SpywareBlaster 3.4 released!

Big props, Javacool. Another excellent release....no probs here with the installation. I am both thankful for this product and have no problem using or recommending it. Keep up the good work!

 

I don't like this version. I uninstalled it and tried to install the previous version. I got it installed and then could not update it! Why? Why do I have to use the new version?

I get so tired of having to put a checkmark in each box that I want protected in IE. I don't want any protection for Fx. So, why make it so difficult now to protect IE? Fx doesn't need protection. Spyware Blaster was a much better program when it just protected IE which is the one needing protection.

Why is there no way to select protect all for IE only?

 

There is, actually.

Right-click on any of the block lists and you'll find a whole bunch of options, including "Select All".

Then just press the "Protect Against Checked Items" button, and you're good to go.

Best regards,

-Javacool

 

Hi,
Thanks javacool, for an excellent prog!

Please could you post the MD5 for the installer and the spybot exe as well.

I also have SpybotSD installed on my machine, which as you know also has an immunise feature.

I think there is some overlap between SpybotSD's immunize and spywareblaster.

I just wanted to know should i de-immunize spybot first before enabling spywareblasters protection?

Or should i just enable protection without de-immunizing spybot?

Sounds confusing but i think you know what im getting at!

Thanks
Jack Bauer

 

Thanks to Javacool.
No problems here.
Regards

 

Just installed on Win 98 SE and will also do on XP ASAP. No problem at all that I've seen so far - thanks once more for the great programme!

BS

 

With SpywareBlaster v3.4, the manual update function hangs, "program not responding" and cannot be ended without rebooting the PC. XP, Norton IS, SpyBot S&D. Disabling Norton IS does not help. Seems not to find the update site/repository, but moreso seems to be having a problem initiating the action.

 

I uninstalled v3.3 by way of Add/Remove, then just out of curiosity I went to "Search" & found 4 entries for it. Do these need to be deleted also before I download & install v3.4 ? Oh, one of the entries was "Prefetch" which I knew was O.K. to delete so did.

Thank you.

 

I have tried every option, from deleting the "sb" files to using all the OPTIONS, except the proxy server, and the best I can get is inability to connect to server. Now, since I downloaded v3.4 the other day, and there are no updates likely, I still expect to see "no updates available." Deleting the "sb" files generates a database error up update try; restoring them generates the server message. At least, by checking the alternate method box, the application is not put into permament "hang" mode.

 

Just installed spywareblaster 3.4 on XP no probs at all. I was having update issues before with 3.3 but now all is OK. Thanks for a great programme.

 

Tried the maunal addding (downloading) of the several "sb" files, tried every combination of checked boxes, and uninstalled/re-installed v3.4 with FW off. Still, the basic manual update process hangs the SpywareBlaster program, and I can get no update due to inability to find server, or to connect to it if it has found it. Perhaps the ONLY soultion to updating in my case might be to uninstall/reinstall every 2 weeks, whether I like it or not, whether an update exists or not?

 

OK, people. I flipped thru the first 71 pages of issues entered here, before my eyes gave out. This is what I got so far to try, and I am not going to keep looking ... (1) disable all protection & try update, (2) dele Norton IS rules for "spywareblaster.exe" and let it re-establish them, (3) dele sbdatabase.dtb, sbdatabase2.dtb, ckdatabase.dtb, rsdatabase.dtb, use direct option, close, reopen spywarebaslter, try update (not sure if alternate method should be checked here), (4) use the proxy server setting, and (5) turn off the FW/AV & try again.

I had tried (5) to no avail. And I tried downloading the latest sb/ck/rs files to no avail. Now, to attempt (1) or (2). Version 3.3 was doing fine ... so I don't know yet what might cure this thing.

And the answer to (1) and (2) are negatory. Further, when running the update w/ alternative connection after deleting it from Norton FW, it asks to connect to the DNS, but the same SpywareBlaster "server error" is obtained AND ... Notron FW is not updated with a new "spywareblaster.exe" entry.

So now, where does that leave me? I am a standalone PC running XP w/ cable-modem connection thru a Linksys G router.

