Fat Albert Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 This is a sad story with a happy ending and before I start (are you sitting comfortably) I'll point out that I have anti virus software, a software proxy server and a hardware firewall between our home computers and the outside world If you have kids and they have access to the internet the chances are very high that the PC they use is infested with Spyware In my home my 3 boys share access to a Windows ME PC. They have complained, with increasing volume, that the PC is running slower and slower with very frequent advertising pop up windows interfering with their browsing pleasure , of course since I don't use it very often fixing it wasn't very high up the priority list but over the last few weeks I tried Installing shareware and trial versions of commercial anti spyware (AdAware, StopZilla, etc) made very little difference until I tried this one SpyBot, its easy to install and completely removed 33 different spyware and malware programs (.exe & .dll) running on this PC which had been using 80mb (nearly half) of available RAM. Everytime any URL was accessed information was being sent to 30+ who knows how scrupulous locations on the web. The spyware/malware discovered included 2 key press grabbers that can capture passwords as you type them and send them anywhere on the net. Sources of the software included Bargain Buddy, Gator, GigaTech SuperBar, Kazaa, SaveNow, ValueClick, etc. In all cases the software was loaded to the PC as a by product of my kids downloading something useful from the net I have no connection with Patrick Kolla (author of SpyBot) but in 30 years of professional involvement with IT I have never seen a better gift to world, if you hate pop ups and you want your privacy, download this free software as soon as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7 SLR Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 bl**** hell, I didn't know there was such a thing as password grabbers. I installed spybot only last week and am totally impressed. You can additionally imunize (with an American Z) against further known attacks too. Worth going into the Advanced config. Mine now kicks in each time I start the PC up and automatically looks for updates and applies them at the same time. Great gift to the world..!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Posted September 19, 2003 Share Posted September 19, 2003 ...yeah, b******* of a thing, those pesky spyware apps...be warned though, I used one a couple of weeks ago that came on a cover disk (hmm, my first mistake) called Antiy Ghostbusters....detects & removes not only spyware, but trojans and viruses too. Generally its very good/quick, etc...however, it doesnt give you the option of quarantining anything that it deems suspicious, it just goes and obliterates it....which did leave a couple of utilities knackered on both my desktop and laptop (I was enthusiastic, and gave it a go on the work laptop too...my second mistake!!. It did get rid of a lot of well-dodgy sounding files though, just wished I'd stuck with a know good product like Spybot... ....and its 3.45am, and I've just finished fixing my bro's laptop which has suffered the W32Blaster Worm...Viruses? Tell me about them!! Spen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted September 19, 2003 Share Posted September 19, 2003 Thanks Albert. Despite AVG, ZoneAlarm,AdAware and Freesurf, Spybot found 94 files on my machine and surfing is definitely much quicker now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.