What spyware do you use

zippypablo

I need to download some (free) spyware for my computer as my subscription has run out.

What would you recommend?
cheers

redddraggon

You really want some spyware?

NWLondoner

Simple's Buy an iMac. never need worry about viruses or spyware again

guinea

If the answer is 'use a mac' then you've missunderstood the question.

Adaware.

NWLondoner

Spybot is a good anti spyware program to use. AVG is also very good but now require a fee for the anti spyware. The anti virus is still free.


Never EVER use Norton. Fills your PC up with so much cr*p it becomes so slow and unstable afterwards.

bobpzero

is it non-pc to say anti virus internet security? well anyways i use kaspersky. tho the computer know everything guys say avg free. i hate brain fade.

CHRISNOIR

NWLondoner wrote:

Never EVER use Norton. Fills your PC up with so much cr*p it becomes so slow and unstable afterwards.

Thanks for this - my laptop has been apallingly slow recently and I got it off my sister who insisted on putting Norton on it. Ages ago I ran various virus checks through Norton and it never found anything! Adaware on the other hand is brilliant.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

My ratings in order are:-

SuperAntiSpyware
Malware Bytes <--- great for stubborn stuff like "vertumonde"
Spyware Blaster
Spybot Search & Destroy
Adaware Personal Anniversay Edition

barriecusvein

NWLondoner wrote:

Simple's Buy an iMac. never need worry about viruses or spyware again

Just because there isn't much out there now other than browser based attacks doesn't mean there won't be. As Apples market share increases so will the threat of viruses, and OSX has had nothing like the constant testing that windows is put through every day by people trying to put spyware on it. O and I think I'm right in saying that this year and last year safari on OSX fell first in pwn2own.

Aha, a link to back that up!

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2917

bompington

barriecusvein wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

Simple's Buy an iMac. never need worry about viruses or spyware again

Just because there isn't much out there now other than browser based attacks doesn't mean there won't be. As Apples market share increases so will the threat of viruses, and OSX has had nothing like the constant testing that windows is put through every day by people trying to put spyware on it. O and I think I'm right in saying that this year and last year safari on OSX fell first in pwn2own.

Aha, a link to back that up!

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2917

Note that it's "never worry about getting a virus" not "you'll never get a virus" - the important thing about being an Apple owner is not the actual quality of the product, it's how it makes you feel about yourself, it enables you to go round in a cosy cloud of superiority without the real world upsetting you at all.
In other words, the computing world's answer to Campagnolo.

balthazar

barriecusvein wrote:

Just because there isn't much out there now other than browser based attacks doesn't mean there won't be. As Apples market share increases so will the threat of viruses, and OSX has had nothing like the constant testing that windows is put through every day by people trying to put spyware on it. O and I think I'm right in saying that this year and last year safari on OSX fell first in pwn2own.

Aha, a link to back that up!

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2917

The Mac OS vulnerabilities you mention were well reported in the Mac press. All you say may well become true at some indeterminate future time; however, the current reality is that computing with Mac OS is an experience in which malware is not a practical concern at all. That is a significantly good thing.

barriecusvein

bompington wrote:

In other words, the computing world's answer to Campagnolo.

I'm so stealing that phrase...

bompington

balthazar wrote:

barriecusvein wrote:

Just because there isn't much out there now other than browser based attacks doesn't mean there won't be. As Apples market share increases so will the threat of viruses, and OSX has had nothing like the constant testing that windows is put through every day by people trying to put spyware on it. O and I think I'm right in saying that this year and last year safari on OSX fell first in pwn2own.

Aha, a link to back that up!

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2917

The Mac OS vulnerabilities you mention were well reported in the Mac press. All you say may well become true at some indeterminate future time; however, the current reality is that computing with Mac OS is an experience in which malware is not a practical concern at all. That is a significantly good thing.

True! But it's always fun to stir up the Apple fans, there's got to be some kind of Godwin's Law equivalent for what always happens if anyone dares to go online and hint that Macs are anything less than perfect...

