Spyware Warrior

ddpatel90

Im about to buy a dimension 9100 from dell. What are some of the first antispyware programs I should consider downloading. And what about firewalls. I know firefox is better than IE, but what other things can I do to make my PC last longer and remain free of spyware.

Mrkvonic · Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:00 pm Post subject:

Hi,
Since you're starting anew, perhaps this might interest you:

http://spywarewarrior.com/viewtopic.php?t=15281

Mrk

Moore · Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2005 11:16 am Post subject:

I run Processguard and System Safety Monitor to prevent anything from getting installed to begin with. There are free versions of both programs.. Other good applications are Winpatrol , Spyware Blaster and IESpyads..
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewtopic.php?t=2961

A good hosts file will also help to prevent all the known threats.
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewtopic.php?t=3089

If you are interested in a free firewall , there are a few good ones to try , depending on your experience.. If you are new to firewalls , it's probably best to start off with something like Zonealarm , or Kerio .. http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewtopic.php?t=14155

If you want something a bit more advanced then have a look for Outpost or Sygate firewalls..
_________________
| Blockpost | Blocklist Pro Internet Security | BLM | Hosts |

vikorr · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 12:20 am Post subject:

Mrkvonic's article is really quite good.

Personally, I have only done a few things :

1. Hardened IE's settings (+also, MVPS Hosts, IE-Spyad, Spywareblaster)
2. Use a hardware firewall (software firewall is fine though)

And I'm currently only using a few security apps :

3. ShadowUser
4. Online Armor
5. AntiMalware
6. NOD32

I'm actually only trialling NOD32 and AntiMalware. I'm thinking of keeping AntiMalware and not bothering with a realtime AV (just use the occasional on demand one, which are free on the net)...and that's not as silly as it sounds, especially with this particular setup Smile

Still, software like ShadowUser isn't for everyone, though it is the one security product I wouldn't be without while I'm doing anything on the internet (there are other similar products, DeepFreeze being the most prominent of them).

In the end though, the cost of all those software together is fairly expensive, and there are ways to make your computer quite safe using free software...I just prefer to use as few programs as possible.

drUnK DRivEr(jk) · Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:06 pm Post subject:

Here's the step-by-step instructions in my book
1.go to www.download.com
2.download Spybot Search and Destroy
3.download Sygate/ZoneAlarm/Mcafee firewall
4.download Avast! Home edition
5.Download Avast! Virus Cleaner tool

Twin

Hi,

My advice to anyone setting up for the big bad internet world is the following, it works wonders for me....

Get Firefox http://www.mozilla.com/, in case you don't know, it's an alternative browser, not only is it millions of miles better than IE, in functionality (lodsa extensions to add on) and looks (when using your own theme, hundreds to choose from) and my fav is Fasterfox (Add an extension to make your browser Super Quick - http://fasterfox.mozdev.org/, it is in my opinion miles safer too. There are two extensions that especially make this very safe

1) Adblock http://adblock.mozdev.org/
Coupled with an Updater this keeps a whitelist of all the known adservers on the net, so when you visit webpages, all that crappy advertising on the pages is totally gone, it's brilliant, don't confuse with a pop up blocker, it's much much more, you can now surf for life, without seeing advertising thrust in your face. I've always hated the fact that we pay for the PC, the connection to the net and yet we have to see advertising all the time too, no more!!!!

2) NoScript http://noscript.net/
A couple of months ago I was surfing and got a virus alert, a website attempted to install a virus through Javascript which by default Javascript runs on any website we visit. I then found out in Firefox forums that it is actually pretty risky letting every and any website run Java, by dowloading extension NoScript, a little icon sits at the bottom of the browser and as I visit websites it (by default) prevents Java, then I just add all my trusted sites as I go along, I just click on the icon, allow Java and it adds this to my list and from then on it's allowed for that website. It's very interesting too, you'll notice rarely it's never just the website you visit that wants to run Java, gives you a good idea why Java (allowed by all) can be risky... Easy to use tool and in my opinion a huge security improvement

Other extensions for security on offer is an extension, that when you hover over a submit button, it lets you know where your text form is being sent, just in case there's some dodgy destinations for your personal info, very clever, very simple, but who else does it???

In addition to Firefox that has maked surfing the web clean, simple and very advanced, I've installed AdAware for spotting those crafty add programs (That by the way never finds a thing anymore, when I used to use IE, I would find loadsa stuff) and Avast www.avast.com, which I think is great too, it has a really friendly user console, it scans my web pages, my MSN Messenger use and most importantly Peer 2 Peer Downloads, which in my case is LimeWire. Since I have had this very firm setup, I never have any probs.

One more tip, If you have not allready done so make sure Windows XP is updated to Service Pack 2, also very important!!!! If like me your unfortunately stuck in remote Ireland and you only have dial up, get Microsoft to send you a free SP2 installation disk, otherwise you'll be paying through the nose...

Good luck...

grey_moon · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:04 am Post subject: VMware Server

As you might have heard VMware Server has been released for free (I've gone over their site many times and can see no other information to indicate otherwise).

I've just been testing out the Windows version on XP Pro and it works just as smoothly as VMware Workstation 4 did on my Athalon 3200 2.4GHz with 1GB memory.

