PC Tools Spyware Doctor - opinions?

Discussion in 'other anti-malware software' started by ChrisP, Jan 20, 2008.

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  1. ChrisP

    ChrisP Suspended Member

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    Anybody know about the above - is it any good? How does ti compare againsd SAS and AVG AS?

    Cheers,
     
  2. Dieselman

    Dieselman Registered Member

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    Re: PC Tools spyware Doctoe - opinions?

    Well Spyware Doctor is a resource hog and it cost $30. SAS and AVG AS are free. Does that answer your question.
     
  3. Dark Shadow

    Dark Shadow Registered Member

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    Chris SAS and AVG are pretty Good apps and there free.Note the free versions of SAS And AVG are manual Scan and Updating If you want Real Time Protection then you would need to Upgrade to the full featured versions.SAS and AVG Both are Good products.As far as spyware doctor They offer a trial to the paid version only.You Can simply try them all out see what fits your needs and In the end your opinion Is what counts.regard djohn
     
  4. Fly

    Fly Registered Member

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    I would strongly recommend NOT to buy anything from that company (Pctools).

    Spyware Doctor was once my favorite, but when I 'upgraded' to the new version 5 ... Lots of frustration, time wasted ... I ended up having to reformat my harddrive and reinstall Windows XP.

    The first official version 5 was much worse than any beta program I have ever seen. They have been making 'improvements', sometimes meaning eliminating parts of the program, like the site guard ! I don't know what it's like now, and I'm not going to try to find out ! Many people have been very dissatisfied with the new version.

    There is also version 4.1. Version 4.0 was once good, but in today's environment it's simply outdated. For as far as I know, version 4.1 has some features of version 5 ...

    I'd consider Pctools' business ethics at least questionable. Don't forget the auto-renewal for their crappy software.

    My advice: stay away from it.
     
  5. acr1965

    acr1965 Registered Member

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    PC Tools has a free version. Maybe you could try that first before deciding on their full product. I have used SAS Pro for a while now and it is the only realtime Anti-Spyware program I have not had any problems with. Well I tried Ewido and had no problems with it either. All the others caused more headaches than any spyware I ever had.

    http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/google_pack/

    http://www.superantispyware.com/
     
  6. Fly

    Fly Registered Member

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    Just a little warning:
    The Spyware Doctor might damage your system, and it may be difficult or impossible to fully remove it. But again, I don't know the latest version.
     
  7. acr1965

    acr1965 Registered Member

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    Yes, good point. As I recall I had difficulty removing the program in its entirety.
     
  8. Perman

    Perman Registered Member

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    Hi, folks;

    General speaking, SD is a very popular application, due to its aggressive marketing tactics, perhaps one of the best marketing driven security programs. However this sort of success does not mean it can deliver the best value.

    There are few short comings:
    (1) It will drag pc equipped with low memory capacity to a snarl pace. Especially with its guards on full duty.

    (2) Its free version may provide some value, providing not use its realtime guards, however there is a service hooking from the very beginning, user may not able to disable it or switch it to manual.

    (3) Should users change their mind and decide to remove it, you need all the luck you can borrow. Just because its deep hooking into your pc system. The best way to ditch it is in safemode, then followed by registry cleaner and manual deletion by registry editor.

    In short, think twice before getting your feet wet on this application. If you are not an adventurer, I would suggest to try out SAS first, either free or full.

    PC tools is a responsible corporation, supplying general population with good quality freewares, just its marketing tactics somehow and somewhat steps out of ethical boundary.

    Take care and good luck.
     
  9. EliteKiller

    EliteKiller Registered Member

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    Perman, that was a stellar reply. :thumb: Regardless of the magazine reviews, Spyware Doctor's detection rates have declined over the years when it comes to real-world malware. They have gone by the wayside just like Spy Sweeper and Ad-Aware. However due to the agressive marketing and presence in retail stores, all three of these apps continue to take in profits, add bloat to drag systems down, and could care less about offering cutting edge detection and removal.
     
  10. Ngwana

    Ngwana Registered Member

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    ChrisP, remember this statement for ANY security product you will try..:D
     
  11. Henk1956

    Henk1956 Registered Member

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    For anyone who wants to try the free version it might be good to know that it only comes with about 200,000 signatures, while the paid version has about 600,000 signatures.
     
  12. Hermescomputers

    Hermescomputers Registered Member

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    Spyware Dr. is having issues right now... I had a lot of clients running the previous version. Who purchased the upgrade from their web site... Only to find out (From the software not working instead of the web site announcing it...) that it did not support Windows XP Pro X64. now they have the assle of getting a refund. --- On 32 bit machines, it slows everything down as the service races for no apparent reasons. Not a good sign. This is bad for me as I get the support calls with complaints that their pc is too slow... On most of my clients pc I have removed it, most even before it's expire date... It's unfortunate as it used to be the best tool on the market. Just install & forget.. not anymore. To be fair I wouldn't be surprise if they make serious improvement on their next release... never know.

