The "best" anti-spyware tool

Hi,

I am considering a purchase of Spy Sweeper for anti-keylogging support but I am trying out SnoopFree Privacy Shield (www.snoopfree.com) and it looks like it has terrific anti-keylogging protection. Only, because of my limited technical capabilities in this area, I am unable to really evaluate it and I haven't seen any independent reviews on the architecture. Has anyone done any due diligence on this product? Thanks for any comments

Rich

 

I haven't looked closely at this program, but I think it has a lot of potential. The real test against this anti-keylogger, obviously, will be to throw some trial versions of keyloggers at it -- and see if it detects them. I have just put this on my to-do list. It really looks fascinating - and unique. Take a look at this page which shows you what kind of "breach" meassages you are likely to encounter if a keylogger has been installed.
http://www.snoopfree.com/help_file/Breaches.htm#Breach Messages

Pretty intiguing - will definitely give it a spin.

 

Thanks John. I very much appreciate your reply and assistance. On my system, it seems like SnoopFree is picking up all programs that are trying to latch onto keyboard or window screen services. This includes programs such as Quckbooks, TDS-3, Ad-Aware, TrueVector, and InstallShield. I gave all of these programs privileges but what I like was the fact that SnoopFree seem to be doing a good job of detecting all potential keyloggers. It seems to be very tight. If you come up with anything, I will be looking for a post. Thanks again.

Rich

 

A thank you to richrf who pointed to a link that pointed to a link. There seems to be a rather new resource for reviewing anti-spyware programmes. It is called ADWARE REPORT. From their website -

"In our August round of testing, we analyzed seven of the most popular spyware removal products and rated each according to their ability to detect, remove, and completely cleanse a target PC of all spyware."

All data is not in yet but looks promising. Check it for yourself!

Be seeing you.

 

This is yet another fake review site - though clearly well-done as the site looks legit. These "review" sites are setup to do nothing more than sell product. Look at the "top-rated" antispyware tools: All the most expensive programs. Spybot (free) gets a 2 rating? Aluria's Spyware Eliminator #1? When you click on the "buy" button you are redirected (through an adwarereport re-direct link) to the developers site. ADWARE REPORT then gets his commission.

Don't ever trust a review site where the reviewer is getting a piece of the action. These affiliate sites are misleading and must be called out for what they are. Good anti-spyware: Spybot, AdAware, and Spy Sweeper. Note: Only one of those has a price tag. I would have put Pestpatrol on the list but the false positives are ridiculous.

 

Yes, however, the product is doing me no good if I can't get it to work, therefore, I think that in this case, support is the most important.

I agree 100%.

 

I am a Spy Sweeper user, is there any way I might possibly be able to help you?

 

Hi John,

Thanks for your offer to assist. I am evaluationg SpySweeper and often I have questions concerning false positives. How do you go about resolving these questions? Does SpySweeper support respond quickly. My experiences with TDS-3 and BOClean have been exceptionally good. Usually a response within hours if not minutes. When I think I might have a trojon or spy (rare nowadays), I do like to get fairly quick response so I know how to proceed. Any experiences that you may have would be very helpful in my decision process. Thanks.

Rich

 

What we said was that simply because someone is in the financial loop does not invalidate a test. It merely means the test is not an independent third-party test. If the test programmes can be known and tested by an independent third party then we can make some progress. Still, the tests that were done cannot be relied upon at face value simply because the means to replicate the tests are not available.

Just as in anti-virus testing, we need to know which files/malware were used and we need to be able to achieve exactly the same results on other test computers. Until that happens we only have what is called in the courts hearsay.

It still stands that we advocate using both Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware continuously as they work a little differently and both have merit separately.

We await a true independent third-party test.

 

Spyblocker isn't even mentioned there...

 

In this case I am afraid that it does. The results are nothing short of ridiculous. They also put rogue spyware into the "testing" mix. There is no question that this is a sales site and the "reviews" are merely set-up to push product.

Aluria Affiliate program:

Aluria Affiliate Program

Link to Aluria Software™ and Start Making Money! If you have a website, e-newsletter, or access to another online marketing channel, join the Aluria Software Affiliate Program today and earn money by promoting our software programs.

Why Join Aluria Software’s Affiliate Program?
The answer is simple, because we love writing BIG checks!

http://www.aluriasoftware.com/partners/affiliates/

Webroot affilate program:

How Much Can You Earn?

For a limited time, Webroot is providing new Affiliates with 50% commission on every sale for the first three calendar months you are in the program. This gives you three months to ramp up your sales to the necessary levels to maintain higher commissions. After the initial three months, your commission is determined by sales volume as shown below.

https://secure.webroot.com/affiliates/affiliate_signup.html

Granted, the site's marketing is well-done and they make the testing look impressive. But, make no mistake, this site is not there for the purpose of informing you about the quality of anti-spyware tools. It is there to generate click-thru's for the #1 and #2 "rated" products, with which this site gets up to 50% commission (and even higher at times with Aluria).

If Spybot and AdAware came in #1 and #2 in their "testing" do you think the site would even exist? It is a sales site. If you STILL doubt, look at the company's spam "review site":http://www.spamreviews.com/archives/000021.html

Guess what is #1? Giant Company's Spam Inspector (!!!!!)

Affiliate program:

Designed for online web sites who would like to sell the GIANT product line by sending qualified customers online to any of the GIANT Company web sites. Referral payouts of 50% of each qualified sale!! * There is absolutely no cost or risk associated with joining the affiliate program.

Clever - but misleading - online "reviews"..........

 

If you rely on product support for that, that would, in fact, be something you would want good (and fast) support for. I have never used them for that myself so I can't speak to their speed. I have only heard it's pretty bad. As for the false positives though, the best support is Google and - Wilders!

 

Thank you! You are very kind! I bought a registered version of SpySweeper back in February. This installed and ran beautifully. When the program informed me that an upgrade was available, I followed their directions and ordered one from the website. I got a quick response via e-mail detailing how to upgrade. I followed the link and downloaded the newer version using the key code provided when prompted to do so. This is when my troubles began. As soon as it installed I got all kinds of error messages from every process running in the background. This continued until my system froze. I had to reboot in safe mode in order to uninstall it. After uninstalling and removing all registry traces, all is back to "normal". As mentioned, I e-mailed them concerning this and got the automated response. I e-mailed them again telling them the suggestion did not work and I haven't heard back since. Thanks.

 

Hi yeuxbleus

Be sure to have the latest build of Spy Sweeper 3.0.0 (Build 129) , the first version of 3.0 did produce symptoms like you descipe on my computer (when using rightclick), Build 129 has work just fine. Hope this helps.

 

there is allready a new updated one.

 

Yeuxbleus,

I'd have to say server problems again, though I can not confirm this. In my circumstance, I was instructed to delete the install dat.file from the program, and reload my registered code which got me up and running. I speak only in reference to my situation, your's may be different.​

I have never received a personal support letter from Webroot though they have resolved all issues in my case. It does seem mixed as to when the support response actually arrives (auto-confirmation almost immediate). If the problems are on weekends and you submit, you should have a response sometime Monday.​

These are my experiences with Webroot.

GF

 

I missed that one . Thank you INFINITY.

 

No prb, Don.

what about the tags?

 

Thanks Don Pelotas and INFINITY. I forgot to mention that I am running Win98SE. After uninstalling and cleaning out all traces, I downloaded a trial version of the latest build. Same problems. I am beginning to wonder if the newest versions are having compatibilty issues with Win98SE. Can anyone comment?