 

AND THE ANSWER IS, FINALLY: (play with it long enough, you hit something) ... with no other programs running, deactivate the firewall & anti-virus (Norton in htis case), invoke the SpywareBlaster program, go to update, make sure the direct connect + alternative box are checked, and the update process runs to completion. Yes, it is a firewall issue, but it is also a sequence of operations issue. This appears to be the only combo that works (for me). Additionally, thereafter, having deleted "spywareblaster.exe" from the PERMIT list of Norton, adding it back in (as suggested in one thread message) after v3.4 install does indeed relieve me of turning Norton off for update.

 

My daughter is having exactly the same problem with SpywareBlaster v3.4. She had no problems whatsoever with v3.3 (other than slow initiating of the update procedure).

I removed v3.3 from her laptop computer following the instructions, and installed v3.4, but ever since then big problems. Manual upating just doesn't work, it hangs with message "program not responding". I tried to remove it from NIS programs list, but it causes that to stop responding too!

Restarting the computer just wouldn't work. The only way I could restart was to pull the plug. After a few attempts at this it trashed lots of stuff on the hard drive. Her home page, Search Page and many other settings in IE6 were now reading like some foreign language with gibbersish characters all over the place. SpyBlocker had lost all it's settings. SpywareStopper had lost it's settings/configurations. Win XP fixed many disk cluster problems, but was giving errors about the host file being incorrect size, etc. I tried doing a system restore from a previous restore point, but that wouldn't work either.

My daughter needed her laptop today, and I felt responsible for what had happened, so I stayed up until way past 4:00am this morning working on it, rebuilding stuff as best as I could for her.

Previous versions of SpywareBlaster have always been excellent. This is why I first persuaded my daughter into installing it on her machine. I recommend it to many friends and colleagues, but it seems that SB v3.4 is by far the worst / most flaky realease to date.

Btw, her system runs WinXP home SP1, Norton Internet Security 2005, SpyBot S&D, Microsoft AntiSpyware beta1 (aka Giant), SpywareStopper, SpyBlocker, Adaware.

Not wanting others to go through what I did, I contacted friends and others who I recommended SB to this morning about these problems. I advised them not to install SB v3.4 until the problem is fixed. For the time being they're holding off/sticking with 3.3 until problem is fixed. This is a shame as SB is a great program.

Any idea when this problem will be fixed?

 

The ANSWER to this part of the issue is as follows (according to my fix, and my NIS was hanging as well): diable NIS FW & AV first, then invoke & NIS remove the old spywareblaster.exe. You can get away with removing/replacing it or not if you choose to do spywareblaster updates without the FW turned on.

 

Hi,

SpywareBlaster itself shouldn't be able to cause any of the issues you described.

However, we've had reports in the past of Norton Internet Security randomly denying access to SpywareBlaster when a new version is installed. (What seems to happen is that multiple rules are created for spywareblaster.exe, with one of them being a "block" rule.) This seems to be a bug in Norton Internet Security.

From previous threads, the way to fix this seems to be to try to delete all rules in Norton Internet Security that point to spywareblaster.exe, and then try running SpywareBlaster's updater again. If that doesn't work or help, you might try contacting Symantec for assistance, as the SpywareBlaster updater isn't doing anything out of the ordinary (it's using standard Windows internet connection functions).

I hope this helps, and do let me know if you fix it.

Best regards,

-Javacool

 

Pretty much what I found thru extensive trial & error. And I will bet that the same issue arose when I tried loading a new versioln of Yahoo anti-spy, which also froze things upon update attempt. Now I can try that again ... it catches some different items.

AND the ANSWER to this update issue on Yahoo Anti-Spy is the same as for SpywareBlaster. Norton seems to have its wires crossed in general; we have to manually uncross them.

 

I AM UNABLE TO RUN THE 3.4 UPDATE. THE INSTALL STOPS ERROR CODEE 5 UNABLE TO REMOVE FILE. I DID THE RETRY SEVERAL TIMES, BUT IT STILL STOPS

 

Hey STEVES,

See if the below FAQ will solve that problem Please..

This FAQ---> Error message "An error occurred while trying to replace the existing file: DeleteFile failed; code 5. Access is denied."

