New to NOD32 (replaced SpySweeper)...

[Wingman]

I have had SpySweeper for two years with little problems, but its latest version has pushed me away from the resource hog and its idiotic anti-virus update. The anti-virus built into SpySweeper is just rediculous and offers little to no protection. I just installed NOD32 and already it has found eight Worms/Trojans and deleted them. I use Trend Micro's HouseCall [Free] too, and it didn't even catch them.

I have three issues:
1. They [Webroot]won't reimburse me for my $10 investment for the anti-virus upgrade.
2. Do I still need to run SpySweeper while running NOD32, or is it just as efficient against malware? I would rather not run the resource hog, but I will continue to do so if needed as I love SpySweeper's spyware protection. I won't, however, if NOD32 alone can do what it did, or better yet, do it and better.
3. I just updated to the following NOD32:

NOD32 antivirus system information
Virus signature database version: 2051 (20070210)
Dated: Saturday, February 10, 2007
Virus signature database build: 9042
RAM: 2048 MB
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4800+ (2400 MHz)

What must I do to get the best protection from NOD32? I am new to its user interface and want to get the best from the program.

[webyourbusiness]

that's a personal decision - I run 3 anti-spyware solutions on my personal machine AS WELL as NOD32 - and here is the big "but" - nothing has got past NOD32 in almost 2.5 years!

So I continue to run them - but they continue to have nothing to do... could I say that I'd never need them? I don't know - I'm a fairly safe surfer... I hope not!

[danieleb]

Originally Posted by Wingman

What must I do to get the best protection from NOD32? I am new to its user interface and want to get the best from the program.

See the sticky: Extra settings for Nod32 v2.7, provided by Blackspear
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=37509

And why not continue using SpySweeper on demand, if you like it?

[lodore]

you could use spy sweeper still as on demand but not as real time because it will make your computer crawl lol
nod32 and a firewall should be fine for real time
i would suggest superantispyware for on demand scans link in my Sig
i have spy sweeper but i hate the latest version even just the antispyware version with no stupid av.
once you untick all the shields in spysweeper and tell it to not load at startup your pc will be so much faster or even uninstall it completely
lodore

[Wingman]

Originally Posted by lodore

you could use spy sweeper still as on demand but not as real time because it will make your computer crawl lol
nod32 and a firewall should be fine for real time
i would suggest superantispyware for on demand scans link in my Sig
i have spy sweeper but i hate the latest version even just the antispyware version with no stupid av.
lodore

Very true. I'll do that. I also use Trend Micro's Housecall as on-demand, I should be set.

Originally Posted by danieleb

See the sticky: Extra settings for Nod32 v2.7, provided by Blackspear
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=37509

And why not continue using SpySweeper on demand, if you like it?

Thanks for the link!

Originally Posted by Wingman

I also use Trend Micro's Housecall !

This is pointless . NOD32 has never missed something that Housecall got . TM Housecall is really an overkill for your computer and time-spending activity

I personally also use Ewido Micro scanner and once a month scan with it just for second opinion

[kof]

Mike its you?

[pykko]

Originally Posted by HiTech_boy

This is pointless . NOD32 has never missed something that Housecall got . TM Housecall is really an overkill for your computer and time-spending activity

how do you prove this?

[twl845]

I second lodore's motion. If you want to keep SS, use it for on demand scans and get SUPERantispyware to run on boot up. If not that, AVG antispyware. Both work great for me.

[Wingman]

Originally Posted by twl845

I second lodore's motion. If you want to keep SS, use it for on demand scans and get SUPERantispyware to run on boot up. If not that, AVG antispyware. Both work great for me.

Can you hit me with a link to this "SUPERantispyware" you refer to? Every attempt on my part puts me at advertisements or bogus sites of some type. I used Ewido (now AVG I assume) back in the day and loved it, but it never really caught anything that SS didn't, perhaps I'll include it over TM's Housecall, b/c honestly he is right, the time it takes to do this is A LOT... that's why I usually start the scan before I got to work and complete it when I get home.

