CobraA1 Member Posts: 926 From: MN Registered: 02-19-2001 |
OK, I've played around some with Mcrosoft's spyware scanner, and I have to say I'm pretty dissapointed. First off, it gave 3 false positives. Two were lirbaries for NSIS, and were detected as unknown spyware. The third was VNC's uninstall program, detected as the NS keylogger. There were no real positives, but I sorta expected that, as I regularly clean my computer with Spybot and Adaware and I practice safe computing. Neither Sbybot nor Adaware detected any of the three as spyware. There was a fourth item found, VNC - which I'm sure can be used maliciously, but in this case, it's there because I put it there - so I can access my desktop from my laptop. As if that weren't enough, the spyware scanner is intrusive - it'll demand my attention when I'm, say, playing a game. I'd prefer it do its stuff in the background. One last thing: The SpyNet idea. It's horrible. Let's be honest: How many users know the difference between a file that's really spyware, and a false positive? Very few, I imagine. More than likely, they'll trust the program's judgement and mark even legit programs as spyware. Now, if it were a network of security professionals, I'd trust the results. But regular users? No, and the number of false positives shows it doesn't work. So - it was worth a try, but in the end, IMHO Microsoft's spyware scanner is junk. Edit: Fix spelling . . . ------------------ Switch Mayhem now available! Get it here [This message has been edited by CobraA1 (edited April 24, 2005).] |
Rhyolite Member Posts: 86 From: UK Registered: 08-04-2004 |
I am currently using McAfee Security Suite (6.0 I think). It does virus and spyware detection plus firewall, anti-spam mail etc. I have been impressed with the virus and spyware detection, no false detections and has detected a number of viruses and spyware. Of course, I can not be sure if its missed anything - but I have experienced nothing to suggest it has. Only down sides to McAfee - you have to pay and you need to update the virus/spyware/spam files a couple of times a week to stay uptodate. Other than that, its easy to use and fairly unintrusive (as long as you download updates manualy). I have heard some people complain its 'bloatware' and have compatibility problems, but it seems better than some others I tried in the past. I would appreciate any ideas on better/cheaper solutions? Rhy |
CobraA1 Member Posts: 926 From: MN Registered: 02-19-2001 |
I've been using a combination of AVG, Kerio Personal Firewall, Spybot S&D, and Adaware. Seems like a combination that works well. ------------------ Switch Mayhem now available! Get it here |
ArchAngel Member Posts: 3450 From: SV, CA, USA Registered: 01-29-2002 |
my anti-spyware arsenal: Mozilla Firefox Lavasoft's AdAware Spybot: Search and Destroy ------------------ |
fingolfin Member Posts: 197 From: IL Registered: 03-19-2005 |
is adaware free? ------------------ |