 

Thanks for the info guys. My Daughter's away at the moment, but when she gets back I'll try your suggestions.

It's strange that Norton Firewall doesn't have these problems with her other software which has been updated though. Maybe just been lucky

As a side note, I've heard of quite a few people who have had various problems which have been put down to Norton. I installed it for her for 2 reasons - 1. it's ease of use and 2. because it was so popular, it would be the most compatible with other software. Maybe should have gone with a combo of Sygate or Kerio firewall and Kasperky or Nod32 AV and Adshield or SuperAdBlocker popup blocker, but then some stuff would still be missing

 

If you think about it, perhaps Norton is actually trying to tell you something, and by doing so, might be a bit less forgiving unless you make the effort to ensure that the right stuff is filtered through. So far, I have had this problem only with Spyware programs, which are related to Norton via type and which need to be sync'd up more carefully. The problem is, Norton does not tell you this or how to deal with it forthright. So, we rely on forums & experiential adventures.

 

Ok, just to kep you informed... I've done some tests and here's the results.

I disabled NIS and removed the rule for SwB from nortons list of programs. Uninstalled and reinstalled SwB. Then go again, trying to update with the firewall off. This time update works.

I then re-enable NIS and try again... NIS asks me if I want to allow access to SwB, I say yes, but still no joy, SwB stops responding again, it also causes NIS to stop responding!

Restart the computer and try again. NIS enabled. This time with alternate SwB update method and use system connection (instead of direct connection) selected... All looks good, it looks as if it might be working, but then it gives error saying the update server couldn't be found

I restart the computer and select the middle update option (system connection ) only, NIS asks if I want to allow connection (it recommends I block it), I choose yes - allow all connections on all ports, then nothing happens, it stops responding taking NIS with it again!

I restart again and I check NIS allowed program rules, SpywareBaster is not even there! How can this be? I put it there when it asked me. I tell NIS to run a scan for internet enabled programs, it finds many but SpywareBlaster is not even on the list!

It seems that norton isn't adding SwS to it's approved list of programs which are allowed to access the internet. Although there was no problem at all with previous versions before 3.4.

Just in case it was norton playing up, I tried updating other software (AdAware, SpybotS&D) but they update fine.

Seems the only way to update SpywareBlaster now, is to disable the firewall. This is not so good. What has changed in v3.4 ?

 

Spywareblaster 3.3 also worked hassle free for me. While I haven't experienced a bunch of ill effects as noted by 2 users above I have had a minor glitch with spywareblaster 3.4. I can't get it to update. I get an "error connecting to update server" message with the following explaination: "There was an error getting the update information file from the server. The server may be temporarily unavailable, or there may be a conflict with firewall software installed on your pc. The update information file may have also gotten corrupted during download.

Please try again soon."

I have uninstalled and reinstalled the program 4 times just as instructed (disable protection, remove program, reboot, install new) using a new installation file from the primary download site each time. I think perhaps the first time I did have a corrupted file (Florida mirror I think) as I got a different error message during install that time.

I have tried toggling windows firewall on and off but the update still doesn't seem to work. I am also running lavasoft adaware, spybot search and destroy and, of course, spywareblaster.

I've also been experiencing some issues with my isp, comcast, while they have been "upgrading". I'm also wondering if my computer may also have some sort of bug, spyware or virus perhaps so I'd really like to get spywareblaster updated asap.

Is there a certain port that needs to be open for update to work?


I really admire you guys for making this stuff freeware. It's nice to know there are some real heros out there in the cyber world.

 

It sure seems that SpywareBlaster v3.4 has changed something in the updating method which is now causing problems. Previous versions were no problem at all.

Zeekfu: I see you are not running Norton, but the common denominator with you is adaware, spybot s&d. I am wondering if it could be these who SwB is not getting on with? just a thought.

javacool can we have an option change back to the previous update method?

 

Wanted to let you know that I when I added sbautoupdate.exe (directly from the Spyware Blaster folder) to Norton Personal Firewall, and put it back in Startup, everything worked fine when I restarted my computer. It was very (java)cool to see the message popup saying my definitions had been updated.

Thanks.