New member with a stupid question

Just installed ESET smart security on a new computer, Do I need any additional spyware removal programs? spybot,cc cleaner ,spyware buster. Any help will be appreciated.

 

No. You are good to go.

 

To me, YES you do. And believe me when I say this: "if you use Eset, you are going to need it". The best that I could suggest will be MBAM or SAS Pro.


Peace.

 

The Firewall isn't that hot.

 

it is kind of warm but it is better than nothing

 

Depends on your browsing behaviour. If you go to only a few reputable sites, news, wilders, don't download attachments from your email, all good. If you're always downloading unknown files from various unknown sites...

You could use:
http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html - free version for on-demand scans or lifetime pro version

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php - free version for on-demand scans or lifetime version

http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/ - free version now includes the Ikarus AV engine which has very solid detection. The program does leave a service running, which uses minimal resources even when not in use, but the advantage is the program should always launch and not be shutdown/terminated by 'malware'.

Try them all. All install/uninstall easily. I've gone for the third option as it is an anti-spyware and a backup AV.

 

I would have another realtime anti-spyware program going. I use SAS Pro along with NOD32 for a couple years now and have never had a single issue between them. They run very light together. Maybe give SAS a try then go for the $19.99 lifetime license. It says "today only" but it has been "today only" for years now.

 

You don't require an additional anti-spyware(AS) as ESET smart security has it's own AS engine. You could use spybot S&D for the immunizations if you wanted to but I wouldn't recommend using it's real-time teatimer service along with ESET. CCleaner is a file cleaner and is more of a tool to get rid of temporary files and cookies to clear junk and free up space, so you would be fine downloading that and using it once in awhile. Spyware Blaster has the same function as the immunizations in Spybot S&D and could be beneficial as it doesn't run in real-time but just immunizes your system by preventing you from downloading know spyware applications.

 

You are fine as you are. Standard realtime AM scanners such as MBAM and SAS etc need to be consigned to history. A-Squared is a full AV as well and has a HIPS in the full version - so this may be worth a look as it will offer a good layer of protection.

MZ

 

i wouldn't use S&D at all just SAS and that for second opinion

 

I would recommend using additional HIPS/BB like Threatfire, Mamutu or Prevx.
Of late, NOD32 has bettered its Spyware detection. So you could add a AS like SAS Free, MBAM Free or A2 Free for on-demand scan (just in case).

 

MBAM = Resource Hog T_T

While scanning you have to do nothing besides it or it will hang... -_-

@ Vista Ultimate 32bit

 

Seems you may need a reinstall if you're getting that prob?

MS Antispyware 2009 installer I found on Boxing Day.

Not a single AV flagging it at the time and what's the first thing one of these undetected rogues do - disables your resident realtime scanners and locks up your browser.

No realtime blacklist scanners here and I installed/ran the rogue via Sandboxie without a worry.

Terminated processess, deleted contents, uploaded the installer to MBAM and filed it away to my lovely malware collection.

Same result for 200 or so rogue installers I've played with.

 

+1. And a sandbox like Sandboxie

 

The thing is, that doesn't work =/ it uses 50% + of cpu and when a window covers it up... it starts hanging -_-

 

Thanks everyone, I have downloaded MBAM & A-squared will try them both out. again thanks.

 

Must be something screwed up with your puter as I have never had your problem happen.

 

Could you elaborate more on that, please?

Good point. Looks like the Ikarus engine is up to the task.

Best regards.

 

I had problems with my previous Vista Ultimate setup, some things didn't work properly, so I clean installed Vista and all other problems have been solved except for the MBAM one. High CPU remains and so is the hanging.

So either it's incompatible with other "running processes" or the problem resides with MBAM itself.

 

@Swordfish - Years back (late 90s, early 2Ks) many AVs only detected Viri and missed Trojans, Spyware, Adware etc. As a result there was an opening in the market for smaller, talented developers to create apps which specalised in detecting / removing non viral nasties. Examples of these were Moosofts The Cleaner, Agnitums Tauscan, Trojan Remover, Diamond CSs TDS, Trojanhunter, Eweido etc. If memory serves, TDS was king, followed by Trojanhunter and Eweido. A-squared was there, but originally went under a different name. Anyway, after some time, the major AV vendors realised the failings of their products and began to widen the detection of their AVs so as to include all the other nasties such as trojans etc. KAV and F-Secure were about the best.

