OT: Computer Gurus: What's Better Than Spybot S&D?

Sorry for the O/T post, but this is driving me nuts! Seems like I've got some spyware that is randomly keeping me from getting web pages. I'll get repeated "page not found" messages for awhile, then things start functioning again, then some other site will act up. This is with Craigslist and other websites where I know it's me and not them having the problem.
I've switched to Firefox, run Spybot S&D, run all the security stuff that comes with Yahoo dsl, and still the problem continues.
Anybody experienced this?
What do I do??

 

I use AD-Aware.

 

I use a combination of both. Ive seen things get through each that the other didnt pick up.

 

I use Ad-Aware also and the wife play's those f-ing web games all the time and you will be amazed at what it picks up. Oh and I use Panda for my anti-virus and it catches stuff all the time.


http://www.pandasoftware.com/

Chris Nelson
Kansas

 

I use Webroot spy sweeper and AD Aware,both paid versions. They both find the stuff but the Ad Aware is a faster scan.

 

I have a condom on the cable that plugs into the wireless internet router....

seriously, I don't use any anti-spyware stuff, because somehow I don't get spyware. maybe because I never download "cute" programs and games.

 

ding ding ding! we have a winner...

 

You will need to use both Ad-Aware and SpyBot to get the job done. They both miss things the other catches. Also a good anti-virus package, I can second the Panda recomendation. And third you need a personal firewall, I'm not a fan of Microsofts one, I'd go with Zone Alarm or if you use Panda the newer releases have one in there....

 

I bought everthing McAfee sells and put in in the machine and put all the settings on medium high then scan it every night. Seems to work.

 

http://www.ewido.net/en/

free download lower right corner.

 

I use both spybot and ad-aware. I also routinely delete my cookies, temporary internet files and history. I also clean out the temp folder under my user profile. You'd be amazed at how much **** in there messes with IE6.

Every once in a while I also delete *.tmp,*.bak,*.chk files.

 

Pop-up stopper is handy too.........its free

 

I don't download "cute" programs,or games,and still get a bunch of Spyware,mostly tracking cookies.

We use Norton Antivirus,Win Patrol,Spyware Blaster,
Spybot,Ad Aware,MRU Blaster,and CW Shredder.

The first three run in the background,we run the others
manually in Safe Mode before Scan Disc and Defrag.

Norton is the only one we paid for,the rest are free,but worth getting.

Spybot is good,Ad Aware will typically find more stuff that Spybot missed,Spyware Blaster actually blocks a lot of spyware from getting
on your system.

 

You're probaly better off with searching for a malware removal program. It'll detect any spyware plus many other things. If you're using windows it should have a malware system already installed. Also ad-aware is a good program to use, and I would recomend running it often.

 

Download and run Windows defender from www.microsoft.com. It's free and it often does the job.

Once you get spyware in your PC it does little good to switch browsers. If you use Firefox exclusively, keep your antivirus up to date, and don't download free **** you will probably be okay. I use AVG at work, Avast at home (antivirus). All free stuff.

I work on equipment including PCs for a living. Lately, I usually have to save data, clean install the OS, install and update antivirus, update the OS, then and only then restore data. The spyware I see these days is downright corrosive, often leaves a PC inoperable after being removed.

 

Beware of Windows Defender...

http://www.betanews.com/article/Problems_Installing_Windows_Defender/1140191641

A****st other issues with Windows Defender.... and yeah I do this for a living...

Just do some research before you try to install...

And just FYI if you do not have a valid windows license Defender is not your friend.....

 

I work on comps for a living, spyware is far more vicious than any virus i've ran across. Another good program is Hijack this. It shows everything that starts with your computer, it's good to find out what hidden **** is starting up with the machine. When you see something listed and you don't know what it is, google it, and find out if it's spyware. Then, you can check it to be removed. Gotta be careful though, delete the wrong files and the machine can be pretty screwed.

One other thing, it helps to turn off System Restore before doing a spyware scan, because most of that stuff stores itself in the system restore folders where it can't be removed.

 

Ditto. I use both.

 

Check out www.spywareinfo.com they have an online scan tool that works well.

 

ive had many, many puters and of all the virus and spy ware stoppers norton is the best ive found, to hell with all that free stuff.ive spent a pile of cash on computers, i bought norton when i bought this puter, and i drive the **** out of this thing, and it has caught every thing nasty thats come down the pipe. and i useto down load a bunch of file share music. i will renew my subscription.

 

This is part of why the Hamb is such a beautiful place to spend an evening......all of the technical info.....and not just hot rods mind you....

This **** has been driving me up the wall at work.....thanks all

H-bob

 

And then there's Can't Hide. Tells you what programs are running. Of course the best way to avoid these problems is to run linix...
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

 

Something no one has mentioned yet , is the fact that much of the 'spyware removal' has its own spyware. That is why I don't use spyware removal software.

The only things I use are the WinXP firewall, my router (as a hardware firewall, they're cheap these days), and AVG.

Every time I logon, I check for AVG updates before I do anything else. I've never gotten anything.

BTW, I've worked for a major computer mfg for 5 years as tech support. When others get spyware on their PC's, usually we uninstall any new apps, then run system restore back to when it worked OK. If that doesn't do it, it's time to backup and wipe it clean. There are other fixes, but they are time consuming, and seldom work (meaning the spyware usually comes back). Just my 2 cents.

 

heh....heh...heh....you talkin ta me?

I guess it's a good thing I don't get spyware.

Another thing that might help is that I usually have javascript disabled, and I have all the auto install features and automatic updates and all that other **** turned off. Of course I use something besides Planet Exploder (IE) to surf the web.

 

I don't suppose anyone wants to hear about the relatively simple life we Mac users have. Not flawless and I wouldn't be without my virus protection, but there is really very little to protect against. I personally hope PCs continue to dominate and the "bad guys" continue to ignore us.

 

I heard there's finally a worm that hits OS X.

about time!

 

My vote is for the Panda Software Internet Security suite (platinum or ***anium edition)

This stuff is great (I may be biased as I work there)

www.pandasoftware.com

 

I'm going to disagree with you Adaware users. I used to have it, plus Spybot. When my server offered me Spinach, I ran Adaware and Spoybot, immediately followed by Spinach. Damn me! Spinach picked up 64 dataminers that Adaware had missed! Needless to say, Adaware lasted exactly 7 seconds on my puter.
Squirrel, I like your confidence, but excuse me for being very sceptical.....
AVG users..... this is a really great system. Had it for years, free edition, never once had any bad guys sneak through.... the new 7.1 free edition seems to be auto updated daily. I love it!

 

For those of you who think they're immune, I just went to two photo sites linked here, and Spinach picked up a total of 15 spyware cookies!

 

I was thinking the same thing.

There have been a couple proof-of-concepts developed (by anti-virus software manufacturers, BTW), but none found "in the wild". That's TWO in the last 5 years. Windows gets thousands of times that every month! Also, this most recent one would take a lot of social engineering to make it even work.

As for using something other than Internet Exploder to surf, some say that will cut down on spyware and bad stuff a bit on it's own. Most of the Windows-using people that I know that care use Firefox.