Top 3 Spy/Malware Apps - Who Are They?

Well it seems like some of the big names of the past are taking a dive.

Adware, and Spybot just don't seem to be cutting it anymore, at least the way they did a few years back, when they were on the top of their game.

I friend of mines box got hit pretty good, and I was really surprised to see that, Adware, Spybot, and Spyware Terminator didn't do much of any good. Then I installed SuperAntiSpyware and it did the best of the bunch, but it still didn't get everything.

Also Nod32 v3 didn't do that great of a job when it came to detecting either, and this really disappointed me to see so much malware left behind that Nod32 didn't get, that in my book was pretty sad.

Eset really needs to get it together, because in the spyware/malware department this thing is pathetic.

Anyhow it's time to rethink the arsenal and get some different spy/malware apps to do the job.

Adaware and Spybot are out the door, and Spyware Terminator is about to get the boot too, so that doesn't leave me with anything left other then a-squared Free, and SuperAntiSpyware. In the past I wasn't too thrilled with a-squared Free, so it's just about ready to get the boot also, just leaving only SuperAntiSpyware, but I'd like to get two more apps to go along with it.

So please speak up guys, let's here it, who are the TOP 3 spy/malware apps out there that you can think of now?

THANKS

 

AVG-AS
Counter Spy
Superantispyware

 

I noticed windows defender is never..EVER even mentioned anymore. Who knows maybe it has the best detection rates.

 

Hi,

Its detection rate may not be that mighty, its real-time mechanism may, on the other hand, have some merits to stay around. My past experience told me so.

Take care.

 

SAS and ST. Counterspy crawls and AVG always needs guard running.

 

What's the point? Please read posts next time, I stated the point in my post very clearly....

Please read the post again...

 

I thought you could turn off the realtime protection, and just run it as an on demand scanner?

 

You can. I did that but Counterspy took 3 hours to scan both my drives. Updates are very slow also.

 

I have to ask whether you're starting from the right premise here. As for the specific applications you mention, they've been on the lean side for some time now (IMHO).

Personally, I believe that you need to consider the top "approaches" to dealing with malware. In many situations, that equates to a consideration of available 3rd party applications, but not always.

Blue

 

This was a friends computer that was hosed not mine, so we are talking about putting something on a newbies computer, and getting them to scan from time to time.

Personally I don't see going the "Real Time" approach to this, because no single application can get it all. So for me I just hook up friends with an AV that runs real time, and then tell them to use their spyware/malware apps I've installed and scan...

WELL in the case of this friend, even after running Adaware, SAS, Spybot, and Spyware Terminator there was still quite a bit of spy/malware on the box, and I was shocked to see it still sitting there, even with NOD32 v3 installed.

So that is why I made this post because it's time to start looking for better On Demand spy/malware applications, since Adaware and Spybot and Spyware Terminator FAILED miserably!

THANKS

 

If I understand your question properly, then my response is Antivir Personal Premium, OA2 paid, TF free, SAS free and AVG AS free both on demand.
I check a few times a week and for many months have been clean.

 

OA2 - Online Armor? If so, no need for a firewall, next....

TF?

 

I swear I must of been blind the day I was looking, LOL, but I didn't notice seeing where to turn AVG AS real time protection off.

PLEASE take a screenshot so I can see it before I install it again.

You are talking about 7.5 yes?
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/us/frt/0?prd=asf

THANKS

 

Top three are:
1 safe hex
2 safe hex
3 safe hex

Using no reources, never needs updates or upgrades and is free.

12fw

 

Well, it should be patently clear to you that those statements aren't logically connected. If you base everything on demand scanning all you have is a rather variable and unstable recovery scheme. It prevents nothing, but tries to undo problems of the past.

This seems at odds with your previous statement

No, it's time to change approaches. Perhaps some of the parts stay the same but are employed differently, but the underlying problem is the basic approach followed - if I understand it correctly and I'm not sure I do - it seems that you

• Have a realtime monitoring AV installed and it's NOD32 - is this correct or is realtime disabled?
• Adaware, Spybot, and Spyware terminator also installed, but not resolving problems.

