Spyware software - which one do you trust?

I second that and I'm not going to repeat myself. All these translations are too tiresome.

 

Polls Polls and m o r e Polls and I'll state it again.........it's why GM makes Buicks and Chevys; it's why Ford makes Fords, etc. - we have choices. I can't fathom why anyone sufficiently grounded in computing would not use more than 1 Anti-Malware program (maybe not at the same time?) and Anti-Virus program and rootkit detectors and so forth.

 

I now have Cyberhawk as well, but unfortunately, having downloaded it on mine, I recommended it to two other people, and it's causing havoc on their machines, and refuses to be uninstalled. I also note that it sends information to the 'Cyberhawk Secure Community', and I'm not sure how happy I am about that, as the whole idea of spyware protection is NOT to have information sent out.

 

There are several community based HIPS software that uploads and downloads information from the user community so that everyone who is using the software has a common database to determine the safety of certain programs and websites. I think the Cyberhawk manual did mention something to this effect. The Coreforce manual also mentions a similar facet of their software.

 

The information exchange is only used to improve the CIPS-software and doesn't contain any privacy data.
A community without communication isn't a community and the gathered information is stored in a Community Database by knowledgeable people to help less-knowledgeable users to install only GOOD programs on their computer instead of malware programs.
I'm glad that the communication happens automatically, otherwise I would have to do all the work.
If you don't like that, use HIPS and do it all by yourself. I didn't buy a computer to guard it like a hawk and watch every move it makes.

 

This is an excerpt of my post on the "other firewall" forum:

Consumer Report's magazine (Sept/06 issue) ratings for anti-spyware are:
1: F-Secure 2006
2: Webroot Spy Sweeper 4.5
3: PC Tools Spyware Doctor 3.8
4: Trend Micro 3
5: LavaSoft Ad-Aware 1.06
6: Spybot Search & Destroy 1.4
7: Zone Labs ZoneAlarm anti-spyware 6.5
8: Sunbelt Counterspy
9: CA/eTrust Pest Patrol
10: BitDefender
11: McAfee
12: Microsoft Windows Defender (beta 1) - dead last!!

By the way, after its own testing, the Sept/06 issue of CR magazine ranks anti-virus software as follows:
1: BitDefender 9 Standard
2: Zone Labs Zonealarm AV
3: Kapersky Labs
4: Norton AV
5: McAfee
6: Trend Micro
7: Alwil
8: F-Secure
9: Panda Software
10: CA/eTrust
11: PC Tools
Note that it did not even test or rate ESET's NOD32. I don't know why.

 

Well there has been quite a few replies to this posting.

P4 - 1gig ddr - 3ghz.

My 2 cents worth.

The only reason I have Kav 6 and Comodo firewall (h/W f/w) running whilst perusing the net is that I feel kinda naked without seeing those security icons sitting there.

SAS, in IMHO is one of the best AS scanners which is used as on demand here.

Running FF with Noscript through Sandboxie makes easy work work for Kav, and SAS which never find a thing after emptying the Sandbox.

Now the big experiment.

Recently set up an old P3 600 mghz (?) 128 meg ram out the back room with only XP's default firewall and FF runnig through Sandboxie which is hooked up to my four port router.And runnig quite well I may add.

This is usually used by my one teenage and 2 elder girls and their friends.Thank goodness my main machine is safe!

With a 20 gig partitionerd drive I do have a ghost image just in case as we all know where our teenagers tend to go.

Have set it up that only FF is available only through SB and the the only proviso I have asked is to right click any chat and run Sandboxed which is set to auto empty.

After three weeks on demand scans with SAS and Kav find nothing!