Top 'N' anti-spyware programs

[treanglin]

I'm writing up a doo-dad for my boss on what antispyware programs we should implement and I'd like to know what are the preferences of other anyspyware program users.

At home I don't really have spyware problems, because (i think) I use Opera and Firefox a lot. And I generally know what I'm clicking on. But occasionally I run these programs If things get weird.


1. Hijackthis- I like to have this installed to quickly see what types of things are running at startup and to see what type of things have been done to IE. (We use IE at work because a lot of the software we receive from national HQ requires IE.)

2. Spybot Search and Destroy- Been Using this ever since it came out and it's just worked for me. I like the advanced options that it gives and the ability to remove items at startup. (just like Hijack this)

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As far as things I've seen elsewhere.
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3. AdAware- I've seen this used at my High School and I always see or hear it recommended when I talk with other people about spyware. It's third because I don't use it as much as Spybot S&D, but I have used the plugin on my BartPE disk and it came in really handy. I guess there's a Spybot plugin out now but I can't find the time to recompile a new BartPE disk.

4. Counterspy- I've seen this used at school and I like it because it finally stopped some stuff that was being used against the school for a loooong time. Things that were not being picked up by the other programs. It impressed me and I liked the interface and all of the options. (The school was using the enterprise edition)

5. Pest Patrol- My dad uses this. He decided that if you are paying for it, then It is undoubtably better than the free programs, because there is no incentive for a "gimick". IDK? I've used it probably twice. I'm not a fan. But It makes my list, because I havn't used anything else.


This is my list. Please Share yours and Explain.

[nihil]

Ewido and A-Squared and MS Antispyware.

Ewido detects an enormous number of items. A-Squared is good on trojans and diallers.

[dalek]

I personally like Microsoft Antispyware Beta 1, but I also like Adaware, SPybot S & D and SPywareblaster used together they are ideal.

[rapier57]

So far, you are allowed to and strongly encouraged to use more than one spyware scanner. I highly recommend that. HiJackThis isn't really just an anti-spyware tool, but a very versatile troubleshooting tool for Windows systems. Comparing HiJackThis to the spyware scanners is a bit like comparing apples to oranges. It might be better to set up one poll for the spyware scanners and another poll for malware troubleshooting tools (HiJackThis, Process Explorer, etc).

[JewishIntent]

Yeah i would definatly have to put out props for ewidow. When i was trying to get rid of some nasty stuff from my box i was normally just running spybot and ad-aware. Well even after i ran both of those freshly updated in safe-mode and fixed all found issues, ewidow found over 7k infected files still on my computer. Yeah i know 7k is a lot but unfortunatly my little brother was allowed to have full access to my box while i was at work for at least 12 hours a day. So yeah, ewidow is friggin awesome.

[Lv4]

if you are talking about an enterprise wide solution I would say something like Webroot - Spy Sweeper should rate very high. It is what we currently use, and the deployment/management of this product in a large enterprise is a breeze.

I like Spybot at a personal level, but it isn't ready for large scale network deployment.

[moxnix]

On a personal basis I use a combination of different spyware/malware programs. What one doesn't catch, the other might.

I just tried Ewidow for the first time and I was impressed with its depth. It found a program (tool actually) that I had stored in my 'Save Program' folder (and correctly IDed it) that none of the others had reported. It was the password cracker 'Brutus', and not installed , just stored.
My only gripe with it is that it took a long time (16 minutes) to do a complete scan. This added to the time it take Spybot and AdAware, and the others I use regularely will make for a long Sunday afternoon.

[The Texan]

I use a regular combo of Adaware,Spybot search and distroy and MS anti spyware... then about once or twice a month i run Hijack this and Avast. I used to run Winpatrol but that started to annoy me with all those damn registry change popups so i quit using it.

[st1mpy]

i use just

spybot
spysweeper
spydoctor



what one misses other finds it ....



treanglin

4. Counterspy- I've seen this used at school and I like it because it finally stopped some stuff that was being used against the school for a loooong time. Things that were not being picked up by the other programs. It impressed me and I liked the interface and all of the options. (The school was using the enterprise edition)





that counter spy looks alot like microsoft antispyware beta ? how come

[.:front2back:.]

Ad-aware Simply because it's easy on the eyes, easy to use, and it picks up most probs.
SpyBot Only because you know it will detect anything that Ad-Aware doesn't..
And because you can also control items that want to start on Windows Start up..

f2b:.