    AVG is now my first choice... (They just purchased Linkscanner PRO) might mean nothing but to me it shows pro active thinking in their business model and strategy.

    And it's free after 30 days minus, real time protections. (You can still download updates manually and the scans will also remove the bugs without arrassing you to purchase the software first! It also has some of the best integrated tools to monitor your system (Usually you need these from separate sources or vendors).

    I think it has one of the best "manual" cleanup tool set available in any products today making most malware hooks into i.e. very visible. (Analysis Tab) It is easy to use and powerful... Just the simple visibility it provides made me chose it for my own use. However I cant say much for it's detection rates as I cant see it find much on the pc's I work on as I keep these pretty clean using an array of tools...
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2008
  13. maddawgz

    maddawgz Registered Member

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    I love it of course i dont run it all time, just shut it down when done, start it up update it and scan found 2 things other day :D
     
  14. EliteKiller

    EliteKiller Registered Member

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    Cookies?
     
  15. fcukdat

    fcukdat Registered Member

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    Maybe F/p's ;)
     
  16. Philo

    Philo Registered Member

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    I used it for 9 months without problems and suddenly it kept asking me for the activation code every time i used it. Pc.Tools advised me to download it again,and it did not help,even when i received a new activation code.o_O I read somewhere on one of their forums that there was a rumour about backdoor problems.I used several av remote scanners to try and find something and after 5-6 attempts,Kaspersky found some type of malware/trojan which had embedded itself in the spyware doctor setup.:mad: .Great placed to hide if you are malware.Do these scanners scan themselves.Obviously not.
    o_O Pc Tools decided to extend my license by 2 months.I declined and bought a subscription to Spy Sweeper.
     
  17. Dogtag

    Dogtag Registered Member

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    Hi

    I could only mirror the above posts, when V5.xxx came out i decided to do the just thing and Remove it and offcource that was another story, but the best laugh was the auto renewall?

    Spyware Terminator for now.
     
  18. solcroft

    solcroft Registered Member

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    Neil Rubenking's take on it.

    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2251725,00.asp

    While I am aware PCMag reviews are not often looked upon favorably here, my personal experiences concur with theirs regarding the software I have used and they have tested, so for what it's worth...
     
  19. EliteKiller

    EliteKiller Registered Member

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  20. solcroft

    solcroft Registered Member

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    Last edited: Jan 27, 2008
  21. nippa

    nippa Registered Member

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    I'm absolutely staggered by this thread.
    My experience with Spyware Doctor is totally positive.

    It runs without slowing my 3 yr old machine AFAIK and has found more than one trojan over the course of the last 3 months.

    It equally complements Sunbelt's CounterSpy as both programs tend to find different things AND NO I'm not talking Cookies.

    I consider both programs of equal value.

    Next comes Webroot's Spy Sweeper which is effective but for me feels really clunky and lastly I have a paid for version of AVG SpyCleaner which is just h0peless.

    Below this level comes the freebies like Adaware.

    I never run more than one of these programs at one time.
    Routine spyware security is left to ESET's Security Suite although I wouldn't recommend that just yet!

    However, I wasn't aware of PCTOOLS auto renew ; that won't do at all.
     
  22. Hermescomputers

    Hermescomputers Registered Member

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    Nipa,

    Keep in mind you appear to be using an old version. Most of the griping I read here is since a relatively recent update which has somewhat caused it to behave poorly on some system...

    I used to be a big supporter of Spyware Dr. It just doesn't cut it with me, but only recently... Others seem to concur.
     
  23. Philo

    Philo Registered Member

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    I read somewhere recently that Google where offering a free modified working version of Spyware Doctor if you downloaded and used something called the Google Pack. You can find it here-http://pack.google.com/.

    It provides a working version minus shields so you can scan and clean your system and get updates.Not bad to use as a second opinion,even though i,m not a fan,read my previous outburst above.

    When i installed the software it did a scan and found some malware but would not clean and immediately rang home to mama who informed me that my subscription had expired and i must renew it.Renew a freebie.o_O

    I sent an e-mail to Pc tools who sent me back a standard reply informing me that i have to try again.I also informed them that i was at one time a customer,WHO DID NOT RENEW HIS SUBSCRIPTION, but this should have no meaning as this is a freebie from Google.I,m still waiting for a reply.:rolleyes:

    I wonder are Pc Tools banning ex-customers who have not renewed their subscriptions from using this freebie.I did not use the same e-mail address when i subscribed to Google.Can they use my ip address.:mad:

    Anyway i just wondered if anyone else has experienced this or has anyone got this freebie to work.:thumb:
     
  24. solcroft

    solcroft Registered Member

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    The most important one - the on-access scanner - is available. The numerous ones that watch for changes to your system settings are not, though.

    No and yes, in that order.
     
  25. Dogtag

    Dogtag Registered Member

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