Heartland

Should I have it?, is it worth it?...........what does it do, apparently I "need" it , do I?

yep, definitely

also get "spywareblaster" and "spybot search & destroy"

update them often and run their checks every couple of weeks...

removes tracking cookies, adware nasties, etc, and protects privacy

Yes.

In my opinion, it is the best spyware killer there is.

Not because it does so much, or it look so great or it is there 24/7 cloggin' up your system...ermm... I mean PROTECTING your system, but because it simply WORKS.

With this on your comp, all you need is a good virus scanner (AVG from Grisoft is good) and a nice PC cleaner (I use ToniArts EasyCleaner). And run these every 14 days, or after you did some extensive pr0n or w4r3Z lookups...

I also use HijackThis, but then you need to know what you are doing, or be prepared to put all your logs on a forum so the experts can help you out...

IZ.

Spybot S&D
http://www.spybot.info/

SpywareBlaster 3.5.1
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/downloads.html

Yup.

It scans your computer for spyware and adware, which causes popup adverts, lags your computer and reports certain things you do to the companies that spread it.

It's one of the best packages of free security.
Spybot Search & Destroy (spyware scanner)
Ad-Aware (spyware scanner)
AVG (anti-virus)
Zone Alarm (firewall)
Spyware Blaster (spyware prevention)

So everyone got there before me.

I'm not very fond of keeping thre or four different adware killers on my PC. And ZoneAlarm is a bugger, IMO.

Then again, I have a hardware firewall

IZ.

Izzy, putting a modem in the fireplace does NOT count as a "hardware firewall"

Dark wrote:Izzy, putting a modem in the fireplace does NOT count as a "hardware firewall"

James' little helper!

IZ.

Nor does baking mud bricks!

Seriously, you do need at least 2 of these programs, even if you do have a proper firewall. You don't have to leave them running all of the time, but the once every fortnight scan (I'd be even more cautious and say week if you're a regular surfer) is utterly essential.

Ad-Aware is good because it's free, it does exactly what it says on the tin, and it's specifically aimed at the non-techie home user. And even techies like me like it cos we prefer to just be able to get on with doing stuff, rather than having to wrestle with an un-cooperative and unfriendly program.

You need a second because no single solution is fool-proof. The second line of defense stands a good chance of picking up anything that may have gotten by the first.

Using a proper browser, like Firefox, also helps a lot. Of course, you could just use Linux, but see my point above. (Hal will definitely disagree here. )

SpyBlaster you say? I want a royalty!

James Blast wrote:SpyBlaster you say? I want a royalty!

Not until you tell us what you've done with the plans!

"The snow will be deep on the banks of the Volga tonight".

Thank you, you really are a jolly nice bunch aren't you , I..........yes I, downloaded AD-AWARE ........then got a row from Mags for "doing things on the 'puttor that really should be left to the grown ups" , the "IT" department will do another one tomorrow

Thanks
Keith

Deid!

Instead of ad-aware, why not use Hitman Pro? Free, and combines them all in one, my tip of the day for sure

ZoneAlarm is not all too good indeed, but I fear it's the best you get for free as a firewall, nowadays And AVG is tops

Obviousman wrote:Instead of ad-aware, why not use Hitman Pro? Free, and combines them all in one, my tip of the day for sure

ZoneAlarm is not all too good indeed, but I fear it's the best you get for free as a firewall, nowadays And AVG is tops

Does Zonealarm slow the system startup process right down too?
Mrs. C is having right trouble with her PC - it's really slow. and she has the full ZoneAlarm suite.

I downloaded that EasyCleaner thing last night and ran that which 'slightly' speeded it up but it's still like watching paint dry.

Dark wrote:Yup.

It scans your computer for spyware and adware, which causes popup adverts, lags your computer and reports certain things you do to the companies that spread it.

It's one of the best packages of free security.
Spybot Search & Destroy (spyware scanner)
Ad-Aware (spyware scanner)
AVG (anti-virus)
Zone Alarm (firewall)
Spyware Blaster (spyware prevention)

like young Dark says...
we run AVG, spysweeper & adaware on all our pc's...does the biz!

