Re: Viruses, spyware etc

From: Shenan Stanley (news_helper_at_hushmail.com)
Date: 12/06/04 

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2004 16:36:36 -0600

Bill Ridgeway wrote:
> Over this weekend I have been trying to eliminate spyware / rogue
> dialler which despite the efforts of Norton Internet Security and
> various spyware software will not go away. All the software I have
> tried have detected a threat(s) only some of which are dealt with
> only to change and reappear maybe two re-boots later. I'm convinced
> it is morphing or hiding somehow.
> This raises the question is there any independent research showing the
> strengths and weaknesses of the various anti-virus software in
> detecting and eliminating virus, spyware etc threats. I am
> particularly interested in protection for stand-alone computers not
> large systems. Googling for this information is unreliable as the
> software producers seem to be also good at producing convincing
> reports in their favour.

I know of no definitive studies - just experience from dozens of frequent
responders here and elsewhere pointing to some of the best software for such
things. My list for AntiVirus and AntiSpyware follows:

AntiVirus:
 Symantec (Norton) AntiVirus (~$11 and up)
 http://www.symantec.com/nav/nav_9xnt/

 Kaspersky Anti-Virus (~$49.95 and up)
 http://www.kaspersky.com/products.html

 Panda Antivirus Titanium (~$39.95 and up)
 http://www.pandasoftware.com/
 (Free Online Scanner: http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/)

 AVG Anti-Virus System (Free and up)
 http://www.grisoft.com/

 McAfee VirusScan (~$11 and up)
 http://www.mcafee.com/

 AntiVir (Free and up)
 http://www.free-av.com/

 avast! (Free and up)
 http://www.avast.com/

 Trend Micro (~$49.95 and up)
 http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/us/personal.htm
 (Free Online Scanner:
  http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp)

 RAV AntiVirus Online Virus Scan (Free!)
 http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/

AntiSpyware:
 Lavasoft AdAware (Free and up)
 http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/
 (How-to: http://snipurl.com/atdn )

 Spybot Search and Destroy (Free!)
 http://www.safer-networking.net/en/download/index.html
 (How-to: http://snipurl.com/atdk )

 Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner (Free!)
 http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/
 (How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate3 )

 SpywareBlaster (Free!)
 http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload.html
 (How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate6 )

 IE-SPYAD (Free!)
 https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm
 (How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate7 )

 CWShredder (Free!)
 http://www.softbasket.com/download/s_8114.shtml

 Hijack This! (Free)
 http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/
 ( Tutorial: http://hjt.wizardsofwebsites.com/ )

 ToolbarCop (Free!)
 http://windowsxp.mvps.org/toolbarcop.htm

 Browser Security Tests
 http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/

 Popup Tester
 http://www.popuptest.com/

 The Cleaner (49.95 and up)
 http://www.moosoft.com/

Avoid AntiSpyware Applications on this list:
Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites
 http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm 

-- 
<- Shenan ->
-- 
The information is provided "as is", it is suggested you research for
yourself before you take any advice - you are the one ultimately
responsible for your actions/problems/solutions.   Know what you are
getting into before you jump in with both feet.

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