How does SpywareBlaster work if a process is not running?

Discussion in 'SpywareBlaster & Other Forum' started by ivand67, Apr 21, 2004.

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  1. ivand67

    ivand67 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2004
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    I have installed and use SpywareBlaster, and I like it... but I just had one quick, simple question for someone who is slightly knowledgeable about the program:

    How does SpywareBlaster (SB) work if a process for the program is not running in the background?

    o_O o_O

    I have Ad-Aware 6.0 with Ad-Watch and other monitoring programs and I know that, in order for them to run, they gotta have a program running in the background... These programs sometimes put an icon in the system tray. I noticed SB doesn't have an icon there, so I went over to the list of processes that are running by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del (well actually I have a utility for that, too, called Process Viewer that comes with Norton SystemWorks), but didn't notice anything running for SB...

    So does SB work by registering keys and values on the registry?

    How can it work if there's nothing running in the background?

    I'd appreciate it if whoever answers this also sends me a quick private message since I'll get an e-mail alert and check out the answer quick... I am sick and tired of ad/spyware :ninja: so I'm getting all the tools I need to avoid any more problems.

    Thanks a lot in advance!

    Ivan
     
  2. LowWaterMark

    LowWaterMark Administrator

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    That's exactly how it works. SpywareBlaster's primary protection is that it disables a list of known spyware related ActiveX controls by simply setting the "kill bits" (flags in the registry) for the specific items it protects against.

    It works because that is the way ActiveX controls are designed. If the kill-bit is set in the registry, the associated ActiveX control can not run on the system.

    So, there is no need to leave SpywareBlaster running. Simply check periodically for new updates, say once a week, and that's it.
     
  3. Omnedon

    Omnedon Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2004
    Posts:
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    :cool: I am evaluating SpywareBlaster. Is there a smoke test I can run to verify that the product works? Forgive me, if I did not find a more appropriate thread (I did search). Feel free to send me a link if this has already been covered.
     
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