Need advice : AVG Antispyware or CounterSpy ?

I never use a spyware scanner in real time. I tried Counterspy in real time and all it did was slow my pc down. SAS and the new Spybot running only in on demand are fine and free. SAS 4.0 is what I am using. Save your money.

 

With or without keyloggers, there is no need to explain or even justify why you do not want to use SAS. You have every right to pick the product of your choice.

However the 'loyalty marketing' for SAS is strong on Wilders and you may never get your answer to your initial question for advice between AVG Antispyware and Counterspy. Good luck.

 

SAS and commercial keyloggers
SAS and Gizmo's tests

 

Note: on installation, you can choose to become a member of 'threatnet'. I have read that doing so can slow your system if you are low on resources.

 

Yes, my response was directly after the anti beta talk. This is the most stable beta I have ever tried.

 

Depends on what type of keyloggers the programs were tested against. I do not believe SAS Pro detects commercial keyloggers, so that may have an effect on the test results.

 

Thank you all for your help !

 

I know this is slightly off topic, but as a sidenote regarding Firefox being 'safe', this example: http://secunia.com/advisories/28758/

 

Task manager shows <600K, but kernel level usage may be higher. Regardless, there is virtually zero impact on system performance even with real-time protection enabled.

 

And now for a completely different experience! CounterSpy runs entirely different on my old computer than it did on yours. Not to many resources being used and scans fairly quickly.

 

I heard that a brand new version of CounterSpy (i.e. v3) is due out in March.

Right or wrong ?

 

March ? I don't know. I've been informed by Sunbelt that they intend to release a new, antimalware version of Counterspy in the first quarter in this year. Based on their VIPRE engine. Supposedly, it would also offer anti-virus protection.

 

AVG-AS and CounterSpy are rather different products. AVG-AS was developed as an anti-trojan but became rebranded for commercial reasons. The realtime protection of AVG-AS only does two things (leaving aside cookie removal) namely it scans executable files as you attempt to open them (giving a second opinion to your AV scanner) and it will also scan files as they start up in memory.

CounterSpy, on the other hand, is a full blown AS program that will protect a range of sensitive areas in your system. It does this at the kernal level and attempted changes to Registry, Hosts File etc, will be intercepted before they occur (ie it is not polling for changes after the event). One major feature is that it has execution control (not enabled by default) which could stop a drive-by executable from running so it could not infect you at all. I don't think SAS has this protection, nor does it block certain simulators, on the basis they are not real threats. CounterSpy will pass tests like SpyCar, so there is no need to be concerned whether it can differentiate real from simulated threats.

There is more possibility of conflicts using CounterSpy than AVG-AS (which seems to run well with most progs) but there is a bit of a question mark over AVG-AS's future; it is not being developed as a seperate entity in the future, whereas I assume CounterSpy will be (though the new version will incorporate an AV, so I'm not clear about intentions).

For someone running Avira who wishes to boost realtime AS protection, I would say CounterSpy would offer a better solution. AVG-AS would be good with spyware laden trojans, but so too would Avira, so the alternative approach of CounterSpy may be preferable.

 

Are you really sure ?

A friend of mine tried CounterSpy (v2.5) out and he didn't pass the Spycar test. He clicked on the different links..... and Counterspy did not detected anything !!! (no alerts, etc.)

 

To take Hosts File protection as one example, when you try and run SpyCar, AVG-AS will warn you, but it is using signatures and thus does not pass the test. CounterSpy execution protection will then prevent SpyCar from running because it is either unknown or not whitelisted (this is the best protection), however if you allow it to run, CounterSpy will then prevent any changes from occuring.

CounterSpy should be put into Paranoid mode to give best coverage and that will protect from almost all SpyCar changes (I can't be bothered to run them all!). Your friend should recheck configuration - else he is misleading you!

 

Looks as though it's already out:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Business/CounterSpy-Enterprise//

Ian

 

TopperID,

Ok, thanks for the info.
The real time protection seems to be effective but with this "Paranoid" mode, doesn't CounterSpy hog the resources too much ?


Dark Star 72,

This is the Enterprise version

 

It wouldn't use more or less resources, it's just about how many bases are covered; the more you protect, the more pop-ups you'd get. Actually, 'paranoid' isn't very paranoid at all by my standards!

My screen shot shows all the areas protected in paranoid. If you rely on the default setting of 'cautious' you would not be covering all these things.

The IE Settings and System Startup sections covers the things SpyCar is testing.

 

Unfortunately only 'enterprise'. Just when I'm about to pick a new AV !

 

Ok, thanks for the tip