Looking for recomendations for a free spyware program.

[hyperasus]

For the past few years I have been using Lavasoft Ad-Aware. Can anyone recommend anything better?

[gomerpile]

For the past few years I have been using Lavasoft Ad-Aware. Can anyone recommend anything better?
Host file with common sense. Seriously. Downloader if your that kind of guy mafee online scanner before you open it. This is all you'll ever need

[I.M.O.G.]

I pretty much exclusively use hijackthis. It can prevent pretty much everything from running at startup, which stops most all the really nasty stuff. Downside is it takes a lot of knowing what your looking for, or searching on entries to find out if they are ok or need to be fixed.

You should look at this tho for a more complete answer:
http://www.ocforums.com/showpost.php?p=3606363&postcount=1

EDIT: Thread moved to INS forum, which is more appropriate for spyware stuff.

[gomerpile]

I pretty much exclusively use hijackthis. It can prevent pretty much everything from running at startup, which stops most all the really nasty stuff. Downside is it takes a lot of knowing what your looking for, or searching on entries to find out if they are ok or need to be fixed.

You should look at this tho for a more complete answer:
http://www.ocforums.com/showpost.php?p=3606363&postcount=1

EDIT: Thread moved to INS forum, which is more appropriate for spyware stuff.Second that I resort to that sometimes too only for viewing codes

[~(o)-(0)~]

I use either the latest spybot, or lavasoft, along with malwarebytes, they seem to work just fine.

Nick

[aja]

I use only Malwarebytes :D give it a try

[medo145]

+1 Malwarebytes

[hyperasus]

Thanks guys. It looks like spybot and malwarebytes are the best ones out right now. I think I will use both for awhile and see which one works the best. As of right now I like the simple layout of Malwarebytes.

[thegreek]

Malwarebytes, SuperAntiSpyware, Spybot, Spyware Terminator (with ClamAV antivirus), HijackThis and finish with CCleaner

[ppe1700]

Malwarebytes, SuperAntiSpyware, Spybot, Spyware Terminator (with ClamAV antivirus), HijackThis and finish with CCleaner

all on a pc that is very old / SLOW as fk :D



seriously though, in my experience, any one of those will be good enough.
i think it will only harm the perfomance and maintenance if you have more than one.. all in all you could call it a pain in the bum.

basically, you should only really have a firewall turned on, and an antivirus and if you really need it, then an antispyware as well. most antivirus software comes with antispyware.

i do not see the need for multiple antispyware programs etc on the one machine. they all use some overhead.

if your machine is that bad that you are not finding any benefit with one antispyware program, i suggest that a wipe and re-install would be the best option. it isnt to involved any more to image a disk. if you have a backup usb storage you could keep a prestine image of your pc.

the hardest part is finding somewhere for all your data / music / films while you image. dvd-rw just arnt big enough.
for this reason, i suggest a seperate disk for stuff you dont want to lose. this could be those ever decreasing price of a usb 2 hard disk, or even an internal sata drive. from a usual pc retailer like ebuyer you can buy a cheapo sata drive for £20 - £30.

alternatively, make everything you own available in torrents, and let the rest of the world back it up for you :D

[ps2cho]

All I use is AVG, Spybot and CCleaner. It catches everything and keeps the computer fast forever.

[I.M.O.G.]

i do not see the need for multiple antispyware programs etc on the one machine. they all use some overhead.

They do not use overhead if they are not resident in the tray, except for a few MBs of disk which is nothing. IMO, you should only be runnig scans with your antispyware - not letting it be resident and constantly wasting resources (thats worse than the spyware it removes). Different Antispyware has different detections tho, so it definitely doesn't hurt to run scans with more than one every so often.