I'll keep SS for on-demand and possibly use AVG as an alternative. I've used Spybot and Adaware before, but I don't like either of them compared to SS or AVG, I'm glad neither of them were recommended.

I just noticed that a lot of pop-ups I get with Firefox (I hate IE) have started while browsing specific sites, specifically Ezboard where I visit a forum daily. These pop-ups are displaying ads for either books or video games I've done searches on recently, so now I know something is tracking my activity somewhere, but I can't find anything with either of these scanners. Is there some super-duper alternative to find these? I use the Adblock Plus (v 0.7.2.4) extension in Firefox and even it isn't 'blocking' some of these ads... I'm getting concerned. Should I start a new topic on this issue?

I want to thank everyone for the help and recommendations. I've used the link above to setup NOD32 and it is working nicely. Many, many thanks.

[lodore]

superantispyware
click on the blue link above
lodore

[twl845]

http://www.superantispyware.com/?tag...PERANTISPYWARE

Here ya go.

[twl845]

As for the pop ups, I would do a full AV scan as well.

[KDNeese]

Originally Posted by Wingman

I just noticed that a lot of pop-ups I get with Firefox (I hate IE) have started while browsing specific sites, specifically Ezboard where I visit a forum daily. These pop-ups are displaying ads for either books or video games I've done searches on recently, so now I know something is tracking my activity somewhere, but I can't find anything with either of these scanners. Is there some super-duper alternative to find these? I use the Adblock Plus (v 0.7.2.4) extension in Firefox and even it isn't 'blocking' some of these ads... I'm getting concerned. Should I start a new topic on this issue?

I want to thank everyone for the help and recommendations. I've used the link above to setup NOD32 and it is working nicely. Many, many thanks.

I don't know if I have the answer, but will share a couple of thoughts as I've read this post. I am wondering if the pop-ups might be related to something as simply as cookies or specific tracking cookies. Also, if you are getting pop-ups, you might want to check your browser settings. Under Tools > Options > Privacy, you can alter your settings for accepting cookies. Also, I use the extension "CookieSafe" in addition to NoScript, with which you can control which sites are able to place cookies on your computer. Also, under the Privacy settings, I have "Always clear my private data when I close Firefox" checked, which erases all of that crap when you close your browser. Also under Privacy, I Un-check "Remember what I enter in forms and in the search bar" so that information remains unavailable to snoopers. I also use the add-on "NoReferrer" so that sites are unable to track from which site I accessed a particular site. Under Tools > Options > Content, make sure you have Firefox set to block pop-up windows. I don't know if this will be any help, but are just some ideas that came to mind. I know a lot of problems can be solved by tweaking browser settings.

As for the question regarding NOD32, I have used NOD for quite some time, and it has ALWAYS caught the bad stuff before my AS apps had a change to even react. At present, I don't run a resident AS, as I've found my current setup to be many times more effective. I run a firewall (Comodo), NOD32, MVPS Hosts File with eDexter filter, Winpatrol (to monitor Hosts file) and Peer Guardian. This setup has kept me clean as a whistle for a long time. In addition to Windows, I run Linux via VMware, in which I am able to run Firefox with the exact same setup as I do in Windows. Many times I simply run my firewall, NOD32 and Hosts File with eDexter, which filters out all the crap.

[Wingman]

Originally Posted by KDNeese

I don't know if I have the answer, but will share a couple of thoughts as I've read this post. I am wondering if the pop-ups might be related to something as simply as cookies or specific tracking cookies. Also, if you are getting pop-ups, you might want to check your browser settings. Under Tools > Options > Privacy, you can alter your settings for accepting cookies. Also, I use the extension "CookieSafe" in addition to NoScript, with which you can control which sites are able to place cookies on your computer. Also, under the Privacy settings, I have "Always clear my private data when I close Firefox" checked, which erases all of that crap when you close your browser. Also under Privacy, I Un-check "Remember what I enter in forms and in the search bar" so that information remains unavailable to snoopers. I also use the add-on "NoReferrer" so that sites are unable to track from which site I accessed a particular site. Under Tools > Options > Content, make sure you have Firefox set to block pop-up windows. I don't know if this will be any help, but are just some ideas that came to mind. I know a lot of problems can be solved by tweaking browser settings.