My own suggestion would be:

• An AV, realtime monitoring enabled, no web scanning, set decently sensitive but not so much to present a significant slowdown. Plenty of paid or free options here. Do a comprehensive scan, verify system integrity, and go from there. Infrequent regular scans if you really feel that's needed (I don't)
• LUA
• CCLeaner with it set to perform an unattended cleaning of the TIF during overnight hours. Not protection per se, just regular hygiene

If that's not sufficient, augment with virtualization or tradeoff the paid AV for paid virtualization and free AV. There are plenty of ways to put this together - but the details depend strongly on the specific system in front of your and your own knowledge. As some of the posts above note, there are a number of distinctly different approaches out there as well that will also work fine. Execution control, use the native OS software restriction policies (this is XP right?), Prevx, etc.. You name it, done right and it will be fine. You're knowledgeable - the details shouldn't be a problem.

Blue

 

This is a very important subject brought up and one that does indeed have significant consequences.

AV's notwithstanding, most common and/or new users are inadequately equipped as to what list of dependable choices they have at their ready when the malware bites, those that evade AV's exclusively.

Many of us are keen aware of HIPS/Sandboxes/Virtuals/ISR's and even backup image programs and we're quite complacent & peaceful in ourselves with everyday internet pursuits. In fact, most of us look to pit our defenses up against Proof-Of-Concepts, Leaktests, etc. since the percentages of ever really getting intruded are next to nill.

But the general population at-large who are not so well versed to keeping up with the latest of best protections have basically an AV and maybe they'll go with SpySweeper, Ad-Aware, SpyBot and consider that enough which in due time they'll eventually discover couldn't be further from the truth.

It is a good question. What are the TOP 3!

SuperAntiSpyware seems to been consistently the most favored in that regard although CounterSpy and others are themselves reported to be quite the task master for those duties. A2Squared is been around a long time but if reports coming in are true, users express disappointment in it for their own various reasons.

Grisoft AVG AS is another consideration, as are some others, but since i personally don't even bother with scanners anymore my first reflex action would likely be SuperAntiSpyware followed by whatever.

I tend to agree, the field of quality AS's has drastically dwindled down to barely a few, even couple maybe?

It's the new user and/or occasional or just uneducated user's machine which is at risk and their choices are very limited anymore IMO regarding an AS that can truly not just detect but safely remove malware. Just have a look around at the various hijackthis forums, their numbers are alarming, and these folks use AV's, and some even other security programs and they limp in with Vundo infections and whole host of browser exploited entries.

 

I couldn't find an English version but it's in the same place as "Bouclier resident" in this screenshot:

 

Real time protection is only the paid version but even the free version always uses the "guard" service.

 

With AVG's realtime turned off, it still runs a service. (Look for "guard.exe") Doesn't use much. So does A2. So does AdAware2007. I believe SAS doesn't.

I'd be inclined to try hardening your friends computer a bit. A few blockers in the right places that need no (or not much) thought could help. Examples, a Hosts file, A browser with no script and an ad blocker and popup blocker enabled. Running from an admin account.

Personally, I've found SpywareTerminator rather good. But I seem to very seldom stumble upon real malware. I'd be interested to know what version your friend was using, and if the HIPS component was active.
(Of course, a HIPS is only as good as the users' decisions.)

 

Yeah that's what I meant at startup the guard still runs in the clock when the trial runs out after 30days, so not sure if just going to msconfig will do just fine and stop it...

THANKS

 

Its not in msconfig. Its a service found in services.msc. You can set it to manual but each and every time you want to run AVG AS you need to start the service. I ditch it for SAS and ST. I only use both as a scanner and not real time.

 

ST - Spyware Terminator?

If that's ST, then the last time I used it, it didn't do a good job at all...

 

yes Spyware Terminator. it is rated very good.

 

I know it's suppose to be rated good, but yesterday I scanned with it, and it only detected one small piddly MRU is all.

Then I ran Spybot and SAS and there was around 50 pieces detected so for me to go from only 1 to 50 was pretty pathetic, that ST didn't even find a little of this that the others did...