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PC utilities: Getting rid of Spyware
Getting rid of Spyware
by Tasuki - 7/19/05 7:57 PMI've got Adaware 1.06r1 (the free personal SE edition) and I've got Spybot S&D 1.4. Both have the latest updates. Every time I run them, I find a few spyware programs, data miners and the like. Curiously, both programs problems, no matter which one I run first. I guess they're using different algorithms, or something. My questions are as follows:
1) Are there other FREE programs out there that might pick up yet more spyware junk on my computer?
2) Is it worth the money to pay for a spyware detector? If so, which one(s) have met with general approval, and which ones should I avoid?
Programs for getting rid of Spyware etc
by Northern Lights - 7/19/05 10:19 PM In reply to: Getting rid of Spyware by TasukiI use these programs with tremendous success.
Adaware Free
Spybot Search & Destroy Free
Spywareblaster (Most important one) prevents spyware from communicating home. And it prevents new ones from being put on your harddrive.
Spywareguard free
All of these programs are free and can be found by typing in the name in your browser and downloading from a sight such as pcworld, download.com, webattack(has as new name of snapfiles)and several more main ones.
The most important thing is to run them weekly if you do a lot of surfing and check for updates each time you run them.
Good luck and hope this answers your questions. JL
great info, thanks
by Tasuki - 7/20/05 11:35 AM In reply to: Programs for getting rid of Spyware etc by Northern LightsThanks, NL, this does indeed answer my question. I'll go check 'em out today!
Taz
Taz
by phil66 - 7/20/05 5:37 PM In reply to: great info, thanks by TasukiCheck out this thread in v&s lots of good info on spyware free and paid
http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6132-0.html?forumID=32&threadID=114259&messageID=1298628
HTH
Ray
Spyware
by nyctrainman - 8/10/05 12:54 PM In reply to: Programs for getting rid of Spyware etc by Northern LightsI used those too. I found Counterspy, and it finds and removes more than all of these!
RE Getting rid of Spyware
by caktus - 7/21/05 3:34 PM In reply to: Getting rid of Spyware by TasukiI have always used Adaware and Spybot S&D with pretty good success. But now it seems the Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) has taken the lead. But Adaware still catches the MRU's.
MRUs, should I worry?
by Tasuki - 7/22/05 1:16 AM In reply to: RE Getting rid of Spyware by caktusSpeaking of MRU's, I thought they were harmless, and I was afraid that if I deleted them I might find there was something useful. What's the real status of MRUs?
RE MRUs, should I worry?
by caktus - 7/22/05 12:01 PM In reply to: MRUs, should I worry? by TasukiMRUs, or Most Recently Used, are as they say - a list of the items you have recently used or looked at when using certain applications.
If you open a program - MS Word, Excel, Photoshop and so on - and go to the File menu at the top, you will see all the usual options such as Open, Save, Print, Preview...
At the bottom of this list you will see a short list showing the last few documents you opened. The idea of this list is to provide quick access to documents you recently read or worked on, without having to go to Open File and then search for the file you need.
A similar thing can be found in Internet Explorer (or any other web browser. If you click the downward-pointing arrow to the right of the address bar you will get a list of the addresses you have recently typed in. This is another example of a MRU list.
They are safe from the point of view that they cannot harm your system. They are, in effect, just signposts which provide a shortcut to things you may wish to access later on. For this reason they are classed as 'negligible' - they do no harm by being there.
The reason people like to know they are there and have the option to remove them is to guard their privacy - they perhaps don't wish others to know the last document they worked on was a job application, or the last spreadsheet they used was entitled MyBankAccountNumbers.xls, or the last web address they typed in was for a gambling site.
So it comes down to personal preference - keep MRUs and make life a little easier or delete them and preserve your privacy. MRUs are picked up by many malware scanners now, and it is up to you whether you keep them or delete them. At least you get the choice
In your case you can choose to remove the MRUs with no ill effects. It would still be possible to find the files you last worked on but it would be a lot more difficult and time consuming to do so. To see the effect in action I suggest you open your web browser and click the arrow next to the address bar to see the entries there. Close your browser, run AdAware and remove the MRUs. Then open your browser again and see that the MRU list is now empty. I delete MRUs as a matter of course, partly to save a little (not much) disk space and partly because I like to clear out unimportant (to me) things when I can.
MRUs, I'd be lost without 'em
by Tasuki - 7/22/05 7:37 PM In reply to: RE MRUs, should I worry? by caktusThanks caktus, for your great explanation. I had no clue what MRUs were. Frankly, now that I know what they are, I'll be sure to leave them alone---they're so handy!
Taz
(NT) They can be a help!
by caktus - 7/22/05 10:57 PM In reply to: MRUs, I'd be lost without 'em by TasukiOh! I foregot to mention...
by caktus - 7/22/05 11:03 PM In reply to: MRUs, I'd be lost without 'em by TasukiI've noticed on occasion some online scanners as well as trial ware indicating they've found alot of spyware to entice you to buy the're product when in fact all they have found are the MRU's.
So, let the buyer beware.
MS SPyware
by jacomo - 7/29/05 6:55 AM In reply to: RE Getting rid of Spyware by caktusI ran the beta on Microsoft SPyware for 2 Months and never got one hit on a spyware.
AT the same time I ran Spysweeper and Spybot and repeatedly got 2-3 Spyware hits.
You decide value of what MS has.
Jacomo
The Claria position. (Gator bite)
by R. Proffitt
- 7/29/05 7:09 AM
In reply to: MS SPyware by jacomo
Read http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2005Jul/gee20050712031325.htm
In short, Microsoft and other companies will overlook some spyware due to the reasons noted.
Bob
Free vs Pay
by jkuykendall - 7/30/05 11:25 AM In reply to: RE Getting rid of Spyware by caktusI have used most of the free ones out there, SpyBot and Adaware are decent ... BUT.... they did leave alot left on my system. Try running free trial of one of the pay ones and see what you have left. Most will at least scan system. I presently use Adware Filter by PCSafe. Keeps me clean.
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