'd rather not have to take an
anti-dote if I can instead remove the poison. Because this program's
protection is only to add kill bit registry entries, it does not remain
loaded during your session in Windows. This means it does not
auto-update to get new definitions of classIDs that it needs to kill for
new spyware detected since the last time you downloaded an update. The
product recommends that you perform periodic manual updates, but who's
going to remember to keep doing manual updates?
- SpywareGuard: Only checks for downloads of ActiveX controls used by
spyware. This is like scanning for viruses on file downloads. I has to
be kept running in order to provide protection. I have had it crash 3
or 4 times in about a month of using it. It does have other features,
like preventing your browser from getting hijacked, but if crashes and
hangs then you might not be able to make any changes, either, so you'll
have to kill its process and restart it. This has LiveUpdate feature
but it is really a Manual Update feature. Although SpywareGuard remains
loaded (it loads on startup), it does NOT automatically check for
updates. You'll have to click the LiveUpdate to check for updates when
you happen to remember to do so.
- Ad-aware: It's good. However, my pet peeve is that you really are not
informed as to what exact actions it will take to eliminate a detected
spyware infestation. It has an undo capability but what I want is to
know how it intends to get rid of the spyware. What files will it
delete? What registry entries will it delete or modify? What settings
will it alter? And I want to know this BEFORE it eradicates the spyware
since it may propose to perform an action that I know is harmful.
- SpyBot: Sometimes catches spyware that Ad-aware misses. So I use both
SpyBot and Ad-aware. I think this is the anti-spyware that considers
MRUs (most recent used lists in the registry) as harmful and offers to
purge them, but I've seen it not get the indexing correct after emptying
the MRUs, and just deleting the entire MRU registry key can cause
problems in the application that expects the MRU list to exist and
doesn't expect that it has to recreate it. It's like using Norton's
WinDoctor to make fixes to the registry: make sure you know what you're
doing. But that means the product has to tell you what it intends to
do. Like Ad-Aware, Spybot doesn't let you know what it will do to get
rid of detected spyware.
- InstallWatch: This is not specifically geared towards spyware. It
takes a snapshot of your system. After installing some software, you
can analyze what got change and save a record of those changes. Then if
you suspect a particular product as being a carrier for spyware, you can
see exactly what changes were made to your system during that product's
installation. This utility is also handy to find those items that a
product's uninstall forgot to eradicate, which sometimes is deliberate
(because they want to reuse, for example, registry settings or .ini
filters should you decide to reinstall that product).
That's pretty much what I use. Along with, of course, be ever cautious
about downloading some handy dandy software that lures you to it because
it is free. Check user reviews at download sites to see if anyone else
knows or believes a product is a carrier for spyware. Go to the
product's web site and read everything you. They may mention that their
product includes spyware (of course, they don't call it that) and is a
condition of using their product and why it is free.
