Free Spyware Doctor Edition

[Oleg]

I have found free Spyware Doctor here

[netabusechat]

Well, This is a Trialware. Not for Free!! and it is limited to scan only. You must pay $20 for to enable the "OnGuard" and other features.

http://www.pctools.com/

------
Robert
http://www.netabusechat.com - Discussion about internet security and vulnerabilities

Originally Posted by Oleg

I have found free Spyware Doctor here

Did you have a question about Spyware Doctor or are you just posting to let others know about it?

[Detox]

I believe he is posting to show that there is a (I believe new) free version of it available. I wouldn't use that application myself but I am sure some will be interested to see that there is a free version available although the Download.com review says it is rather restricted compared to the trial/pay version.

[lynchknot]

The Free version allows customers to perform scans and remove threats and also Live Update Spyware signatures and functionally. The registered version adds additional tools and real-time OnGuard protection plus quicker access to live updates and support.

.....

[ErikAlbert]

Oleg,
Thanks for the link and the good news about Spyware Doctor FREE.
I never expected a free version from this one, but miracles happen sometimes.

[Notok]

They've actually had a freeware version out for some time now, they've just made it hard to find (until now). It's a good one if you're not looking for more resident protection.. if you are looking for more, I would (personally) wait until they can get the CPU usage down a little.

[G1111]

Is the free version of Spyware Doctor just a scanner like Ad-Aware Personal or does it sit in the foreground and use some resources?

[Notok]

Scanner only, just like Ad-Aware

[iwod]

Great. Another must have on the list.

[ErikAlbert]

First experiences with Spyware Doctor FREE.

Spyware Doctor is certainly not a fast scanner : 22m30s
Microsoft AntiSpyware beta1 is still better : 6m30s
Both were full scans.

The updating works fine.
Onguard doesn't work, only for paid versions.

It found 2 false positives in the HOSTS file

I think, I better keep an eye on this scanner, 2 f/p is a bad start.
Well, that's normal in the security business, you have to do it yourself.

PS : I see the future for employees, like this :
4 hours working
4 hours scanning

[JRCATES]

Originally Posted by ErikAlbert

Spyware Doctor is certainly not a fast scanner:

The updating works fine.
Onguard doesn't work, only for paid versions.

It found 2 false positives in the HOSTS file

Yep, you are absolutely correct, Erik.

The scanner USED TO BE very fast....but over the last month or so, it has become very average to almost slow.

Let me guess....the two "false positives" were:

127.0.0.1 adwords.google.com and
127.0.0.1 adservices.google.com

Correct?

[ErikAlbert]

JRCATES,
That is correct LOL.

[JRCATES]

I've written to them about this, Erik, but it apparently has fallen on deaf ears. Their customer service USED TO BE absolutely fantastic....they would reply promptly and resolve the issue....but in the past few weeks I've contacted them about this and a couple of other things, but 3 emails to customer service and two weeks later, and still no reply.

Also, for those running "On Guard"...be sure to check out your memory and CPU useage here lately. It USED TO RUN very light on system resources, but now practically maxes out the CPU...and that's with basic real-time protection enabled (no scanning). The memory useage has a tendency to fluctuate....pretty heavy at times and not so bad at others.....but until they resolve some of these issues, I've ceased running Spyware Doctor, either in real-time or for scans. It's a shame too...because for the first 4+ months I had the product it was very, very good. Something has happened in the past month or so that has caused the problems, the delay in service response, etc., and basically it's just not a good scene at the moment.

[ErikAlbert]

JRCATES,
Thank you for the info and you are right about the CPU.
I have a tool on my desktop that shows constantly my CPU in graphic mode and SD used constantly 100% during the scan.

It's my very first contact with SD, so I don't know much about the past, but I believe you.
I heard from somebody that the SD trial version detected malware, but didn't remove it and that's why I wasn't interested in SD.
I was quite surprised there was a free version. I didn't see that free version on their website, but member "notok" already said that it was well hidden.
I wonder what really happened to SD after reading your post.
I keep SD anyway as a scanner on demand.
One day it might find others than false positives

[rdsu]

Nice to see a free version of Spyware Doctor

The scanner takes a lot of resources and a lot of time! Very bad in this area...

Did you know if the download file on Spyware Doctor website, also have the free version?

See this nice review: Spyware Doctor Fails to Beat Favorites in Latest Tests

[ErikAlbert]

What I don't understand is that people spend all their time on creating a new AS scanner and don't become the very best scanner on the market.

I would never spend my time on a new AS scanner, if I wasn't able to beat any competition.
You have to know this in advance, before you start programming.

There are already so many AS scanners, why making another one that can't even compete with the very best and is just another scanner in a long row ?
What a waste of time and talent. Do at least something with your talent, that has never been done before.

[rdsu]

Originally Posted by JRCATES

127.0.0.1 adwords.google.com and
127.0.0.1 adservices.google.com

I also received these false-positives...

For a free program seems to have a much better detection than Ad-Aware or Spybot-S&D, so I will mantain it on my system, with CounterSpy and Spybot-S&D, to see the progress...

[JRCATES]

Originally Posted by VaMPiRiC_CRoW

For a free program seems to have a much better detection than Ad-Aware or Spybot-S&D, so I will mantain it on my system, with CounterSpy and Spybot-S&D, to see the progress...

I agree, VC....I still have it as well, just not running it currently (until the bugs are fixed). For several months, though, I've placed it right there with Spy Sweeper, CounterSpy, etc. as far as effectiveness and as an overall anti-spyware product. The fact that they have added additional features and addressed and improved upon areas where they were rated lower in previous versions (like detecting keyloggers, etc.) shows their commitment to putting out a good product, but it's almost like the past month or so something has happened. I'm still keeping it around, though, in hopes that whatever has been affecting detection performance and taking away from their response time as a company will improve.

[ErikAlbert]

During the scan of SD, I saw that it checks for bad websites and the Hosts file contains nothing but bad websites. Maybe that's the reason for these false positives.
Of course this is not an excuse for SD.

[JRCATES]

One negative that I have for Spyware Doctor, Erik, is that they do NOT have a forum presence anywhere. You'll see "PC Tools" pop in from time to time...either here or at CastleCops....but they don't have their very own forum presense so that users can voice things like the "false positives" that we've been discussing, or so that they (PC Tools) can issue statements addressing things like any "fixes" or improvements that have been made. We're kind of at the mercy of the technical support and customer service (which appears to be on a month long vacation at the moment) for those kind of answers.....

[rdsu]

I think that they should improves a lot the scanning time and the resources used while scanning...

The rest, for free, isn't bad...

[bigc73542]

I have the free version 3.1 that came bundled with registry mechanic 4.0. If they haven't really improved their product I don't think much of either one.

[Oleg]

Sorry for the late reply. We have tested this version on 10 pcs it can scan and clean,but some protection needs registration
We have cleaned many pcs with it at my work place.

[chaos16]

i doubt spyware doctor will chatch anything extra to

adaware se
spybot-search & destroy
a2
ewido
microsoft antispyware