I notice that a lot of people use free programs. I wonder how effective they are? I'd rather pay up front for a program that blocks this stuff live rather than trying to delete it after it has already infected my computer.

I use Webroot Spy Sweeper on most of my systems and the free Microsoft one on one system. So far I seem to be doing fine, not seeing pop-ups or unwanted sites. It's been a while since I last used those other free ones, so maybe they've improved in the meantime. I just recall that at the time they weren't blocking the stuff before it got in and so I chose to pay for a full version which received regular updates, both for definitin files and program upgrades.

And now you know how these companies make a buck. :yep:


I am an old "Norton" & "McAffe" user and had some severe problems with both of them and they were paid programs at that.

Now I run "AVG free", "SpywareBlaster","Ad-Aware", " Registery Mechanic" ( last one is a paid program ) and I don't believe since I started really useing a computer ( Win-95 ) has it ever been so clean and free from these Jerks who gum up the internet with Spyware.

Our internet laws really need to be changed and I'm for hitting them below the belt and hit em' again when their down :dead: ( spyware producers ). :hulk:

Oh well thats another story. :-?

Anyway I find a lot of the free stuff works just fine. :up:

As things now stand, the freeware anti-malware programs beat the payware ones, for the most part, in my estimation.

As for getting rid of CoolWebSearch, that is one very hard to eradicate, but not impossible. As well, I have found that SpyBot's TeaTimer will at least block a downloaded CoolWebSearch from functioning, provided that you had TeaTimer going on a system that wasn't infected with it in the first place.

In case you guys want to hear about what happened to my computer...

It runs smoother than ever! No pop ups, no nothing, and so far I've only tried spybot. A bunch of malwares got killed by it. Good tips from everyone, thanks a bunch! :up:


I think I can reinstall SH3 now... and return to the magical land of modders-ville.

:up:

You should also use Adaware, it sometimes finds Spyware that Spybot doesn´t (and vice versa).

Trust me, freeware programs are better than any pay program just because they work just as well if not better and cost nothing. I use AVG free edition for my anti-virus duties and it never misses a virus and always eliminates it. Also it has a built in updater which tells you when you're out of date and this thing updates like a Linux prog; that is to say weekly.

I'm kind of surprised that no one here has said they use Zone Alarm Firewall. It's also free, very effective, allows you to choose which programs you wish to allow internet access and server priviledges and it also informs you when someone tries to access your computer from outside (I was spooked how often this happened when I first installed this puppy). And for that guy who said he has never used anything but the windows native firewall: ARE YOU CRAZY! Its no better than IE. Turn it off and get a real firewall (like Zone Alarm).

I also agree with the assertion that you should double up on your anti-spyware progs. BUt in my experience having a solid firewall and anti-virus prog in conjunction with Firefox will lead to almost neverhaving to need an anti-spyware prog.

So to condense the suggestions and establish priority:

Download and install AVG antivirus. Update it and then allow it to do a full system scan. http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Vir...ml?tag=lst-0-2

Download and install ZoneAlarm. http://www.download.com/ZoneAlarm/30...ml?tag=lst-0-2

Download and install Spybot. Run it. http://www.download.com/Spybot-Searc...ml?tag=lst-0-1

Download and install CCleaner. Run it and clean out all the crap. Also check for issues (a selection). http://www.download.com/CCleaner/300...ml?tag=lst-0-1

Download and install SpywareBlaster. Enable all protection. http://www.download.com/SpywareBlast...ml?tag=lst-0-1

This is all freeware. SpywareBlaster will make sure no spyware gets on puter so you don't have to run Spybot again. But you need to make sure you've got a clean system to protect, hence the order above.

Hi All,
Let me throw in a real horror-story here: A friend of mine mentioned that her computer had started to display all kinds of annoying pop-ups, and I promised to try to help her out. 'Try' proved to be the right word.. I'm not exactly a computer novice (25+ years in the business), so I figured that the combination of AdAware, Spybot, MS-Antispy and one more + 2 kinds of anti-virus (AVG was one) would do the trick - WRONG!
What I found was 500+ spyware components + 33 different viruses. But that was not the worst thing: When I had managed to clean out the viruses, within 2 minutes a new one appeared and got caught by AVG. Examining the network connections thru a Command Prompt, I found 2 strange VPN adapters with some very strange IP adresses - they looked more like IPX node adresses. These were direct connections to some virus distribution points; directly thru the firewall and any scanner my friends ISP might have set up!
At that point I gave up, and told her to kiss her hard disk goodbye... Format, re-install...AND introduce non-administrator accounts for her and her 2 teenage kids, who probably was (unwittingly!!) responsible for the mess! Still, I think it's probably only a matter of time before she gets hit again - How can you *REALLY* explain this rule to ordinary people:
Don't walk down the dark alleys on the Internet - when most of them are brightly lit!
BRGDS
Sven

On the topic of firewalls, I use the incredibly powerful Alpha Shield. It's a hardware firewall, so it cost $100 -- definitely not freeware. But it's super-easy to use and configure, it protects networks, and it's portable. That and you can easily monitor your Net connections and shut things down in an instant if you feel vulnerable.

Well I can't argue with happy users, but I just can't help but be somewhat sceptical. I wonder how the companies that give us these free programs can afford to do so. I'm getting near the end of my year's subscription to my current paid antispyware program. I'd rather not buy again if the free ones are good enough.

