Spyware and other bad stuff...

[mcflux]

Anyone got some websites which offer free antispyware or similar programs? Can range from mainstream (Norton, Spybot, Ad-Aware, etc) to relatively unknown...

I'm just sick of my computer constantly getting owned.

I currently run four antivirus/spyware programs, but these don't seem to be enough. They're updated at *least* weekly, and I'm not a big user of the internet (56k connection, I'm the sole user, and I rarely venture further than ff.com, ff.com.au, MSN and my email account).

Maybe this could be a thread for all people to take advantage of?

-Dave-

[LuvinmyEB]

You can start by using Mozilla Firefox if you're not already.

Mozilla

Just do a google search for Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad Aware and download them.

[LTDHO]

I run 4 different programs too.

What I don't understand is the purpose. If the scanners are free then what's the point? It just P!SSES ME OFF!

[mad machs]

might find something on here........

http://www.download.com/

[Aussie Falcon]

Are there any spyware removers for Firefox specifically. Adaware is mainly for IE and windows as a whole.

I'm running Ad aware, Norton, Spybot and a Yahoo! anti-spyware prgram aswell and it does a decent job. Hasn't gotten rid of everything but it helps.

[TIRED6]

Go to download.com,

Select windows and type, spyware remover.

Go for Ad-Aware SE Personal. It works, BUT, do not update the definitions or it won't work. But it is fine otherwise for me

[M14A-Mclaren]

9down.com

[LuvinmyEB]

Stop going to so many pr0n sites. That should help a fair bit. :nutsycuck

[b2tf]

Microsoft has one out that is a Beta Version, Laminge posted about it here not long ago, ive been using that and it is the best i have found so far. Not only gets rid of it, but stops it from coming back.

[Jamie XR6]

I use the Microsoft Beta version as well. It's free from the Microsoft site.

It picked up 16 spyware programs that I didn't know was on the computer during the very first scan. I also run Nortons and it didn't know they were there.

It picked up 4 more the next day and I've not had any since and that was a couple of months ago.

[Duffman]

I got a problem now i put in a cd to copy over a 700mb file and it locked up. Normally when copying over a file i can run winamp and what ever at the same time. But now when I copy a file over it lags down the hole pc even limited at 50kb winamp cant run. All cause i put one cd in dunno what hte problem is.

On the spyware there is a adblock reg file you can get thats updated all the time that blocks them out of your registry.

[mcflux]

OK here's my update:

I'm now running the following...
Spybot S&D
Adaware
McAffee Vshield
Spysubtract
Adsubtract
CWShredder
Spywareblaster

Combined, they detect around 1000-1500 dodgy items just from startup :S:S:S And I just cleaned out my registry 3 days ago :S:S:S

I've been warned away from Mozilla...

Will give the Microsoft Beta program a try! Thanks everyone

-Dave-

PS online banking is done at work only now, as soon as I seemingly got swamped with Spyware, I stopped using my home computer for that kind of thing... Coincidentally, I got swamped with Spyware after beginning online banking... 2+2 maybe?

[JADED6]

Tried that microsoft beta one last time a thread like this came about and i use that now. Pretty good program & will find things other programs dont (but it will delete kazaa etc due to them being bundled with spyware)

[EDXR-I6]

If you want my advice! You only need one spyware remover & a trusted one at that! having so many is pointless and a waste of time! I use three programs!

1: norton antivirus corporate edition! (has never failed me, also use if for all the major networks that i manage. PM me for a copy of this)

2: Adaware! not the free version! (PM if you need a copy of this!)

3: Hijackthis (PM me if you need this as well)

Although i must stress that i work with computers all day everyday (as i run my own IT business) and really know what should and shouldnt be in the system! but a few searches on google about supspect things you find running in your task manager will give you a clear idea of what should be there. I have tried many many programs and have shit loads (under statement) of software, games, music!

Just let me know if you need anything and ill do my best to help you over some text based messaging!

Please be careful if you decide to d/load hijackthis on your own and use it as it will pick up everything in your system and you really should know what to remove, failure to do so could cause system instability...

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by Ghia5L

I've been warned away from Mozilla...

May I ask why? Mozilla Firefox is MUCH more secure then Internet Explorer, and is much less likely to let spyware infect your system in the first place... Personally I warn everyone to NOT run Internet Explorer, unless they like knowing that they are running software that may have security issues that may not be fixed unless those security issues are made public and even then, a patch may not be available for a matter of days, perhaps even weeks...

Mozilla Firefox, the fastest, safest way to explore the web on a PC...

Originally Posted by R & S Customs

Go for Ad-Aware SE Personal. It works, BUT, do not update the definitions or it won't work. But it is fine otherwise for me

Again, may I ask what the reason is for this??? I've never had a problem with it, and if you don't update the definitions, it can't pick up the latest spyware/malware, so will be less effective and may leave stuff on there rather then remove it, because it doesn't know to look for it because it's not included in the definitions it's got... It's like installing a Virus Scanner and never updating the anti-virus data files...

I use the latest definitions, and havn't had a problem... I would recommend the latest version of Ad-Aware, ensure you're running the latest definitions for it, and to ensure it doesn't miss anything, Spybot S&D also running the latest definitions (occasionally there will be one or two that one finds that the other doesn't), and ensure that you have Immunized your system in Spybot, including ticking 'Enable permanent blocking of bad addresses in Internet Explorer' with 'Block all bad pages silently.' selected below it.

[mcflux]

Meh, I think I"ll put up with it all, it seems the more antispyware stuff I attain, the more crap my computer gets bogged down with... it's like the antispyware stuff is a "challenge" magnet for all the spyware out there...