NWLondoner

balthazar wrote:

barriecusvein wrote:

Just because there isn't much out there now other than browser based attacks doesn't mean there won't be. As Apples market share increases so will the threat of viruses, and OSX has had nothing like the constant testing that windows is put through every day by people trying to put spyware on it. O and I think I'm right in saying that this year and last year safari on OSX fell first in pwn2own.

Aha, a link to back that up!

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2917

The Mac OS vulnerabilities you mention were well reported in the Mac press. All you say may well become true at some indeterminate future time; however, the current reality is that computing with Mac OS is an experience in which malware is not a practical concern at all. That is a significantly good thing.

Plus installing and uninstalling software is a piece of p*ss compared to a PC, does it in seconds and no risk of corrupting the registry (touch wood). Just drag and drop 8)

bompington

Here follows an exhaustive list of all the reasons why Macs are superior to PCs.

PS I bet LA uses a PC but Eddy Merkxckx is a Mac man...

pedylan

guinea wrote:

If the answer is 'use a mac' then you've missunderstood the question.

Adaware.

If we can get them asking the wrong questions it doesn't matter what answers we give them.

However you're wrong about the Mac. The answer is always "use a mac". That way you can get on with the computer working for you instead of being a slave to it and its security and maintenance.

BTW, I have got one! And in 2 years I've never looked at malware, spyware, firewall or virus prevention.

barriecusvein

pedylan wrote:

guinea wrote:

If the answer is 'use a mac' then you've missunderstood the question.

Adaware.

If we can get them asking the wrong questions it doesn't matter what answers we give them.

However you're wrong about the Mac. The answer is always "use a mac". That way you can get on with the computer working for you instead of being a slave to it and its security and maintenance.

BTW, I have got one! And in 2 years I've never looked at malware, spyware, firewall or virus prevention.

Is spending 5 minutes downloading and installing a free anti virus making me a slave to my PCs security and maintenance? I did that over a year ago, haven't thought about a virus since.

mfin

If its worth anything, in my experience (having looked after countless computers over the years)... some people are prone to getting Viruses and Spyware because of what they look at and what they download. Others are not susceptable through this but through a plain old naiveity as to what some things are (ie. my father got a virus from opening an attachment from a friend, he assumed it was fine cos he knew them, but it was an executable virus that had was automatically being sent out from his friend's computer).

I would not get caught out this simply myself being so savvy but what I can say is I have seen 2 instances of Viruses getting through Avast free version on computers I look after and 3 with AVG.

When infected, the best success rate I have had is installing 30 days of ZoneLabs anti-c / int-sec which has worked a few wonders.

Then, when it comes to my choice for my own and others computers I use Kaspersky Internet Security (It also sorts spyware in repsonse to OP). You might wonder why I dont use ZoneLabs after mentioning above, answer is that I have had some 'clunky' experiences of it regarding licensing and updating, plus there's a lot of questions/confirmations all the time).

As for others - Norton and McAfee in particular slow machines down FAR TOO MUCH in my experience and hence are frustrating products, I expect solutions like this to be as unobtrusive and un-noticable as is realistically possible. Kaspersky has been the best of the bunch in my experience in this regard.

Id point people at sites such as http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Kaspersk ... EM-Edition where £13.21 + delivery can get hold of 3PC licences for 1 year.

This is OEM (not retail boxed) but you can buy it... also, this is the 2009 version BUT, go to Kaspersky website, download a 30 day trial of 2010 version and install... get the CD ordered... when you then get it type the license code on the CD/DVD into Kaspersky and you're away. (this is not a dodgy tip, 2009 license codes are fully valid for use with 2010).

Only my experience but I hope that helps some people, and okay, its not free but it is dead cheap and I have yet to see anything get through it myself.

cee

since installing vista almost 3 years ago.....with MOM and Windows Defender.....

