Anti-Spyware Software

[buffumjr]

I need advice. I am using Spyware Nuker, which I bought online from SpywareNuker.com. I have used it over a year. Has anyone ever heard of this outfit? I noticed in Datamation and this Journal, Spyware Nuker was not mentioned.

Supposedly, this software removes it after the fact. It's already in. I would prefer a package that prevents its entry in the first place.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[MikeP]

SpywareNuker is widely considered to be bad news. It's actually adware.

You can read what Symantec says about it here:
http://sarc.com/avcenter/venc/data/a...warenuker.html

There are more reliable scanning options availabe in Intranet Journal's Spyware Guide:
http://www.intranetjournal.com/spywa....html#scansoft

As for prevention software, I don't have personal experience with any, but there is a short list here:
http://www.intranetjournal.com/spyware/preventsoft.html

[buffumjr]

Thanx. I would NEVER have known, otherwise. I'll explore those options at once.

[paulc]

I've used both Ad-aware and Spybot Search and Destroy; if one didn't catch something, the other usually did. But these two utils are more for removal after the fact.

In terms of prevention, I don't have any experience with dedicated spyware/adware utils or apps. You should double-check with your anti-virus software (which I hope you already have) because many A/V suites already come with spyware/adware detection.

Paul

[buffumjr]

Actually, Norton doesn't seem to do anything at all. I know there is a continuous assault going on. I would hope Norton would be protecting my computer. At least log successful blocks of spyware installation attempts. This would give the savvy customer a warm, fuzzy that the software was at least doing something.

In weak defense of Nuker, I have had no adware appear after installing Nuker. It does report between three and a dozen infections a week of spyware. If I go in in explorer, the files it reports are actually there.

In any case, better safe than sorry. I'm researching the options you presented. I'm making the change no later than 1 Jan. It's cheap, so why not?

Some seem very "hands on", and others are very automated. I like the automated.

Any rank ordering of them?

[paulc]

I've never had any luck with Norton products--especially on XP--and as such have stayed clear of them. It's also a resource hog; running a full scan with Norton AntiVirus brought a P4 2.8Ghz w/512MBs RAM to it's knees...

There's a good article titled, "Why you should ditch Norton AntiVirus" at:
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/4520-7297_16-5554923.html

I've been testing Mcafee VirusScan 2005 (v9.0)--which does include adware/spyware detection--and so far it seems to do a good job.

I've also read a lot of positive reviews of Trend Micro's PC-cillin 2005 (which includes a firewall), although I've never tried it myself.

Many of these companies offer various security packages; some are stand-alone A/V tools, some include a firewall for free, some offer additional security at additional cost... you have to do a bit of homework to find what you're looking for.

ZDNet has a comparison review of the "biggies":

- McAfee VirusScan Home 9.0
- Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2005
- Norton AntiVirus 2005
- F-Secure Internet Security 2005

The article can be found at:
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/4520-3513_16-5553401.html

This may help you narrow down your choices.

Paul

[Moshe]

Hey All

It's interesting that the supplied article and you guys didn't mention Ad Aware. (Lavasosoft.com) The not free version has a tool called Ad Watch that notifies you if "anything" tries to write to the registry and allows you to block or accept it. There's very frequent updates (I check everyday) and the scanner allows you to quarantine or delete the "bad boy entries and dataminer cookies".

I have only limited experience with any other products listed so I don't know of any tools that might be supplied with them (nor are they in Ad Aware for that matter) to ferret out the exe's and bat's that the malware turkeys deposit in the usual dirs so I just read the quarantine list in Ad Aware, note the registry entries that were attempted and then use regedit to find the offending source dirs for the programs and delete the stinkers. (Best to boot up in Safe Mode so the services or TSR's for them aren't running)

Typical directories favored for malware drop-off points:
Windows\Temp
Winnt\Temp
Documents And Settings\Your Profile\Local Settings\Temp

Be sure to Regedit - and check HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CurrentVersion\ Run, RunOnce, and RunEx to nuke any offending entries in your Startup lists.

This has helped me clean up a lot of machines with pretty good results.

All The Best!

Moshe

After-Note: Apologies to paulc who did mention Ad Aware.

[webmarks]

As a matter of neccesity I end up repairing a number of personal machines that belong to my clients and their respective employees. A component of Spybot is TeaTimer (included in the install, opt-in), which monitors various areas of the registry for changes and alerts you to changes. The rule of thumb is that if you are not upgrading Windows or installing a program, you shouldn't allow the change, except for some periodic changes that the system will execute to maintain itself. If you are installing a free program then it is up to you to be sure that it does not contain spy-/ad-/malware.

If you do end up with bad stuff on your system though you run program and it will find, report, and clean for you.

Remember, the fight against this crap is hands-on, so be educated, and help educate others.

Download Spybot S&D from Download.com

Also check out Spyware Blaster to use in comination with Spybot S&D

Spyware Blaster

[hasuinterceptor]

Use "Spyware Doctor." Best Anti-Spyware Software out there


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