Maybe the shotgun technique shown in another thread is the way to go? :

-Dave-

[M14A-Mclaren]

Originally Posted by EDXR-I6

(PM if you need a copy of this!)

Or better off going to the link I provided above (9down.com)

Originally Posted by Ghia5L

I've been warned away from Mozilla...

By whom? Microsoft?

[Franky]

It's completely ridiculous that you spend so much on a computer and it's completely f**cked within a couple of months.

I just reinstalled windows for the 5th time and have just connected the internet, installed just the modem driver and I have these programs on my computer already:

salm.exe
Istsvc.exe
powerscan.exe
tadop.exe
SAHAGE~1.exe

Last time my computer refused to do anything after connecting to the net. About 5 mins after connecting the taskbar froze and website wouldn't work. People shouldn't have to put up with this sh*t

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Everyone is remembering to go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and download the latest patches, aren't they? And please nobody tell me they don't have Service Pack 2 installed if they're using Windows XP...

[mcflux]

Originally Posted by EDXR-I6

Just let me know if you need anything and ill do my best to help you over some text based messaging!

Thanks mate, I appreciate your offer, but it seems that since I loaded the current version of Zone Alarm, I've had no problems. Apart from the CoolWebSearch homepage (meh, who cares), the computer doesn't seem to be affected by anything else, and is running much faster now! I can live with a stupid homepage. After all, the computer is a POS :p

I've downloaded FireFox but am holding on to it for now instead of installing (for the moment). I'm happy with the way the comp is, but if it suddenly goes downhill, I'll install FireFox and I'll pester ya for help!

I checked 9down.com and couldn't find the Norton file (but I scored FireFox from there, even though I was given a mozilla link by LuvinmyEB!)

Thanks everyone for your help!

-Dave-

[LuvinmyEB]

Definetly spyware, a real bugger too, it has many variants. It's hijacked your homepage and unfortunately I think if you try and change it back to your old homepage it will just keep reverting to Coolwebsearch.

Go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and download the patches that you need and that should prevent your system becoming infected any further.

CoolWebSearch is a name given to a wide range of different browser hijacker spyware that runs a Java applet. It distributes itself by exploiting security holes in older or unpatched version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Some variants (eg., CWS.Vrape) will redirect to adult sites or invoke dialers.

Trust me you don't want dialers on your system, you'll end up with one hell of a phone bill!!

Try this to get rid of it: http://www.safer-networking.org/files/delcwssk.zip
Then run spybot and ad aware and you should be rid of your spyware.

If you want to keep using I.E. make sure you have your updates set to automatic updates or you'll keep running into the same problems. That's why I use Mozilla, non of this cr@p and wasting time.

[mcflux]

OK I loaded up Mozilla after my computer took a turn for the worst this morning. All it would do was load up CoolWebSearch (or VeryEasySearch, or similar names... bastards!!!) and wouldn't let me into anything else, plus it spawned a heap of EXEs in my c:\windows folder that I had to clean up.

So, I installed FireFox, and I feel like an idiot for not doing it sooner!

I tried the windows update site last night and it wouldn't let me on (just came up with a blank screen). However with FireFox it's loading up instantly!

Maddestman, my current XP version is from 2002 LOL (No service pack 2, and no Service Pack 1 either)!!! :

Am now frantically upgrading to current version :p

Thanks for the links!!!

-Dave-

[mcflux]

UPDATE:

The windows update site claims that I need Internet Explorer to do the update! So... I open up Internet Explorer and it won't load! I think I'm stuck here :S

Firefox takes me in circles... Can anyone send me the install file if they have it? My email is djsmi4@monash.edu

Thanks

-Dave-

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by Ghia5L

OK I loaded up Mozilla after my computer took a turn for the worst this morning. All it would do was load up CoolWebSearch (or VeryEasySearch, or similar names... bastards!!!) and wouldn't let me into anything else, plus it spawned a heap of EXEs in my c:\windows folder that I had to clean up.

So, I installed FireFox, and I feel like an idiot for not doing it sooner!

I tried the windows update site last night and it wouldn't let me on (just came up with a blank screen). However with FireFox it's loading up instantly!

Maddestman, my current XP version is from 2002 LOL (No service pack 2, and no Service Pack 1 either)!!! :

Am now frantically upgrading to current version :p

Thanks for the links!!!

-Dave-

Ahh, that explains how it was so easy for your system to get owned. It might also be a good idea while you're at it to set Automatic Updates to 'Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them.'

That way you'll never miss out on an important patch, but it won't install it without telling you first, so you get a chance to finish whatever you're doing at the time before telling it to proceed.

I guess this thread shows just how important it is to keep systems up to date with patches from Windows Update - I know that a completely unpatched install of WinXP without any firewall, anti-spyware/malware and anti-virus products can (and most likely WILL) be infected within 1/2 an hour of connecting to the internet - even on dial-up. :(

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by Ghia5L

UPDATE:

The windows update site claims that I need Internet Explorer to do the update! So... I open up Internet Explorer and it won't load! I think I'm stuck here :S

Firefox takes me in circles... Can anyone send me the install file if they have it? My email is djsmi4@monash.edu

Thanks

-Dave-

Ahh, yes, Firefox doesn't work with Windows Update, I forgot about that.

The install file for Service pack 2 is rather large, measured in the hundreds of megabytes, so it's a bit big so send via email. Where are you, somebody might be able to lend you (or make a copy for you even, I think that would be legal, not sure) of their SP2 update CD.

[mcflux]

ohhhhhhhh, hundreds of mb... lol and I was going to try this over dialup?!? Bwahahahaha

Thanks for the info, I'll get a mate of mine to dodgy something up ;)

I live about 200km east of melbourne, but have some 1337 friends who'll be able to get the service pack for me

Cheers,

-Dave-