Web Shield

Hello, I am wondering if and when AVG Anti-Spyware is going to have a Hijacking Shield for Internet Explorer,and a Malicious Website Blocker, like what Webroot Spy Sweeper has? I like that function,but since Spy Sweeper has become such a memory monster, I bought AVG. Will AVG protect as good as/or Equally to Spy Sweeper, in blocking the automatic installation of those nasties like LopDotCom and such, Spy Sweeper does this well, I have seen popup messages from it when it does so, But I havent seen any popup messages saying a site has been blocked, or an installation has been prevented by AVG. Probably a good thing I havent, but I'm wondering if it responds in the same way

 

No, it doesn't respond in the same way at all. Probably this is a throw back to when ewido was marketed as an Anti-Trojan and was considered distinct from the Anti-Spyware products like SpySweeper et al. The ASs monitored vulnerable system locations in an attempt to prevent the adding of BHOs, changing of Hosts File, Browser Search Pages etc. While ewido's realtime protection involved scanning for Trojans. Thus you could usefully run an AT and AS together.

There is a blurring of edges today, and SS is probably "such a memory monster" because it is trying to do too much. But spyware often comes via exploits that place Trojans on your system and then try to run them. At that point AVG-AS will scan the file and if it is bad it will be dealt with before it has any chance to change Browser settings, Hosts File, BHOs or any of the other things that ASs are protecting.

At present (I can't say what the future might hold), there is no question of AVG-AS having Web-shields, site blocking and the like; it simply offers a second opinion scan (after your AV) of executable files you may attempt to run. Because a trojan file may be heavily encrypted, so as to evade detection via signatures, AVG-AS will scan it again in memory. As far as I'm aware, it is able to do a better job in this regard than SS.