Re: Spy Sweeper vs. Spybot Search and Destroy

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance



On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:25:11 -0500, Allen wrote:

I have both of the programs mentioned in the subject and have doubts
that there may be conflicts between the two. I have two questions:
first, are my doubts well founded; second, if so, which should I choose
to continue. I am posting in this ng although I'm trying to use Vista,
as a result of my XP machine suffering a hardware meltdown; the
equivalent Vista ng is populated with a huge number of crackpots,
weirdos and plain old lunatics; it makes it hard to ask a question there
and get an answer that can be trusted. On the other hand, this ng is
full of very helpful people. Thanks for any help.


Have a look at this:
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm
and be guided accordingly.
Good info can be obtained here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=20
and here:
http://www.av-comparatives.org/

If the above is too deluging consider this:-
Real-time AV applications - for viral malware.
Do not utilize more than one (1) real-time anti-virus scanning engine!
Disable the e-mail scanning function during installation (Custom
Installation on some AV apps.) as it provides no additional protection.

Why You Don't Need Your Anti-Virus Program to Scan Your E-Mail
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm
Viral Irony: The Most Common Cause of Corruption.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx

Avira AntiVir® Personal - FREE Antivirus
http://www.free-av.com/
You may wish to consider removing the 'AntiVir Nagscreen'
http://www.elitekiller.com/files/disable_antivir_nag.htm
or
Free antivirus - avast! 4 Home Edition
It includes ANTI-SPYWARE protection, certified by the West Coast Labs
Checkmark process, and ANTI-ROOTKIT DETECTION based on the best-in class
GMER technology.
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
(Choose Custom Installation and under Resident
Protection, uncheck: Internet Mail and Outlook/Exchange.)
or
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
http://free.grisoft.com/
(Choose custom install and untick the email scanner plugin.)
or
ESET NOD32 Antivirus - Not Free
http://www.eset.com/
or
Kaspersky® Anti-Virus 7.0 - Not Free
http://www.kaspersky.com/homeuser

and (optional but highly recommendable)

On-demand AV applications.
(add them to your arsenal and use them as a "second opinion" av scanner).
David H. Lipman's MULTI_AV Tool
http://www.pctipp.ch/ds/28400/28470/Multi_AV.exe
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp
English:
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/09/scan-your-computer-with-multiple-anti-virus-for-free/
Additional Instructions:
http://pcdid.com/Multi_AV.htm
and/or
BitDefender10 Free Edition (*NOT FOR VISTA*)
http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html
Kaspersky's AVPTool
http://downloads5.kaspersky-labs.com/devbuilds/AVPTool/
There's no updating involved since the scanning engine is updated
several times a day and you simply download the updated scanner whenever
you want to do a scan.

Dr.Web CureIt!® Utility - FREE
http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/

Malwarebytes© Corporation - Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam/program/mbam-setup.exe
Note: It is Free for private use. Just download (do NOT buy) and install.

A-S applications - for non-viral malware.
The effectiveness of an individual A-S scanners can be wide-ranging and
oftentimes a collection of scanners is best. There isn't one software that
cleans and immunizes you against everything. That's why you need multiple
products to do the job i.e. overlap their coverage - one may catch what
another may miss, (grab'em all).

SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
and
Ad-Aware 2007 - Free
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html
and
Spybot Search & Destroy - Free
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html
and
Windows Defender - Free (build-in in Vista)
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
WD monitors the start-registry and hooks registers/files to prevent spyware
and worms to install to the OS.
Interesting reading:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136195/article.html
"...Windows Defender did excel in behavior-based protection, which detects
changes to key areas of the system without having to know anything about
the actual threat."

A clarification on the terminology: the word "malware" is short for
"malicious software." Most Anti-Virus applications detect many types of
malware such as viruses, worms, trojans, etc.
What AV applications usually don't detect is "non-viral" malware, and the
term "non-viral malware" is normally used to refer to things like spyware
and adware.

Good luck :)

.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: Free Antivirus suggestions
    ... Real-time AV applications - for viral malware. ... Disable the e-mail scanning function during installation (Custom ... (add them to your arsenal and use them as a "second opinion" av scanner). ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: anti virus and vista premium
    ... Real-time AV applications - for viral malware. ... Disable the e-mail scanning function during installation (Custom ... Why You Don't Need Your Anti-Virus Program to Scan Your E-Mail ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.security)
  • Re: anti virus and vista premium
    ... Real-time AV applications - for viral malware. ... Disable the e-mail scanning function during installation (Custom ... Why You Don't Need Your Anti-Virus Program to Scan Your E-Mail ... (add them to your arsenal and use them as a "second opinion" av scanner). ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.security)
  • Re: Antivirus
    ... Real-time AV applications - for viral malware. ... Disable the e-mail scanning function during installation (Custom ... (add them to your arsenal and use them as a "second opinion" av scanner). ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Detection within Installation files
    ... >scanned by the "On Access" scanner as they are written to the hard disk and prior to being ... prior to going ahead with the installation. ... I have read that anti-virus software can interfere with the ... malware hasn't disabled his anti-virus software during ...
    (alt.comp.anti-virus)