Which Anti-Spyware do you prefer?

Well i use most freeones... so i don't know which one to choose.

 

Not limited to just 1. While Microsofts Antispyware took over as my favorite tool, I still subscribe to the belief that in this area, it's best to take a shotgun approach and use several.

All clients, I install Microsoft Antispyware, Spybot...update and immunize, Adaware, and SpywareBlaster, update and protect. Also Google Toolbar for IE to help users from clicking on the wrong things.

 

I'm now a CounterSpy fan, no noticeable slowdown with the real-time monitor. I've written about it before, see my post here.

Hope this helps...

Cheers

 

i use a variety of anti-spyware tools, from ad-aware, spybot s&d, spy sweeper, spyware blaster and spyware guard. Since they dont conflict i like to use together for optimum and thorough detection. btw shouldnt a vote for counterspy be a vote for spy sweeper since theyre just clones? neways for me spy sweeper is the best for the money, and spybot s&d for a free program.

 

As far as I know, no, MSAS and CS are virtually the same, they were cut from the same cloth so to speak.

Cheers

 

duh! just realized that now. i have to get my antispyware correctly.

 

SpySweeper & CounterSpy are my favourites right now.

 

Spybot then MSAS. I tried Counterspy and it hosed my system for some reason and had to reformat. So I won't be recommending that to anyone.

 

Although I have CounterSpy, I have experienced problems with the program as well. About 5 or 6 weeks back CounterSpy was detecting numerous F/P's & even picked up something called Viewpoint Toolbar within my AOL 9.0 program. Had I either quarantined or deleted this detection it would have wiped out my AOL 9.0 program & I would not have been able to access the internet !!!

I have had the program for about 6 months or so and previously to this ...... the program had performed well.

When I kept calling their 1 - 800 # in Florida for technical support for some of these other detections, which turned out to be all F/P's as well, one of their techs instructed me to go into the registry and start manually removing entries for some of the recurring detections. This technician gave me these same instructions on 3 seperate occasions !!

I had explained to this guy, whose shall go nameless, that I am new to computers & asked if he would guide me through the procedure & his response was, for liability reasons he could NOT offer any assistance & that I should be learning this procedure myself !!

Great advice .......... send an inexperienced PC owner into the registry without guidance. After speaking to his supervisor & receiving an apology, from this supervisor, for his techs advice, I doubt if this guy will be serving up that advice again any time soon in order to give CounterSpy clients the brush off.

On a positive note, since that time, for the last few weeks or so, the program has been running fine. However, there have been no updates since April 21 - Definition Version : 164 ! Previously, updates were mostly every day, so I am kind of wondering about this latest development.

 

what happend with Spyware Doctor? theres no have free version anymore? i can,t find the free version of this good anty spy

 

Yes... me too, I trust it. It provide several protections not available w/ others.

 

After testing a dozen or so malware programs, with not-so-great results, I use Ad-Aware SE, Spybot Search & Destroy, Microsoft AntiSpyware and Webroot's SpySweeper.

Ad-Aware catches the "Favoriteman" malware sometimes and clears usage tracks. Spybot clears usage tracks. Microsoft has not done much of anything lately. And the best one, Webroot, catches the rest BEFORE entering my machine! The best money spent for malware protection by far.

Before Webroot, the other scanners were quite busy. The best part of Webroot is the ease of use, plus you do not have to do a thing with it. I install it on my client's machines, so they do not have to "run the scans" and I can sleep knowing they are protected.

 

CounterSpy

 

i use the freebies adaware and spybot - as to the paid for products - i've tried a variety of free trials and they all produced conflicting results.

to be honest i don't trust any of them they all seem inclined to produce false positives. having read two threads where guys were driven bananas by apparent false positives from two well established products i'm in no hurry to buy anything.

to trust the scanners findings or not to trust the scanners findings that is the question.

whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous false positives or to just avoid p2p, porn sites, IE, outlook and dodgy downloads.