I have not installed any other ad/spyware tools...and still not had a virus or any spyware....

Most of the 'spyware' that these tools find is simply mostly inoccuous cookies that only tell that site that you have been there before....simply disable cookies by default and only turn them on if a site requires it.

can't use a mac for anything useful in my line of work.

Stewie Griffin

pedylan wrote:

guinea wrote:

If the answer is 'use a mac' then you've missunderstood the question.

Adaware.

If we can get them asking the wrong questions it doesn't matter what answers we give them.

However you're wrong about the Mac. The answer is always "use a mac". That way you can get on with the computer working for you instead of being a slave to it and its security and maintenance.

BTW, I have got one! And in 2 years I've never looked at malware, spyware, firewall or virus prevention.

How can the answer to a question containing the word "free" be use a mac when that would cost a minimum of £750 :shock: ? I can 2 decent laptops for that :P . "A slave to its security and maintenance"? I installed eset http://www.eset.co.uk/ a few years ago after speaking to friends who work in IT who dont know each other and they both recommended it. Unobtrusive, never interrupts you and is not resource hungry at all. £39 for a year £58 for 2 years, not free but a darn site cheaper than an Apple Cack (see what I did there ). My Brother owns an Apple Slack (tee hee) its lovely too look at, cost him well over a grand and as he is a DJ/Producer he does have a need for it, or so he says. Although he will be watching Spurs on the net tomorrow with me on my PC hooked up to my TV as his mac doesnt appear to be able to show it

pedylan

Stewie Griffin wrote:

pedylan wrote:

guinea wrote:

If the answer is 'use a mac' then you've missunderstood the question.

Adaware.

If we can get them asking the wrong questions it doesn't matter what answers we give them.

However you're wrong about the Mac. The answer is always "use a mac". That way you can get on with the computer working for you instead of being a slave to it and its security and maintenance.

BTW, I have got one! And in 2 years I've never looked at malware, spyware, firewall or virus prevention.

How can the answer to a question containing the word "free" be use a mac when that would cost a minimum of £750 :shock: ? I can 2 decent laptops for that :P . "A slave to its security and maintenance"? I installed eset http://www.eset.co.uk/ a few years ago after speaking to friends who work in IT who dont know each other and they both recommended it. Unobtrusive, never interrupts you and is not resource hungry at all. £39 for a year £58 for 2 years, not free but a darn site cheaper than an Apple Cack (see what I did there ). My Brother owns an Apple Slack (tee hee) its lovely too look at, cost him well over a grand and as he is a DJ/Producer he does have a need for it, or so he says. Although he will be watching Spurs on the net tomorrow with me on my PC hooked up to my TV as his mac doesnt appear to be able to show it

You see, the advantages of having a Mac are simply endless - in built Spurs avoidance.

Wappygixer

The problem with macs is that its difficult to upgrade them and costly.
Software choice is limited as is games.
If it had to be a safe OS then it would be a form of Linux which Mac OS is taken from.
Linux is free to download legally, its in the licensing agreement.
Its probably hte most secure OS avaialable to the general public as the underlying source code is readily available for everyone to see and amend.
If you want to stick with windows then Avast is very good as is Kaspersky which has one of the highest detection rates of known and unknown virus code.
Spybot is an excellent spyware remover/preventer and I've seen it grow hugely over the past 6/7 years, Adaware is also pretty good.
A word of warning though, never have morethan one anti virus installed on your pc at the same time as they can conflict each other redering them useless.
Any software is only as good as its most recent update.

zippypablo

thanks to everyone for their help

I won't be buying a Mac though

sampras38

NitrousOxide wrote:

My ratings in order are:-

SuperAntiSpyware
Malware Bytes <--- great for stubborn stuff like "vertumonde"
Spyware Blaster
Spybot Search & Destroy
Adaware Personal Anniversay Edition

+1 for SuperAntiSpyware, plus I use Avast for anti-virus, and it's free. Used all sorts over the years.