Software to get rid of spyware

[DeadAddict]

I was bored so I thought I would make a small list of the various software programs that find and delete spyware that could be on your computer

to begin what is spyware??

Spyware is software that sends out information from your computer when ever your computer connects to the Internet and passes it on to third parties without you knowing about it . This information that it sends could contain your credit card number, how much money you spend at a specific site and other personal things. I am going to list a few programs that will find and get rid of spyware on your computer
At the bottom I have a list of terms and definitions of what evil things could be on your computer right now

Ad-aware
Is a free program that you can download and use to scan your computers hard drive, removable and optical drives it also scans the memory, registry for known data mining, aggressive advertising, and tracking components
Cost of this program free

Ad-aware plus
This is a step up from ad-aware this version contains added security features such as protection from known Scumware, key loggers, Malware, browser hijackers and aggressive advertising it will also block privacy threats before they even reach your computer. It also has popup blocking block unwanted ActiveX and web installations
Cost of this program $26.95

Ad-aware professional
The most powerful version of ad-aware that is offered this version has the following features change the way that ad-aware handles programs and processes on your system and several plug-ins that allow you to analyze any content that is detected, it will also scan mapped drives from one location allows for custom configuration files for local and remote scanning, lock down areas in your registry to prevent them from being changed and free email support if it is needed
Cost of the program $39.95

For most home users the free version is all you will need but if you want more features go with Ad-aware plus the professional version is basically for commercial business and for people who are either very paranoid or have a lot of money to spend
http://www.lavasoft.de and http://www.lavasoft.nu.

Spyhunter is a free program like Ad-aware it will scan your computer for 190 or so of different types of spy ware and it will also tell you if there is any how to get rid of it and who is doing it

Spyhunter 1.4.42 has a rollback feature that will allow you to restore the spy ware that was removed(don’t know why anyone would want to do this) it removes unwanted cookies,toolbars memory resident spy ware and key loggers
Cost $29.95 http://www.enigmasoftwaregroup.com/m...pyhunter.shtml

Spybot search and destroy
This program like the ones above remove and detect spy ware from your system and what makes this program different from the others is that it has two modes that you can choose from
The first mode is the easy mode you should use this if you are new to the program and want just the basic functions to work with
The Advanced mode should be used if you have prior experience with the program and wish to have more control over the program Spybot comes with both modes when you download it and the best part is that it is free
http://www.safer-networking.org/inde...=en&page=start

Scumware is a browser addon that allows it to find specific words in a web page so when they are clicked a menu will come up asking you if you want to go to this site. some programs include it in the download and the programs are Toptext, Surf+ and Gator

Key loggers are programs that record everything from keystrokes emails, instant messages web pages that are visited

Malware is short for malicious software it is software that has only one purpose and that is to damage or disrupt your system

Toolbars these are web browser addons that place buttons under the address bar of your web browser some of these addons are a pain in the ass to get rid of and while others are very useful as a example google web browser buttons will let you search the internet by either highlighting a word on any page and then clicking the search button you can download it here http://www.google.com/options/buttons.html

Browser hijackers this is what happends you visit a site and it changes your home page to something else and adds unwanted web sites to your favorite list of web sites as a example your home page was google.com and you mistype a letter in the address box and it brings you to biteme.com and a bunch of popup ads show up on your screen and while you are busy closing them down a program at that site is changing your home page with out you knowing it

Memory resident spyware this type of spyware remains in your computers memory after you have closed your web browser and when you come back to your computer after a while you find popup ads have appeared on your screen even though you have closed your browser.

[slick8790]

good summary of spyware and spyware prevention programs...i guess when all the newbies ask about spyware, from now on we can just point them to this thread...


slick

[Alphaflux]

great post, thanks. now i know what to look for.

[nihil]

Nice one, Dead Addict,

If I might add a bit?

1. Spybot Search & Destroy also has an immunisation feature that will block over 400 of the common scumwares ever loading on your machine.

2. SwatIT is another spy/scumware detector. It takes a while to run, but has found things that the others did not. They will all find different things at different times depending on the update cycle and what has been reported to the providers. It is at http://www.swatit.org

3. As a preventative measure I would suggest Spyware Blaster and Spyware Guard, as this is a more pro-active approach?

From either of:

http://wilderssecurity.net/
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/

4. These utilities are just like antivirus and firewalls, you need to check every week for updates.

Cheers

[DeadAddict]

Thanks I didn't know about them the more that are added to the list the better.

[cdkj]

Great post Dead Addict


Because i do alot of research i run Spybot Search & Destroy at least twice a week to be on the safe side

[DeadAddict]

Wow your my hero cdkj..can I have your autograph I am your biggest fan
Everyone thank you for the replies

[Fatphantom]

Theres some good freeware anti-spy programs at spychecker