Today, all of the decent AVs (now called AMs) detect all the various tyoes of nasties out there. KAV, Norton, F-Secure, Avira etc detect almost all sorts of things and these are large, multinational businesses with huge resources, so are able to develop cutting edge technologies and throw manpower at updating signatures 24/7/365. The small vendors who make todays dedicated AM scanners are commonly small outfits of 1-5 people (MBAM I believe is one person and someone part time)

Apps like MBAM detect so few nasties that the increase in protection they offer could not be measured above the level of noise. If they are of any use, it may be in the highly unlikley event that your AV misses something - and even then, if your AV misses it, chances are, they will too. They are best seen as free malware removal tools - I hear MBAM is good at removing a couple of rogue AVs - for instance.

A-Squared, using the Ikarus engine in the way it does, will offer wide spectrum protection against all nasties - Viruses, trojans, adware, spyware etc. The Ikarus engine has ben shown to outperform all others (including Avira) in detecting new and modified nasties - but the downside is, you can get some FPs. A-squared also has a HIPS and community based detection making it very powerful.

Prevx Edge is similar, in that it offers wide spectrum protection, has a HIPS type function and community based detection - so in my opinion, its a good backup to a good AV.

Tests have shown that the narrow spectrum AMs such as MBAM detect a tiny fraction of malware compared to AVs and A2, Prevx etc. In the light of this, the vendors of these narrow spectrum AM apps have argued that their apps are better at removing malware - but again, there has ben no valid evidence put forward to support this. The same vendors often argue they dont want to "bloat" their signature databases -- but what does this mean? Avira and Kaspersky have massive databases - huge - so by this definition "bloated" - yet, they are fast and light - particuarly Avira! I would argue, the truth of the matter is that the small vendors of the remaining few dedicated AM scanners have small databases as they dont have the capability or resources to have larger, more effective ones.

Running something like SAS or MBAM realtime will impose the same sort of overhead on your system as running Prevx Edge or A2 - and yet only offer about 1/20th of the protection.

Anyway, no doubt my post will get some angry responses from people saying how SAS or MBAM has saved them in the past etc - but my feeling is that an individuals personal experience should be taken with a pinch of salt. Look at independant tests - tests using thousands of samples etc - there are several about.

I remember Eweido (however you spell it) was purchased by AVG and had its AM technology integrated in to their AV scanner. Since all the major AVs now detect the whole spectrum of malware now, I cant se the remaining few dedicated AMs being purchased by them, instead, I expect that in the next 1-2 years, the narrow spectrum AM scanners such as SAS and MBAM etc will all have died a death.

 

Get outta here Max, SAS and MBAM have helped me heaps of times in getting a computer back to a usable state where some rogue had disabled the resident realtime AV!

 

Try Boclean, Bothunter(No removal), Dr web cure it (Standalone AV FREE) , ScripTrap, Returnil(virtual).. Its always room 4 additional software.................
Do ESETs firewall leak alot Then maybe some outbound/inbound protection software(Threatfire)
-Its all FREE-

 

@Max- how many of your posts are touting A-squared? More than half? Seriously, do you work for them?

A2 is alright. But as far as resource usage it seems to use significantly more than SAS ever has. And the false positives have always been there. Ikarus has a ton of false positives. So the combo of the two should really be something to keep a user busy.

I have used MBAM to remove rogue av's in the past- some which were completely missed by dedicated av/as programs. It is a useful tool. And I put more weight into using a program and removing malware than any test results I see.

 

No, I dont work for them.

The facts speak for themselves concerning the detection rates of A2, MBAM, SAS etc. Things are not a matter of opinion, or personal taste. there is some hard and fast reality out there. There is no test evidence anywhere in the world that shows MBAM or SAS are of any real use. Forget personal opinion based on emotional investment, or an individuals personal one off experience - all the tests show that these narrow spectrum AMs 1) dont remove malware as well as standard apps. 2) Detect next to nothing. 3) Are unable to update signatures fast enough to respond to new threats.

If you can counter 1, 2 or 3 above with any real facts or evidence, please do so. Im not interested in hearing about personal experience or one off examples - focus on large samples etc - be logical and scientific.

PS - if anyone here can conduct a test using a large sample of malware which puts SAS or MBAM anywhere other than last, I will eat my hat.

MZ

 

You might wanna think twice.

Check out Remove-Malware.com and see for yourself, especially what others leave behind. SAS and MalwareBytes have achieved a milestone of many users in their base. I have used them and they have picked up things.

Whether "1) They don't remove malware as others. 2) Detect next to nothing. 3) Are unable to update signatures quickly to new threats." or a science fiction, please don't underestimate them.