Help me!
Posted on 11/19/2004 11:16:56 AM PST by Capitalism2003
Hey Freepers, you gotta keep those computers healthy, so I thought I'd post these links together for those of you without good spyware protection on your computer. These programs will clean your system out and get rid of a bunch of nasty little programs that have installed themselves on your PC over the years without your knowledge. This is a great combination of products (100% FREE!) that can deal a knockout blow to spyware and bad computer viruses.
To eliminate spyware, use these.
Ad-Aware 6.0:
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10319876.html?tag=lst-0-2
and
Spybot Search and Destroy:
http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10289035.html?tag=lst-0-2
If you don't have a good Antivirus program installed, make sure to download this one!:
AVG Antivirus 7.0 (Free)
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/1/
After installing these, I recommend you navigate through the menus and UPDATE them for the latest spyware/virus definitions, then run a complete scan with each program. This should kill a LOT of bad stuff hiding on your PC.
I also highly recommend using the Mozilla Firefox browser instead of Internet Explorer. Firefox has a built in pop-up blocker and automatically prevents spyware from being installed while you surf the web. (In my experience, it also loads web sites much faster!) You can import all of your settings and bookmarks from internet explorer, so you really have nothing to lose. Give it a shot!
Firefox 1.0 http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
Good choices-have anything to stop whining liberals & make them STFU?
Or get a Mac and avoid the whole problem.
Spyhunter rocks too.
http://www.enigmasoftwaregroup.com/
You can download the demo and get the serial number at
http://www.serials.ws/
If you use Serials.ws, don't click yes to the popup or you get more junk installed on your computer. Just keep saying no until the box with the serial number/password pops up.
BTTT!
Add some type of firewall and the package is a good one - even the built-in firewall in XP does a fair job.
LOL!! If I had liberal buster, my work day would be so nice!!
Bump for reference.
I currently use Spybot S&D, and it is not as effective as some other solutions. I don't know if the updates aren't current enough, or what the issue is.
I have had good results with the online scanner at www.pestscan.com (www.pestscan.com/scan.asp). I have not tried their actual product, but the scanner catches many things that Spybot misses, so I presume their eradication product (which is not free) is at least better than Spybot.
Spybot is a good program, but it just isn't as effective as it could be, in my experience.
I don't have any experience with the other products mentioned.
FWIW...
One more quick tip to improve performance..
Defragment your hard drive!
Go to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter.
In addition to spyware and virus scans, I do that once a week to keep things running smoothly.
also highly recommend using the Mozilla Firefox browser instead of Internet Explorer.
What do you think about this?
Avast is better than AVG. Avast found some stuff on my machine that AVG didn't clean. Its also free.
I've tried all of these except the antivirus program.
To kill viruses on a machine that has been infected I go to www.antivirus.com
Symantec.com also has a good virus scanner, but last time I used it you had to download a separate cleaner for each virus type.
Most of these products will do their best work in Safe Mode (F8 while booting). This is because the active spyware agents are not loaded in Safe Mode and cannot reinstall the spyware.
I'm diggin' Mozilla. So much love.
Don't forget about CoolWebSearch. Search for CoolWebShredder to get those.
Also, web-browser hijacks, which make spyware data miners seem tame, can be taken out; though it takes a higher level of competance.
Grab a copy of HiJack This! and head to http://www.techsupportforums.com and post your HiJack This log to the Spyware/Virus section and the vets will help you fix what's broken. I don't recommend trying to fix the logs yourself if you aren't computer savvy.
BTTT Yeah! Mac OSX
thx!
I used the Ad-Aware + Spybot combo on my mothers computer and found over 900 pieces of spyware...deleted them all, switched to Firefox, and haven't had a problem since.
thank you
Help me!
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