Posted on 05/31/2005 6:41:03 PM PDT by El Conservador
Seems to me that something you install on purpose isn't spyware. Especially if it does no harm.
By that definition, Realplayer and Quicktime are also spyware. I hate them, but they're not spyware.
Heh... yeah - seems to me. I like Weatherbug... I get one popup from it when I click it to get forecasts... but it's the only popup I ever get, I use Google's popup blocker and get by OK otherwise.
I like the current temp thingy and the click to get the forecasts. I also like the severe weather alert warnings that come out on it.
I have MS's Antispyware tool running, but it's never found more than two or three items ever. I've just not ever had trouble with spyware, 'cept when I got Gator, but I was hanging out in places I shouldn't have been and so I almost deserved it ;~D
Quicktime and Realplayer don't exist on my PC either. If a program can't be removed easily and completely then I won't use it.
WE've been running weatherbug for a couple of years as well, no problems. In fact, the machine with weatherbug on it has had no problems whatsoever, while my machine has gotten internet phlegm several times.
No complaints here.
Sometimes it DOES feel that way, right?
Have you figured out a way to get either of those programs to run a scan on a schedule?
Webroot Spy Sweeper is damn good....it isnt free though.
To be technically correct, weatherbug is adware, extremly badly written adware that causes crashing and lockups. Some versions have been worse than others.
Some early versions may have been allowing backplane installation of other ad and malware, and they have since, supposedly, cleaned up their act.
Intellicast has a similar application with no adware AFAIK.
I can't post all that often...all my CPU cycles are soaked up running anti-virus and spyware scanners...
Because it has one ad with it?
extremly badly written adware that causes crashing and lockups. Some versions have been worse than others.
My machine never locks up. Ever. Weatherbug works like a charm.
I use several. The Microsoft beta and Yahoo are two of the best. Ad-aware isn't bad either. In combination they are pretty powerful.
A.K.A Classic Media Player, which also will play DVD's.
Moments ago my Norton picked up a Minibug weather-site derived "potential hijacker"- which is pretty typical of Weatherbug infestation. And I did not reinstall after the original. RegKeys and Firefox adware infection- or would have.
When I run Spybot it gives me the same reult every time, there are 5 things that need removed, but it's always the same 5 things and always 5, but when I run Registry Mechanic and Aluria I find much more interesting things.
I recently installed the latest Norton Antivirus and it now takes about 10 minutes for my computer to get started, it runs ok after that could this be connected.
I use the same one. It wasn't much good until a few months back when they came out with a new version. Now it works very very well. Buy a one yr subscription from somewhere online for $30 in the form of a CD mailed to you, then you can put it on more than one machine in your home with one year of updates. I wouldn't do this, but I have heard of such a thing.
I also use free: AdAware and Spybot as supplemental. AdAware gets more than Spybot, but Spysweeper seems to carry out 95% of the garbage.
I think you made a very good selection. I love my Webroot Spy Sweeper. It's very user-friendly and easy to figure out. That's the one I leave on at all times. I just crank up and run the others once or twice a week as a backup.
The Lavasoft Ad-Aware seems pretty decent, but the Ad-Watch makes no sense at all. It keeps giving me popups with an option to "accept" or "block" and when I click "block", nothing happens. So I don't bother with it anymore.
I went to the link and doublclick tried to load!
Yes, I trust my spyware protection - I use a Mac!
(flame suit zipped an ready!)
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