What's the latest and greatest in anti spyware?

[LiamC]

I've stopped using Ad-Aware as it doesn't seem to do a lot. I do still use Spybot. What else should I be using?

 

[Mercutio]

Adaware is still helpful, though Spybot has certainly improved a lot more quickly.
I've making do with a mix of tools including just about everything that one can download from merijn.org.

Spybot does still seem to do the most good. I've tried Spy Sweeper and Ewido, but the fact that neither have a truly free version keeps me from recommending them.

 

[Buck]

I continue to use Adaware, Spybot, Spyware Blaster, and NOD32 with success.

 

[Bozo]

Recommended by clocker in another thread.

http://www.superantispyware.com/

It found a lot of crap that AdAware missed.
I guess its best to use a variety of utilities.

Bozo :joker:

 

[Explorer]

General rule of thumb: It's alright to have multiple anti-spyware products running on a typical computer system, but only one anti-virus product should be running on a system.

Virtual machines are exempt.

 

[Explorer]

Virtual machines are exempt.

...virtual machine environments are exempt, where each virtual machine abides by the rules set above for typical computer systems -- not the entire host computer.

Each virtual machine can run any single anti-virus product, regardless of what anti-virus product the other virtual machines are running.

 

[P5-133XL]

I've generally given up on Adaware. Spybot seems to work much better.

 

[ddrueding]

I don't waste my time with those things anymore. I pretty much format at the first sign of infection. I have a 400GB USB drive that holds their data in the meantime.

 

[Mercutio]

As a responsible tech, you HAVE to teach people how to deal with Spyware issues. You can't just reformat constantly. That's even more annoying that the occasional trip to safe mode.

I've known users who could re-infect a system with spyware to the point of unusability in as little as 10 minutes, post-cleanup. Kind of renders the wipe and reload mentality moot.

 

[ddrueding]

I consider putting the user through a reformat the same as putting them in the penalty box.

I use my system a lot, and some of the sites I visit are not the most reputable. As an internet "power user", pretty much everything I could want is at my fingertips. I go everywhere and aquire some music and TV shows in questionable ways.

I have no antivirus and no anti-malware software installed on my PC, and I've never had a virus or other nastyness on my machine. Neither has my girlfriend.

It is more than possible to go about your business and NOT get infected. I consider it a big mistake on the user's part if they get infected, and make sure they know it.

It's like pregnancy. You don't feel bad if someone "accidentally" got pregnant. It's not like they didn't know what behavior caused such a condition, and it's not like their aren't many, many opportunities to avoid such a condition. And ignorance is no excuse; if you want to play the game, you need to know the rules.

 

[Clocker]

Try SuperAnti Spyware...really. It cleaned out a lot of stuff Spybot could not. Give the free version a try, it works great.

 

[RWIndiana]

I think dd has the right idea; people need to be punished for their carelessness, then they don't do it again. They should never be allowed to let their guard down or lose that sense of danger. I have a friend who used Windows for years and then "converted" to Linux and used it until his power supply went bad. While waiting on another PSU he had to use a Windows computer. Tragically, the Windows computer was nearly destroyed with adware, malware, trojans, et cetera in a very short time . . . Linux is bad for keeping people aware of the danger.

But me, I despise reformatting and haven't for years. I'd rather run every virus and spyware scanner in existence first.

 

[Mercutio]

Gee, punish people for using their internet-enabled software. That sounds like a great idea to me.

 

[ddrueding]

Merc: When was the last time your computer was unintentionally infected by something nasty?

What task do users need to do that will cause them to be infected? It's not like the flu; "bad luck" has nothing to do with it.

If they are infected, it means they screwed up. I treat an infected machine like a totalled car; the first line out of my mouth is "Wow, you sure screwed that up." And like a totalled car, you'll never make it perform as well as a new, clean install.

 

[LunarMist]

I think dd has the right idea; people need to be punished for their carelessness, then they don't do it again. They should never be allowed to let their guard down or lose that sense of danger.

OMG that is totally messed up! The victim is not responsible for the crime. How would you feel it was your 83 year old mother robbed and beaten?

 

[Handruin]

I can see there is a bit of gray area in this where:
1.) End-users certainly need more education on spyware.
2.) You can't implicitly blame them that their windows XP is easily infectable and they may not know this.
3.) Punishing them for their ignorance in a product's short-comings isn't the right way to approach this. It may seem like the right course of action, but it won't help anything in the long run.
4.) Threaten them by telling them you will install (shamless plug for) Ubuntu the next time they infect their machine so bad.

If spyware is a constant problem for one individual who has been taught how to solve the problem...then yes, reformatting the drive is warranted along with some not so friendly words of caution regarding this happening again in the future.

 

[sechs]

The correct course of action is to wipe their system and install Linux. Do not install X.

They should be safe from here on out.

 

[ddrueding]

The most drastic move I've made was to take someone off the internet. No joke. They were the receptionist for a client, and their duties didn't require internet access. They crashed their computer weekly, despite countless warnings. One day I brought the computer back to them after (yet another) re-install with one modification: there was no NIC in it at all. No internet, no network, no games.

