Zero Spyware...couple of questions.

Hi all

Just downloaded the 15 day trial of Zerospyware (version 3.4.127.4). First scan yielded 3 spyware detections and 20 (registry) components :

BonziBUDDY : Adware
Mapquest Toolbar : Adware

...BUT...more concerning....PC Private Eye : Commercial Keylogger !!

I was rather surprised at this (or paranoid?)...I have what I consider to be a tight set up :

Fully patched XP Home
Online Armour
KAV 5
Boclean
Winpatrol Free
Ad-Aware
Spybot SD

....not a peep from any of these apps....also recently trialled Superantispyware and Spy Sweeper....nothing.

Have my apps just not been up to the game....or are these F/P's ?

Another question/problem regarding Zerospyware....when I open the app from the System Tray....I cannot then exit from the 'X' (although I can minimise with the '-'.)..even right clicking the programme in the taskbar to close the programme has no effect. Anyone

Thanks in anticipation

 

You've got the same report I got some time ago.
I suspect those are false positives, like mine were.
If you got that arsenal, I don't think much would get through.

Best to get in touch with their support so they can investigate it further.

That's strange, never had a problem closing ZS from the "X" or from the taskbar/systray.

Could also be a conflict with some other app, background process you've got running!

Something else for their support to take a look at.

 

Thanks Eldar...

You say that these may be false positives...indeed you had the same problem...did you contact Zerospyware support over this ?? If so, what was the result (and why no fix??)

Regarding the inability to close down Zerospyware (from the 'X' or Task Bar)...for info, when I first boot up the PC, a Zerospyware splashscreen appears, thanking me for trailing the app, then goes through an initiailising process, then allows me either to minimise or exit as normal. It only when I try to resurrect the programme via the System Tray, I cannot then close it down.

I will take your advice and contact Zerospyware support...I understand their support is excellent from what I have read in this forum.

Regards

 

You're welcome.
At that time I didn't contact their support, since I was already running Spy Sweeper, Ad-Aware, Spybot & Spyware Doctor.
I do know I never installed BonziBuddy, nor a MapQuest Toolbar and certainly no keylogger.
IIRC ZS was flagging a key from AceHTML as a keylogger.
Maybe I should have contacted their support too.

Always had a registered version, so I never saw a splashscreen.
ZS immediately minimized to systray and when opening, I could close it again with the "X".
Maybe something different between a trial and a registered version.
Their support will probably help you better.

Yes, their support is really outstanding and even their live chat is instant.
Got a bit of a scare though the first time I used that by accident.

Good luck.

 

Eldar

Many thanks again for your (very) helpful response and advice....a credit to Wilders !

BTW...If I choose Zerospyware as my only spyware app....can I dispense with the services of Spybot & Ad-aware...or keep for that extra layer of protection?

Off now to bed....tomorrow's another day...

 

My pleasure helping you & others whenever time permits.

I would keep those as an extra protection layer.
They only need to run on demand, so they don't take anything from your resources.
I too still have Ad-Aware & Spybot installed.

Sleep well & have a nice weekend.

 

Hi Wilders

To ftwynne59: First and foremost, I had to emphasize Eldar's words: keep those other security applications. Unless you are having space issues, it really is a good idea to have multiple programs, even for just your spyware protection. I think every vendor will agree - because databases are different, it's the best way to stay protected. The easiest way to manage this is to schedule multiple scans at (separate) non or low-usage times. For instance, SpySweeper at 12:00am, ZeroSpyware at 1:00am, AdAware at 2am.... It is also a good idea to use good non-scanning antispyware programs. You might want to check out Spyware Blaster - it is a good first line of defense.

Next: I am taking your problem (the potential false positive) to our threat research team to check it out and get a report back. I will post the results as soon as I get them. To help expedite this, could you send a scan log of the results? To get this, go to the "Spyware Scan" tab, and click on "View All Previous Scans" Select the scan the false positive appeared in from the list of previous scans. (They are organized by date on the left). Then either "Save to text file" or "Open in Notepad", and email the results to support@fbmsoftware.com. Please indicate "Potential False Positive" in the subject to make sure it gets seen immediately. (I will be keeping an eye open for it too).

No immedaite idea about the close button working. That might be a program conflict like Eldar suggest. You should try out live chat, as our support group might have this already in their knowledge base, and could provide an answer.

Feel free to contact me directly if you like. (Send me a PM, and I can give you my direct email address).

Regards,
Ashley Harrison
FBM Software, Inc.

 

Ashley

Thanks for your response....always heartening to see software developers involving themselves at a personal level and intent on resolving end-user problems.

I will keep Ad-Aware and Spybot alongside Zerospyware. You proposed Spywareblaster as an additional layer of protection....I actually have Spywareblaster and Ewido 3.5 (free, on demand only) installed, two further security apps I omitted from my first post (#1).Thanks again for the recommendation

With regard to the potential false positives, I will e-mail the log-file to your support team this evening when I have access to my home PC.

Re: the problem in closing down/exiting the programme....yes I will take this up with 'Live Chat' (how does this work in practice?).

A friend of mine, as you and Eldar alluded to, suggests this is a programme conflict, possible Online Armor...I may have to go through various scenarios of closing/disabling/uninstalling other apps to pinpoint the problem-however your support team may provide a quick resolution.

Many thanks and kind regards

Terry