Do I need anti-spyware?

[Oleg]

I am using firefox all the time I am wondering If I need anti-spyware products.

[Blackspear]

-{ Quote: "I am using firefox all the time I am wondering If I need anti-spyware products." }-To me the answer is 100% yes, a minimum of Ad-Aware as well as Spybot Search and Destroy. You may want to take a look HERE (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=62972). As well there are discussions HERE (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=45284&page=1&pp=25) and even more HERE (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=43117) in regards to security.

Hope this helps...

Let us know how you go.

Cheers ;D

[BlueZannetti]

-{ Quote: "I am using firefox all the time I am wondering If I need anti-spyware products." }-Oleg,

What else do you run realtime?

Blue

[Oleg]

-{ Quote: "Oleg,

What else do you run realtime?

Blue" }-
Anti-Virus and thats it.

[Oleg]

Can you tell me anti-spyware product that work with firefox?

[Blackspear]

-{ Quote: "Can you tell me anti-spyware product that work with firefox?" }-Most of them, take a look at the first link that I provided and you will see several, including Paid ones.

Cheers ;D

[Oleg]

-{ Quote: "Most of them, take a look at the first link that I provided and you will see several, including Paid ones.

Cheers ;D" }-
Zone Alarm (FREE) - using Tiny Firewall
Winzip 8.0 (FREE) - using Winrar
Adobe Acrobat reader (FREE) - using Foxit
All others - So So

I need paid appz :)

[Blackspear]

-{ Quote: "Zone Alarm (FREE) - using Tiny Firewall
Winzip 8.0 (FREE) - using Winrar
Adobe Acrobat reader (FREE) - using Foxit
All others - So So

I need paid appz :)" }-In the first link that I provided HERE, (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=62972) you will see that I use CounterSpy which is a PAID product, alongside the World Leaders, Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, SpywareBlaster, Spyware Guard...

Often FREE products lead the way in protection.

Cheers ;D

[Don Pelotas]

-{ Quote: "Zone Alarm (FREE) - using Tiny Firewall
Winzip 8.0 (FREE) - using Winrar
Adobe Acrobat reader (FREE) - using Foxit
All others - So So

I need paid appz :)" }-
Have a look at Spy Sweeper (http://www.webroot.com/) from Webroot, has a very big signaturebase (87799). :)

[BlueZannetti]

Oleg,

Blackspear and Don have both given you very good advice. It is very useful to have access to an antispyware application or 2 (or 3...). In the link (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=62972) provided by Blackspear, you can get a sense of how I've set my system up.

There really are a couple of distinct approaches you could take. The end result is hopefully the same with respect to spyware, but depending on what runs on your PC, one approach may work better than another. You're really the only one who can determine that.

Personally, I prefer to rely on my realtime AV/AT/proactive combination to handle everything and so far it has done that flawlessly even in direct challenge tests. While I do periodically scan for spyware, I generally do not find anything at all with the configuration described running.

Blue

[Oleg]

Thanks a lot to all :)

[cheater87]

buy the full version of spyware doctor and you will be pretty safe

[nadirah]

-{ Quote: "buy the full version of spyware doctor and you will be pretty safe" }-

One anti-spyware application alone is NOT enough.
Do you think that just one antivirus program alone can protect a computer and keep it 100% safe against all kinds of security threats?

[JRCATES]

I use the full version of Spyware Doctor 3.2 also, and even though I am very happy with it and consider it to be quite effective, I certainly would NOT recommend it as the "only" security/anti-spyware program to run. Others like SpywareBlaster 3.4, Ad-Aware SE 1.06 (newer version, just released), and Spybot Search and Destroy are a few examples of "free" anti-spyware programs that I would recommend in addition to Spyware Doctor, Spy Sweeper, CounterSpy, ewido security suite or any other pay spyware program that offers "real-time" protection. ;)

[squash]

Short answer: Yes
Long answer: Yes

Although I never hardly get any spyware (except for the Alexa thing that is bundled with this PC on purchase - Compaq computer). You need antispyware for peace of mind. And yes, these are the words from a mininalist computer user.

I use just Ad-aware for spyware detection. I have no problems what so ever.

Spybot's GUI is a pain, and the update freezes on me. It doesn't work for me - one of the worse free apps I've tried (Along with Incredimail). That is merely my opinion.

Microsoft Antispyware is a little bit better - but also hangs on update, and it is clutterred with lots of things. The UI could be simpler.

Also Download.com recently tested some spyware apps, and found that that Ad-aware was the best in terms of what it found to the scan time. (Another one found more, but it tooks ages more time)

[north450]

The opera browser.
does not attract any spyware.
when spybot or addaware is runned once every months finds some cookies .
this is probably due to my occasional running of msie.
firefox 1.5 is nice but not as flexible as opera browser.

[sweater]

The answer is a big YES!!!

Or else... :wacko: you'll suffer many different consequences... :blink: like slow browsing, unexpected pop-ups, etc. etc . :P

[Franklin]

No signature=no protection!

Hate to disagree but I say no you don't need realtime scanners!For the last coupla weeks I have turned off my AV,ZAP and MS antispy.

Will add that my pc is snappier and download speeds are faster and constant without those three resources running,even with a gig of ram.

I run my browser through Sandboxie and untrusted with Defensewall at the same time.After emptying the sandox on demand scans with my AV,MS antispy and Ewido come up clean.

Still have Spywareblaster,a hosts file and hardware firewall.

[sukarof]

-{ Quote: "I am using firefox all the time I am wondering If I need anti-spyware products." }-
I am using firefox and have done so for a couple of years. I used to have some antispyware installed but my experience is that I have no use of them, they stopped alerting on anything after firefox was installed. (oh yes, the antispyware were updated with the latest signatures)
With extensions like noscript, cookie permition, adblock (+ I have JAVA turned off), antispyware have become obselete imho.
I run Search&Destroy and sometimes ad-aware every other month or so just out of curiosity to see if something new has happend on the spyware front. The result: 0 threats.

Anyone feel free to direct me to a site that proves me wrong, ie something that gives spyware via firefox. I´m not that cocky that I belive I will be safe forever ;)

[lupus]

I agree on this. NoScript and Java off as well as my trusty locked-down PG Full have done away with need for anti-spyware.

[rdsu]

Yes, at least to make an on-demand scan...