Ignorance is not an excuse!

I can't believe you are all defending such careless action by users. Getting infected doesn't just happen on it's own; it does take effort.

 

[GIANT]

The most drastic move I've made was to take someone off the internet...

Did you get permission from their management first?

It's certainly worth repairing these systems as opposed to just "nuking" them -- provided that it can be done faster than backing up said system, wiping that system, and reinstalling the operating system, all the application software, and user settings.

I would look at their webpage shortcuts and possibly delete any that would take them (back) to "bad" websites.

Obviously, these places of employment need surf control of some sort.

 

[sechs]

Ignorace is not an excuse -- it's a source of income.

You're the paid expert, not the babysitter.

 

[LiamC]

Thanks for the tips people.

 

[RWIndiana]

OMG that is totally messed up! The victim is not responsible for the crime. How would you feel it was your 83 year old mother robbed and beaten?

I was being somewhat sarcastic. If someone seems prone to continually get viruses and whatnot, and if they are someone I live close to or see often, they will be getting Linux and be told to not use the Windows side of their drive (if applicable) for any Internet activity.

 

[LiamC]

Anybody heard of Windows Defender?

I just had to fix a Dell P!!! 800 which ..."wouldn't do anything"... Turns out that it was running ZoneAlarm, Avast! with all the real-time options turned on and Windows Defender. The poor thing couldn't "do anything" because these three were chewing all the CPU cycles. After hunting around on the 'net, Defender likes to chew CPU cycles so it and various other spy/malware went into the bin. Now its a well behaved (slow) little beastie again.

 

[Tannin]

I tell 'em. Whether they listen or ignore me, I don't care. If they ignore me, they will have to give me more money to do more work on their system soon enough. If they listen, I have lots of other work to get on with. But mark this well, victim nazis, it is nearly always ignorance and lack of education, not stupidity. It's part of my job to remedy that. If they decide not to listen, that's fine. Their problem.

 

[ddrueding]

It's ignorance until you tell them the first time; then it's stupidity.

 

[Santilli]

When I was teaching, I brought in two PC's. My kids promptly managed to get around 100 spyware programs, in a couple days, while I was absent. Both machines took hours to clean all the garbage, mainly from trying to download music, KAZA, and all that stuff.etc.

One of my seniors couldn't get his computer at home to work.
I burned the spyware programs, and, it took him an entire day, using Ad-awarese, to get rid of the spyware programs it caught. I gave him Mercutio's instruction packet on starting in safemode, and running from there. Apparently, it worked.

He couldn't run a virus program, because his computer wasn't fast enough to deal with all the spyware, and run
the anti-virus programs at the same time.

How, mainly, do your clients manage to muck up their computers so quickly?

David's story is very funny. No NIC, ROFL!!!

GS

 

[Buck]

"What's the latest and greatest in anti spyware?"

 

[LiamC]

The most drastic move I've made was to take someone off the internet. No joke. They were the receptionist for a client, and their duties didn't require internet access. They crashed their computer weekly, despite countless warnings. One day I brought the computer back to them after (yet another) re-install with one modification: there was no NIC in it at all. No internet, no network, no games.

Ignorance is not an excuse!

I can't believe you are all defending such careless action by users. Getting infected doesn't just happen on it's own; it does take effort.

I once thought as you do, young Padawan. Then I was enlightened by an elderly savant--or gin soaked geezer, I can't remember which. --remember the consultants mantra; Paid by the hour...

wneddnce:

 

[Sol]

--remember the consultants mantra; Paid by the hour...

I am reminded of this (thinkgeek) poster.

 

[ddrueding]

I am reminded of this (thinkgeek) poster.

Oh, believe me, I charge by the hour. Plus drive time with a 2 hour minimum. I just also yell at them for being stupid while I'm billing by the hour. I found that if I don't make it clear that it's their fault that they need to pay me again, they might think I did a poor job in the first place.

 

[Santilli]

For what it's worth, Super Anti spy ware fuxored an AOL and McAfee install.

Maybe humerous to some, since, in the grand scale of things, both ARE spyware, but, reinstalling both has not been a rewarding experience.

GS

 

[Clocker]

The only problem I see there is that those two apps were installed in the first place. SuperSpy did you a service, IMO.

 

[Mercutio]

Why the fuck would you reinstall Mcafee?

 

[Computer Generated Baby]

Why the fuxore are you messing around with America On hoLd?

 

[Tannin]

exactly

 

[GIANT]

Ditto.

 

[Platform]

Problem solved: David should remove Santilli's Ethernet card.

 

[Onomatopoeic]

Recommended approach for wiping out spyware:

format C: /u

 

[ddrueding]

Problem solved: David should remove Santilli's Ethernet card.

 

[Handruin]

Problem solved: David should remove Santilli's Ethernet card.

I damn near busted a gut when I read this. :rotfl: