spyware/adware

hi, im wondering whats the best spyware/adware remover out there
free or charged it doesnt matter a whole lot, but i need the best or close to it
thanks, id also like something that can guard against incoming stuff...norton corporate edition 10 (my current antivirus) says its got built in ad/spyware blocking...hasnt done a great job though

thanks in advance...

 

free:

ad-aware
spybot
spywareblaster (this one blocks incoming spyware)

you need to run multiple apps, no 1 app is the best

there are others

 

Best way to keep away from spyware is to use a browser that is not Internet Explorer. I personally use FireFox, but there are others like Opera and Netscape. I've heard good things about Microsoft's spyware beta. I'd also recommend getting your mail on Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. If you get a virus it is on their computers not yours. Plus they have people whos job is to look for this stuff. The other benefit is if you change ISPs your email won't change. Good Luck.

 

i've got spybot & spysweeper, but i'm always using FF...I've found 2 cookies that had spyware in them during the last week which is pretty good.

 

yes, i use FF exclusively (none of the sites i visit regularly require IE) and i do spyware scans about every 3 or 4 days... i only ever get 1 or 2 hits at the most and that's only every few scans. the number was much higher and more frequent when using IE.

 

i use FireFox as well ..it rocks!!!!!! ...and i use:
SpyBot-Search and Destroy
Ad-Aware
Microsoft Anti-Spyware
CC Cleaner

 

FF with M$'s AntiSpyware is enough ... every few weeks I run Adaware just to be sure, but there is never anything for it to catch.

Back in the days when I used to use IE ... let's not even go there

 

i use ff, but i got a few infections from an adobe photoshop crack ... so i had to fix that
worth it if you ask me
all is well that ends well

 

Maximum PC, PC Magazine, PC World, each tested a bunch of different spyware removing programs. SpySweeper and Spyware Doctor universally got the highest ratings. Last month SpySweeper was the best, this month it's Spyware Doctor - only because there was one threat both detected but only Spyware Doctor was able to remove. They both offer active protection, which aids in preventing spyware from ever installing on your system in the first place. To me this is a huge advantage over SpyBot Search & Destroy and the other free utilies.

I personally think having three or four spyware utilities is overkill. I rather use the best product with active protection along side a reliable free tool like Spybot. In my main rig, spybot is used as an independant verifier not as the primary remover. Another reason why I think having multiple programs is overkill is the fact that each program has it's own level of false positives. Unless you know your software (and if you do, spyware probably isn't an major issue to begin with) using to many programs will just lead to confusion.

And in my experiance, most people only run all those free utilites after they think their infected (usually when they notice a ton of ads and system instability). It becomes to much of a hassle to run three or four scans one after another every friday night. So even though you have more programs, it doesn't mean your more proteced.

 

actually...i run mine once or twice a week...not based on checking to see if i am infected or not tho ...and i would rather run more programs 1 right after the other on 1-2 nights per week than having to use only 1 program and knowing that there would be a chance of not scanning a file or removing it at all

 

And your obviously more protected then most users I assume. That's pretty good if your willing to do that extra work. You probably know every program installed on your system, right? And if your like me, you can up bring up the task manager and you'd notice anything thats not supposed to be there. People like us are far less likely to get spyware to begin with. I'm sure you probably scan through the EULA agreement before installing a questionable program or screensaver. You probably only download from trusted sources like Download.com and make sure to read reviews and the user comments.

See we're protected long before the spyware ever gets on our system. We employ preventive measures which are much more effective then relying on 5 or even 20 programs. And I bet you know which programs of yours are more accurate, and after you run the first two you probably already know nothing else will be found and on that very rare occasion when something is found it's usually very benign - like a referral cookie or alexia shortcut link.

I'm not even going to debate the fact that your methods work, because they do. I just think there unneeded, your a smart person and you already know whats on your system and you take the time to research what your putting into your system. That alone cuts 90-95% of the threats.

 

Webroot SpySweeper is definitely th best one, unfortunately it costed a little but it's definitely the best one out there IMHO.

 

I use spyspweeper as well, would definitely be my recommendation, good all around program and I haven't found the need to run anything other program along with it. Although I haven't tested this recently, I did come to find out that an earlier version of spysweeper would not run properly on an xp system with a limited account. Whether this has been fixed in later updates I do not know.

 

all's well until Adobe goes out of business because people aren't paying for their software as they should.

Pirated software is the same as stealing, I don't think that's something one should be proud of.

 

For light photo editing, The Gimp works very well and is free.

 

I'm not exatly pro-pirating software, but if someone is using Adobe just to play around with, it seems ludicrous to have to buy the whole program... Of course, they probably offer a trial.

Anyway, back to topic. Ignoring the built in spyware protection that a carful surfer has, it is definitely true that no one Anti-Spyware can catch everything. I use Microsoft Anti-Spyware and that works pretty well, plus it runs an automatic scan every night. The other one I like to run occasionally is Spybod - S&D. Usually nothing gets found with either scan.

About Spybody S&D not being preventative. If it's not, then what does the "Immunize" function do?

 

i don't really read through the EULA document before installing anything..lol..and i don't download from trusted sources...just as long as i get the file that i am looking for...lol...and you're right about that task manager part...i know what programs shouldn't be there...thanks for the compliment ..lol...i wouldn't use more than the programs that i use...cuz spybot finds stuff that the other 2 can't find...like all the time..and gets rid of them...ad-aware finds stuff that microsoft anti-spyware can't find...and i use CC cleaner to get rid of excess junk that was left over after my other programs got rid of all the stuff...i helped fix my friend's computer yestrday when i went to his house...and with using CC Cleaner at the end...it got rid of 1.19 GB of stuff that wasn't needed in his computer ..and it fixed 312 registry issues...if you're not gonna use the anti-spyware programs that i listed...then i highly suggest using CC Cleaner...try it out..and u will see what i am talking about