Spyware, viruses, & security forum: Has anyone tried. . .

MS Antispyware doesn't work. If they really want to get rid of spyware, why do they even allow it to be used at their MSN home page or any of the links that are on there like MSNBC or some of the others? Seems to me like Microsoft is talking out of both sides of their mouths. I've been using it and it hasn't caught a thing. Spybot and Adaware are far superior to MS.

Especially for people who want a machine to automatically look after their machine, it's good. It has the standard XP-style friendly-looking interface and does a great job.... but not 100%.

After a few hours with IE (I usually use Firefox), if I run a full system scan it will often turn up nothing. Then I'll run a full system scan with Adaware and it'll find the little bugs in the IE Cache. So, it's nice, but in my book Adaware still beats it.

Have been using the beta for about 4 weeks now and surprise, surprise it actually seems to work.
Have been checking it against spybot and it has done allright. I keep waiting for the system crash though

I did. I don't like it. i usually run 2-3 programs to make sure i got rid of all the spyware. Compared to Ad-aware is only slighly worse. If compared to Spy Sweeper...a lot worse. A lot of work needs to be done just to catch up.

I have used both Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy for years. The programs complement each other beautifully, and my preference has been scanning daily with Ad-Aware SE while letting Spybot S&D handle real-time protection. Updated signature files result in a full scan using the appropriate program. Until recently, the average Ad-Aware scan identified a small number of tracking cookies, none particularly worrisome. Every once in awhile, Spybot S&D would detect something that Ad-Aware either failed to recognize, or more likely did not consider a threat.

Although very satisfied with the protection Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D provided, I decided to check out Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware after CNET's preview piqued my curiosity.

In the three weeks the beta version of Microsoft AntiSpyware has been running on my PC, it has performed flawlessly. Of particular significance is the fact that, while my web browsing has been as active and eclectic as usual, Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware SE scans have consistently identified only one or two tracking cookies - if anything - during this time. This surprising result suggests that Microsoft AntiSpyware's real-time agents do a better job than Spybot S&D's, or at the very least complement the latter to the point that my PC has become relatively stealth.

Moreover, Microsoft AntiSpyware has alerted me of legitimate programs attempting to effect changes in the registry and settings that, while not necessarily security risks, are quite a nuisance. Let me illustrate.

A few weeks ago, I signed up for a trial of People PC Online's internet access service in order to evaluate it for an acquaintance. After downloading and installing the software, my home page, the settings of Windows XP's Search Assistant and a few other things were changed. A tool bar and a few other browser helper objects were also added. People PC also took over my Outlook Express. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled about this!

Recalling that unpleasant experience, I decided to download the People PC software to test how well Microsoft AntiSpyware would protect my computer. It passed the test with flying colors! As soon as the installation program attempted to make changes, an alert window (similar to those of ZoneAlarm) appeared, providing detailed information and giving me the option of allowing or blocking the process in question. Despite its best efforts, the People PC software failed to change a single setting or install one unwanted item.

Wait, there's more! I uninstalled the People PC software and reinstalled it the following day for yet another test. This time, Microsoft AntiSpyware recognized the program as a repeat offender and automatically blocked the spyware behavior without prompting. Alert windows appeared briefly, but merely to let me know the attempts had been blocked. Pretty cool.

Based on my experience so far, I have to recommend Microsoft AntiSpyware - even in its beta release. Its performance has been impressive enough to warrant a recommendation over Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware. However, I get the sense Microsoft AntiSpyware might be better suited to protect against true spyware than to get rid of things like usage tracks and cookies. Thus, both Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware SE will continue to play an important role in my strategy against spyware and adware. As far as I can tell, all three programs complement one another without any conflicts.

MSN Dl'd Beta with upgraded HM acct:Worked great-First few days: oops. The new Toolbar dissappeared, could not access other accounts,v's by the dozen, that TrendIS'04 caught easily, along with the Spam. IT ONLY TOOK 10 DAYS to get my WinPen working again. Have so much garbage and junk now, wonder if it will ever recover. Msft didn't get out their crit. UDs in time.

I had used Adaware, Spybot and others and thought my pc was clean. After MS AntiSpyware cleaned numerous spyware from my system, my pc run faster and soomther. Love it!

That is good that it is not finding anything, that means that it is working.

Keep in mind that unlike some spyware scanners that only pick up spyware after it has infected your computer, MSAntispyware is actively preventing infections from getting into your computer.

I install Microsoft Antispyware, SpyBot and AdAware on every computer. Besides having a good antivirus software and a firewall, this is all you really need.

MS AntiSpyware is very good!!!!!1

Microsoft's (Giant AntiSpyware) works very well. It has replaced Ad-Aware and Spybot-Search and destroy on my personal systems.

I know it effective since I use it in a corporate envirnment with multiple users where it catchs more bugs than A-A or S&D.

It also comes up with flags that you must answer when the system tries to install potentially dangerous Acive-X controls.

I will definatly buy this when the beta version expires.

I will also keep Ad-Aware since it has a nice plug in that permanently disables "msmsgs", the dreaded MS Messenger.

all-in-one secretmaker i find to be an all round stumper,but if you are running Zone Alarm the two are NOT compatable.And when p2p sharing shut it down also.

...how can I get the Spybot?

I think the GUI is sweet but the perfomance is lacking. The cleanup tools are useful for wiping the IE history etc. - long time overdue imho.

One of my users totally hosed up his workstation with spyware and the MS spyware utility found some things but clearly couldnt take care of the issue. Pop ups were exploding all over and ever time i ran a scan it came up with the same old same old.

After running spysweeper and adaware in that order, problems solved.

I removed the MS util from all the workstations because it just was not getting the job done.

As a network admin, thats not the kind of software I want on my systems.

No hard feelings though.

i've tried this, and it seemed to find some things that ad-aware didn't the first time it ran, since then, it just runs every evening at the time i set it for, and does nothing but slow me down. it's even up-dated itself four times since i installed it, but still doesn't do anything now. personally, i think it's a waste of time.

I downloaded the beta first time I saw it offered. Figured since it came from MS that it couldn't be that buggy. I had Adaware installed at the time and the MS software found other stuff installed. Now I have a clean harddrive from spyware.
Now I find that Norton has its own version of spyware software bundled in with the new 2005 virus protection. Now it is dumping software that MS didn't find. I also have found that I have to reinstall a program because a file was deleted by Norton. No biggee, just a pain.

Christopher