You can even get the web management interface working if you install IIS for XP (not that I would recommend doing that).

VMware is a great tool for testing, but also good to provide you with a sand-boxed environment to browse the web safely. I even found that I could run it over my wireless network on my laptop which is too low-end to do any real virtualization.

Cheers
Moon

EASTER · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 8:26 pm Post subject:

EASTER · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 8:28 pm Post subject:

ryaxnb · Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 10:29 pm Post subject: Spyware/Virus Protect.

OK First off... I know many of these recommendations will be thought minimalist by security experts. I'm trying to keep things simple.

***PROMO/AD***
The Mac has no spyware, 1 virus and minimal trojans! Just 1 Mac Mini ($799 with 1.66 Intel Core Duo [equiv. to a 2.6-3.2 Ghz P4) media center interface and iLife multimedia software, plus an innovative OS! Look at xvsxp.com and wow yourself) and one copy of ClamXav (free off the web), plus regular scanning, keeps you pretty much 100% protected against the minimal Macintosh virus/spyware threats. With prices starting at $599 and the iMac going for $1299 with a 17" LCD, Macs are awesome and affordable. At least go to an Apple Store near you and try one out free!
***Done with long PROMO/AD***

Anyway recommended products
Net Prod.
Firefox
Thunderbird
(available at Mozilla.com, Web browser and Mail program, respectively)

Net Preventive Measures
IE-SPYADZO http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm#IESPYAD_ZO
(adds to Restricted list)
http://www.funkytoad.com/zonedout.htm
(required for IE-SPYADZO)
Windows Defender
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
(Spyware protection)

Form of virus protection and enhanced firewall:
Choose one of the following
Kaspersky Security Suite
http://www.kaspersky.com/personal-security-usa
ZoneAlarm Antivirus (also includes firewall)
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_zaav.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=&lang=en&lid=nav_av
Windows OneCare (Backup, etc. also included)
http://www.windowsonecare.com/Default.aspx

For newbies, I'd recommend OneCare. Other users should probably go with ZoneAlarm.

Tony001 · Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 10:17 am Post subject:

i use 7 antispyware apps Shocked

NoAdware
XoftSpy
Spybot Search and destroy
Ad aware se personal
ZoneAlarm
ewido
windows defender

logicman_alf · Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 4:51 pm Post subject:

Some great links here!

Here's my 2p worth:

I use FireFox.
I use a hosts file and spyware blaster,
the links are as mentioned above by Moore.

I use Ad-Aware SE, free from:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

I use Zone Alarm Professional,
but I recommend ZA free for the general PC user, it's easier to live with.

I use Site Advisor.
I strongly recommend this as it helps the novice to avoid bad web sites,
see also this thread:
http://spywarewarrior.com/viewtopic.php?p=135269#135269
download Site Advisor for IExplorer or FireFox free and instant at:
http://www.siteadvisor.com/

Loads of free anti-malware links on a safe and well-organised site:
http://www.nowyoudo.co.uk/ (Thanks to smifff)

Test your web security with ShieldsUp:
https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

Pcfreakske2000 · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 12:55 pm Post subject:

Hi all,

Long time I went to this forum.
Sorry about that.

Well, I use these programs to protect me from spyware :

- SpywareBlaster

- SpywareGuard

- Spybot Search & Destroy

- Ad-Aware SE Personal

Plus , my Panda Platinum Internet Security 2006 also scans for spyware.
_________________
Greetings ,

Pcfreakske2000

roger_m · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 5:28 pm Post subject:

For what it's worth I would stay away from Dell and get a custom made no-name PC. If you do really insist on buying a Dell or another name brand PC at least see if you can pay a bit more to get a proper Windows XP cd, as the recovery CDs which come with name brand PCs don't let you do a repair install of Windows, something which is very useful when Windows is playing up.

I read an article in PC Mag recently which said you could pay a little extra to get proper Windows CDs - I didn't know you could do this. However personally I would never own a brand name desktop PC, and stay away from most brand name laptops too...

J.Berg · Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:56 pm Post subject:

I have always used a combo of free anti spyware tools- using free features such as Spyware Doctor free 'OnGuard' and then free scan/removal from products such as Spybot. For more info on how to combine these for free see here.

smithkarl · Guest

Hi,

Well, I would prefer non free software ... but I use a Free anti virus software, cause I found it better than McAfee which was not free.

I am talking about Avast... That is antivirus solution I been using for a long time trouble free. They also have their own forum.

Karl

ejr · Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 4:21 pm Post subject:

My thoughts on this topic change on a regular basis. But right now I am leaning towards an entirely free solution that focuses on prevention rather than detection. If you have a new machine and you know it's clean, if you install these 3 programs, I dount that you would ever get spyware.

1. Spyware Blaster...immunizes the PC agianst a lot fo threats

2. Spyware Terminator....It has active protections. It also has HIPS.

3. Sandboxie...This program will allow you to run your browser in a sandbox. The sandbaox is a portion of your PC completely separated from any other parts of your PC. It's like a virtaul drive. Any malware that you would encounter while surfing gets trapped in the sandbox and can't harm the rest of your PC. Then the sanbox gets emptied when you close the browser.

On a clean system, I think those 3 programs would pretty much keep you safe.