In addition to running my protective programs I also forbid my kids from going on sites that offer "free" music and games. My brother's kids go on all of those sites and every time I go over for a visit I have to help them get rid of viruses and spyware. All I can do is give them a warning, but like you say, if they choose to walk down those dark alleys...

The free ones are not just "good enough", they are excellent! :) Spybot is donation-ware and free for private and commercial use, Ad-Aware is free for personal use only. I also use a free firewall (Kerio) and free antivirus (Avast).

Sad to say, it is getting to the point where the big companies are driving away paying customers into the arms of the freeware publishers. I am a typical home user, who over the years has added computers one at a time to a home network. It has gotten to the point now with the bigger software companies like Symantec that I can no longer afford to be a customer. If I want Norton Utilities on five machines, I have to buy five copies at about $100 Canadian apiece. Then I have to buy five copies of their Firewall. It is now at the point where I have to spend almost $1,000 a year to protect my computers if I buy full suites of their software. Clearly this is no longer viable for me.

If some benevolent company like AVG is willing to give me a free program that is also as effective as a full pay program, then I am not going to fork out hundreds of dollars. I wouldn't mind paying if they would grant me a multiuse license for a reduced price for a home user, but now they have priced themselves out of my reach.

Well I just installed all the stuff recommended so I'm hoping I'm protected.
One thing though, that Zone Alarm keeps popping up with messages telling me I'm being attacked and some program or file is trying to access explorer, I wasn't connected to the Net at the time so what's that all about?

Yeah, well that's what everyone thought about rubbers. :doh:

I orginally posted this for my gaming clan but it might help out.

Most people know what Anti-Virus software is, but alot don't know what a firewall is or does and what spyware is. This is a informational post so if you know about all this, don't worry about reading it.

First of all a firewall. When you're connected to the internet, especially broadband, your computer is connecting through several ports or "roads" that are open and vulnurable to attack. Just surfing the internet you might have 8 or more ports open. A hacker can then gain access to your computer and plany a virus, a keystroke logger or possible use your computer to search for other computers to hack into. In short, they can do anything they want. A firewall not only stops hackers from coming in, it makes your computer invisible. There are two types of firewalls, hardware and software. A hardware firewall is typically in a router. So if you have a home network, you probably have a good firewall. The second type of Firewall is a software firewall. Several different software firewalls are out there, I prefer ZoneAlarm which is free. The nice thing about having a software firewall is that it not only stops traffic from coming IN you don't want, it things from going OUT unless you want them too. Wondering how secure you are? Go to

http://www.grc.com

Click on ShieldsUp. Scroll down and find "ShieldsUp" again click then click "proceed". You might get a windows security prompt just click yes, if not move to next step. There is a grey bar the says probe my ports. Click on that and see what happens. You should be running in stealth on most ports and maybe have one or two closed IF you're running a firewall. If you don't have a firewall you will have open ports. So if you need a firewall go to

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...=dbtopnav_zass

Download ZoneAlarm for free. Install it and you can take the built in tutorial if you'd like. Bottom line you MUST have some sort of firewall running, or risk being hacked.

On Spyware. Spyware gets on to your system by you surfing the internet and installing various software. Kazaa, Bonzai Buddy, weatherbug are all examples of Spyware. From Techtarget.com:

"In general, spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge. On the Internet, spyware is programming that is put in someone's computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties. Spyware can get in a computer as a software virus or as the result of installing a new program. Data collecting programs that are installed with the user's knowledge are not, properly speaking, spyware, if the user fully understands what data is being collected and with whom it is being shared."

In a word, spyware is bad for privacy and will actually slow down your machine and internet connection. A great free program called Ad-Aware can be obtained from:

http://www.lavasoft.de/

Run this once or twice a week. You'll be suprised the first time you run it. **Warning if you do Peer to Peer (p2p) files sharing like Kazaa or Morpheous, Ad-Aware will get rid of it. Just re-install afterwards. If you insist onusing Kazaa, use KazaaLite.

Lastly is Anti-Virus software. You have to keep you virus defintions up to date. I personally use a free program called AVG which can be downloaded at:

http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php

I like AVG because it's not as much as a memory hog as Norton or McAfee. Make sure that whatever virus software you choose, you schedule a scan every day and keep the virus definitions up to date. I also hit a couple of other sites a few times a week before I go to bed. These are free on-line Virus scanning.

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

http://www.pandasoftware.com

For the above, click on ActiveScan on the bottom left

One more tip, defrag your hard drive at least once a month. In Windows XP got to Start-->All Programs-->Accesories-->System Tools--> Disk defragmenter.

So in short you can stay secure on the internet for free. Always realize no machine is completely un-hackable. If someone REALLY want to hack into your system it can be done. The whole idea though is, hackers will move past your machine and on the machines without security.

Hope it helps post if you have any questions. This has been a public service announcement from:

Rabyn

Excellent advice. I ran the security tests and scored a very high score, almost perfect. My systems run behind a router and also use Norton Internet Security. That will change once the current subscriptions run out, as I don't think I will be buying five copies of that program.

What´s the exact message?

Question is were you really unhooked? Maybe it was an internal program trying to access information so it can gather it and restransmit it to the proprieter.

Any PC that was under my control hasn't seen a virus since about 1993.

Spend the money for good AV software and a hardware or software firewall and run a quality spyware cleaner once a week and you should be OK, on condition that you don't open suspicious emails or visit shady sites.

Works for me! :yep:

Wow, that's wealth of info in this thread.

Let me add one more very nice peice of software to the list and that is Kerio's firewall. This thing is great.

http://www.kerio.com/kerio.html
________
Shery