Hom_Corleone wrote:

Obviousman wrote:Instead of ad-aware, why not use Hitman Pro? Free, and combines them all in one, my tip of the day for sure

ZoneAlarm is not all too good indeed, but I fear it's the best you get for free as a firewall, nowadays And AVG is tops

Does Zonealarm slow the system startup process right down too?
Mrs. C is having right trouble with her PC - it's really slow. and she has the full ZoneAlarm suite.

I downloaded that EasyCleaner thing last night and ran that which 'slightly' speeded it up but it's still like watching paint dry.

Presume it does, my computer is about as slow as it can get That's the main problem with ZoneAlarm IMO, they've always put too much effort in looking good and thus slowing you down. Used to run Sygate Personal Firewall, which was better but no longer supported as there was a take-over by Norton IIRC

Thanks Zeno

My point exactly.

I have a US Robotics Firewall and router, I run FireFox and ThunderBird for resp. surfing and email.

I use WinXP. Linux is all nice and well, but it sucks donkeyballs for pro audio. Oh, sorry, I mean using Linux for pro audio does not work at all.

I use ad-aware once every two weeks. I use EasyCleaner every two weeks, or more when I did some serious backing up from the Big Mariah to my Laptop and vice versa. I use AVG anti-virus permanently for email scans, and once every month for a big scan. Occasionally I use HiJackThis when I feel something's amiss. Maybe once or twice a year.

And now the good deal:

The last five years, I never had my PC fecked up by any virus at all, I never saw an unwanted Search Bar in my browser, I never saw XXX-related buttons or icons on my desktop (at least not UNWANTED ) and even without popup-blockers installed I rarely see a window opening up I do not want to open up.

I STILL have time to use my PC for what it serves me, eg surf the net in search of interesting forums and music-related articles.

My pc runs fast and furious and I DL with an average of 500-700k/sec, on a normal Belgian Telenet Home account.

All this tidbits are nice and fluffy, but when I use someone else's PC containing 5 popup-blockers, 5 spysweep thingies, ZoneAlarm, Norton AntiVirus and whatnot, AND I get buggered every ten seconds with nag screens telling me this or that action is not wise to do when I'm conscious of the PC's security, I turn the damn thing off and go home.

Maybe the best way to protect yourself against every form of attack is to build a bunker around you some three feet thick. But you can't walk around with your bunker around you.

IZ.

... or just get a Mac

Yeah a Mac kind of simplifies things somewhat.
If you use Blueyonder as your ISP they provide an app called PC Guard which is free

Ad-Aware & Spybot S&D are both ok for picking up some of the more common spyware that floats around and Spybot's got a few more features such as highlighting recent changes to your system startup (saving you the task of trawling through the msconfig to spot them). A few months ago I put Webroot's Spy Sweeper on and was astounded by how much stuff it picked up that Ad-Aware and Spybot missed.

A combination of 1 or 2 Anti-Spyware progs, good AV and Firewall should keep things relatively trouble free, just try a few different one's and see which you prefer. BTW I wouldn't recommend the Micro$oft one, the first version they brought out (Beta 1) wasn't too bad but the newer version Beta 2 (Aka Windows Defender ) just tries to takeover your computer

Obviousman wrote:

Hom_Corleone wrote:

Obviousman wrote:Instead of ad-aware, why not use Hitman Pro? Free, and combines them all in one, my tip of the day for sure

ZoneAlarm is not all too good indeed, but I fear it's the best you get for free as a firewall, nowadays And AVG is tops

Does Zonealarm slow the system startup process right down too?
Mrs. C is having right trouble with her PC - it's really slow. and she has the full ZoneAlarm suite.

I downloaded that EasyCleaner thing last night and ran that which 'slightly' speeded it up but it's still like watching paint dry.

Presume it does, my computer is about as slow as it can get That's the main problem with ZoneAlarm IMO, they've always put too much effort in looking good and thus slowing you down. Used to run Sygate Personal Firewall, which was better but no longer supported as there was a take-over by Norton IIRC

I use Kerio free firewall which is much more user friendly than Zone Alarm and Sygate. Another one to look out for is Outpost Personal Firewall.