(with apologies to a well known english author)

 

See sig..

Main scanners: Spyware Doctor, Spy Sweeper
Back-up scanner: Ad-Aware SE PRO

 

I just use these for On-Demand Scanners. I don't feel the need to run real time anti-spyware anymore.

Spybot S&D
Lavasoft AdAware
Counterspy

 

Actually I probably use to many.
Adaware SE-----------free
spywareblaster--------free
MSAS-----------------free
Spyware Doctor-------paid
SB/SD----------------free
Spywareguard--------free

 

About what I'm using:

Active protection: WinPatrol PLUS and HostsMan (with MVPS Hosts file)
Demand protection: CounterSpy, Spybot-S&D and SpywareBlaster

 

I'm using 3 anti-spyware tools Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta 1, Spy Sweeper and CounterSpy. Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta 1 does not even detect cookies. Spy Sweeper Scans the quickest and has been receiving the most updates lately and does more. It is blocking most spyware before it can even get into my computer but it starts up very slow when I turn my computer on. Some say CounterSpy has the highest detection rate but Spy Sweeper still detects cookies that CounterSpy does not so they are each detecting what the other is missing and CounterSpy gets a bug if it is interrupted when it is updating. So I'm not going to vote in this poll I can't decide.

 

Isn't there only one? HJT for me!

GF

 

Indeed, if only one can be used it must be HJT. If not then I trust Spybot S&D and Spywareblaster/guard, trust Adaware a little bit less, but use it, and don't trust all the others (spysweeper, counterspy and the likes of them), because when I tested them they only found false positives/were buggy (slowing down and/or messing up my pc in one way or another). Could be some of them have grown out of this, but don't feel the urge to find out...yet.

 

Because I don't pay for security, my choice is limited :

1. MSAS
2. Ad-Aware
3. Spybot S&D
4. SpywareBlaster
5. SpywareGuard
6. Bazooka
7. Microsoft Malicious Tool
8. HijackThis

I ditched WinPatrol, because the combination "MSAS Realtime + SpywareGuard" offers more protection than WinPatrol and there is some overlapping when you use all three together.
MSAS Realtime reports also much faster than WinPatrol.

I ditched Spyware Doctor Free (SD) also, because at that time SD was eating my CPU.
I didn't check SD anymore after that, so I don't know if SD is improved or not.

IMO you can live with only two good AV scanners, but not with only two AS scanners.
IMO AV scanners are also much more mature, when you consider the detection rates of AV scanners.
The detection rates of AS scanners, I've seen, where significant lower.

I don't see viruses as a daily threat anymore and even former virus writers are using now their skills to write adware/spyware programs, because it pays better and they also need more money to pay bills, when they get older.
Even when I was lesser carefull, I had several adware/spyware infections, but never viruses.
So I expect more adwares/spywares than viruses in the future and even innocent looking attractive freewares with hidden adware functions, that won't be removed by AS scanners.
Special search toolbars is a typical example and some hardware vendors pre-install them on new computers and I don't trust all these search engines, like Google, either.
In general you can't trust any free software or service, that offers something that can be used by many people.

Of course these are all personal speculations and although personal advertising is still in its infancy, you won't be able to stop it in the future and maybe the older generations are against personal advertising, but that doesn't mean that the new generations will have the same attitude.
Advertising on TV wasn't allowed in Belgium for a long time and now every TV station advertises and everybody accepted it.
The same will happen with personal advertising on computers, people need only time to get used to it.

 

I used Acronis PrivacyExpert. It seem to do it's job for the money I pay for it. I was using SpySweeper before, but Acronic seem more user-friendly, just one click and you are set, with SpySweeper, you have to set this and set that, and do this......

 

Well i use Spybot Search & Destroy and adware free edition.

 

SpySweeper 4.0 cant wait too see the final release of SpySweeper 4.5 which is currently in beta I also use Ad-Aware SE Pro, Spybot S&D, SpywareBlaster.

Regards,

Brandon