As for the question regarding NOD32, I have used NOD for quite some time, and it has ALWAYS caught the bad stuff before my AS apps had a change to even react. At present, I don't run a resident AS, as I've found my current setup to be many times more effective. I run a firewall (Comodo), NOD32, MVPS Hosts File with eDexter filter, Winpatrol (to monitor Hosts file) and Peer Guardian. This setup has kept me clean as a whistle for a long time. In addition to Windows, I run Linux via VMware, in which I am able to run Firefox with the exact same setup as I do in Windows. Many times I simply run my firewall, NOD32 and Hosts File with eDexter, which filters out all the crap.

Thanks for all of the input. I already have my privacy information deleted upon browser closing and I have pop-ups blocked. The NoReferrer you referred to was a dead-end, all of my attempts to download ended with a bogus link on sites in a different language. I'm not sure what happened there. I've also downloaded the extensions, CookieSafe and NoScript, I'm eager to get these working for me, they look promising. I enjoy tweaking this stuff and can't wait to get it all running smoothly.

SuperAntispyware works fine and is a great alternative, thanks again for the help on that from everyone.

AVG Free (Ewido, right?) found a ton of cookies neither of the other three [SpySweeper, NOD32 & SuperAntispyware) found, that information is here:
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...316/AVG_01.jpg

I'll run this one first from now on of my on-demand programs. It's sad so many programs have to be run to keep a PC clean, but I don't mind, I just want to ensure I'm safe.

I use Windows Firewall as well... I started using it a while back, it sort of replaced my ZoneAlarm b/c ZA kept giving me memory problems that always ended up returning, so I was forced to uninstall it. I no longer have the computer I ran it on, so I'm sure this PC would run it fine. Is Comodo better than ZoneAlarm? I loved ZoneAlarms user interface and ease of use, is Comodo as promising? I'm about to research this firewall and check it out, I guess it's time I stopped using the MS firewall alternative.

[acr1965]

For some reason I thought Zone Alarm was not compatible with NOD32. At least when I tried to download IM Secure from ZA I got a warning message that I had to deleat NOD32 before installing. Needless to say, I went without IM Secure.

Comodo seems to work flawlessly with NOD and so does Jetico. Except with Jetico there is about a week of your life you will spend answering pop-up messages as the firewall learns your system. Once those are gone, though, Jetico is smooth sailing.

As for the pop-up issue I have used IE7 and MVPS hosts for a few months and I cannot remember the last time I got a pop-up. Well there are some sights that I allow pop-ups on, but that is about it. I also have Spyware Blaster and that seems to have helped too.

I cannot concur with some people that say NOD32 catches all spyware. I think it catches the major stuff. There have been some that have made their way through, though. But that was with NOD32 2.5. I have not gotten anything since upgrading to 2.7 and maybe the Stealth scan feature has taken care of them. However you slice it, I would be sure and run an on-demand scan once a week with something besides NOD32. I have liked the on-demand features of AVG Anti-Spyware and SuperAntiSpyware.

Plus I have used the real-time guard of Spyware Terminator. That has seemed to have curbed a lot of my previous problems with cookies. Well, that and tightening down my IE7 settings.

As far as getting rid of all those cookies, you may want to try something like C-Cleaner to clear all cookies. Then visit the few sights you like and when you re-open C-Cleaner put some of those cookies on your safe list. NOD32 kinda ignores cookies, even the tracking cookies. That's even with Blackspear's settings enabled. I have had in the past some scans from AVG, CounterSpy and SpySweeper that have detected keyloggers which NOD32 missed. And they were not false positives. But I scan pretty much every night so I was able to take care of them quickly. So don't depend strictly on the NOD32 AV for everything. But for the major stuff, NOD32 is about as safe as you can get. I have never had a virus or trojan infection since I have used ESET's product.