Is Microsoft/Giant Antispyware good ?

I was not exactly sure which forum to post this on.

I am wondering if Microsoft/Giant Antispyware (you know, the SP2 goodie) is a good scanner for general security, hijacks, activex, trojans and spyware to have running in the background at all times. I had been using it as an on-demand spyware scanner like Ad-aware. I am behind a NAT firewall router and use the XP SP2 firewall for redundance. I am going to start using an AV software, likely NOD32. I liked the trial edition on my laptop.

I am switching to some real-time protection not covered by NOD32 or typically by AV software and I wanted to know how good this is for a free program. I do like the pop-ups and the info. that they give. I use Avant browser but renamed it "iexplore.exe" so I get all of the popups and info.

Spybot Search & Destroy can also run in the background and "inocculate" your PC. Any ideas if this is a good application or not?

Is there a better free alternative to either or both of these ? I noticed in the posts about recommended security software for the three levels of protection that neither was mentioned at all. Do they suck ?

B.

 

Yes, it definitely ok and if you use it with a hostfile like :http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm (you can protect the hostfile with MS - AntiSpyware) and a trackscleaner like the free http://www.ccleaner.com/ then you chances of spyware & hijacks are reduced dramaticly and it's free, just remember to update the hostfile a couple times a month.

 

I like it, install it on all clients NT based PCs. (won't install on Win9X)
Pretty decent real time protection, above average scan/removal ability...and very VERY good advanced tools for installing on infected PCs and troubleshooting/cleaning out issues.

It's free, it auto updates, default scans 1x daily, and it's pretty light running in the background.

 

Hi brjoon1021,

Scanners, such as MS AS will find many instances of "known" spyware, but not all. Ditto for other products such as Ad-aware and Spybot. But the trouble is there may be instances where some malicious software just slips through. Eventually the anti-spyware may catch up and detect it - or may not. Since you will have NOD32, which is a top-tier AV and provides, in itself lots of protection, and depending upon how you use your computer, this "hole" in your security may or may not be something that you can live with.

Another way to approach the problem is by using host intrusion protection programs which prevent malware (such as keyloggers) from being executed and installed on your system. Some free ones that you may want to look into are ProcessGuard (free edition), Prevx Home, AntiHook and SnoopFree.

Hope this helps,
Rich

 

With respect to the last post, among the four programs, what is the overlap, and which programs can/cannot be installed with the others? For that matter, which of the four programs have conflicts with other security software, so that they can't be installed together? Thanks.

 

Hi george75,

I have used all except AntiHook and have not had any conflicts with other security software. However, each system is different so your may behave differently. If you are interested in a particular piece of software, you may want to inquire in a new thread, with specifics concerning your configuration and what you are interested in trying out and I am sure others will respond if they have similar systems and have been able to install without conflicts.

It is also important for you to understand the nature of these products before using them. There are many threads on this forum that have discussed these products individually.

Rich