Is anti-spyware needed if you have . . .

I'm confused on the issue of having anti-spyware and anti-trojan software. For example, if you have Ewido or Online Armor, do you still need an anti-spyware program like CounterSpy?

I'm also confused about having multiple programs checking applications, such as a combination of LnS and either Ewido or Online Armor.

 

What a person needs depends on a number of things

1. Their system resources
2. What they use their computer for (eg internet banking, sensitive info etc)
3. Surfing Habits (eg visiting dubious sites)
4. Security Habits (updating AV's/Windows/Firefox, not clicking unknown links on emails etc)
5. Your level of Paranoia

So you'll always find conflicting versions on how much protection you need.

For most, a firewall, Mozilla Firefox with noscript, a good AV, and a good AS should be enough.

The signature line between AV's/AT's/AS's is blurring to some degree. The big difference tends to be that AT's have memory scanners (ie, as soon as a trojan unpacks into memory it should be detected). Most AV's are file scanners (so various packing methods can sometimes bypass them). Can't remember which method AS's use.

Some choose to use programs like Process Guard/Prevx1/Online Armor/Safe n Sec in addition to the above. They are not generally for novices, but they are another line of defense that don't use polling (and so less CPU) than AV's etc.

If you are running programs like Prevx1 and MSAS together, then yes, there will be overlap. MSAS monitors certain parts of your computer that are frequently modified by Malware. Prevx1 monitors all those parts and more. MSAS has signature detection of Malware... Prevx1 has some sort of heuristic/signature detection - I'm just not sure how it compares, if at all. The trick is finding complementary programs for your security setup, instead of ones that overlap too much.

 

I have NOD32, LnS, OA, Ewido, SpySweeper, and a trial version of CounterSpy. I was using Norton Internet Security 2005 before coming here and didn't have a problem. So, based on that, and I do use java script in Firefox, aside from NOD32 and LnS, what do I need from the other software mentioned above?

 

Hi,
Is anti-spyware needed - because you have the other apps?
OR
Is it needed - because you feel you need it?
NEED - comes from NEEDS - a user with a careful double-click can probably use only AV and Firewall and be OK. Other people are hopeless. There are people that will get infected even without turning the computer on.
Like Vikorr said:
Normal user with a bit of common sense can safely survive the eworld using firewall, anti-virus, firefox with noscript (and I'd add adblock extension too) ... and that's it.
You wanna feel extra safer?
Throw in Ewido real-time and MSAS and you'll have both anti-trojan and anti-spyware covering you 24/7.
Mrk

 

You brought up the issue that still perplexes me. What does Ewido and MSAS/CounterSpy (basically the same) do differently? In other words, having Ewido or Online Armor does what differently than CounterSpy and vice versa?

And what does noscript do?

I just realized that my confusion lies in not knowing the difference between anti-spyware and anti-trojan.

 

Hi,
Ewido covers certain areas of the registry; MSAS covers others. There is some overlap, but there is also good overlay of registry. That's the very basic of it.
Noscript - Firefox extension that allows you to specify whether you want to use java and javascript PER site. Very useful.Normally, browsers can be configured to block these globally - and this can be annoying and impair functionality.
Noscript blocks by default - but a right-click allows you to enable java / javascript for your desired site. You gain lots of security - many exploits are based on java / javascript - and you virtually lose no functionality.
Adblock also removes lots of these - makes your surfing cleaner and less cluttered.
Mrk

 

Yeah, I always thought the term spyware was kind of broad.

Adware is however (relatively) new , gained prominent around the time of Steve Gibson's optout.

Some of them kinda of spy you, your usage habits and whatnot which is kinda of new also. But keyloggers and of course the concept of trojans aren't really new.