Free spy/adware detector(Not Ad-aware)

[Takan]

Will any of those pop-up blockers stop the IE-independent pop-up windows too? Man, somehow they got my address, and they just pop up in the middle of me doing anything. Nothing is worse than playing a game online and this popup comes on the screen . I think these companies should be sued!:disgust:

TIA
Takan

 

[Analog]

spybot rocks.

 

[rzrshrp]

IE independent windows?? Are they net sending you or something?

 

[dirtrat]

errr...or you updated windows XP to service pack 1.

I don't know anything about that, I upgraded to SP 1 and it didn't cause me any problems at all. I do know I used a know good HOST file from a website and it cause the above problem.

 

[everman]

interesting, going to try it out now.

edit: tried it, nifty program. free too

 

[vfrjim]

Works great with Download Accelerator, took out all the cr*p.

 

[1Cheap2Crazy]

Originally posted by: Takan
Will any of those pop-up blockers stop the IE-independent pop-up windows too? Man, somehow they got my address, and they just pop up in the middle of me doing anything. Nothing is worse than playing a game online and this popup comes on the screen . I think these companies should be sued!:disgust:

TIA
Takan

Are you referring to this:

Messenger Popups

 

[Takan]

Nope. I'm a studmuffin of a bull, aka, Bull Studmuffin. Yea baby, I'm the man.

You are the man 1Cheap2Crazy!



That was the problem. I am relatively new to WinXP and when those started happening, I had no idea what they were or where they were coming from. I think MS should be shot for including that in their OS's. What a bunch of BS!:|

I disabled it now, and now I can play without interuptions...

Thanks again,
Takan

 

[Devistater]

Originally posted by: dirtrat

if you use the hosts file and can't connect to a certain site, why can't you just go in and edit the hosts file... remove the references to the site you wanted to go to... and all should be fine. (Or am I missing/misinterpretting something?)

Be careful messing around with your HOST file. If you start getting alot of red X's instead of images loading on web pages you visit, then you know its being caused by your modified HOST file. Just a warning!

No problem. Just erase what you changed, or delete the file entirely.

For windows, if something is NOT in the hosts file its assumed to be default/normal. If the host file is missing, windows assumes you want EVERYTHING to be normal nothing changed. So feel free to delete it if you have problems.

Just to clear up what the Hosts File does... it tells windows to look at a differant address for a normal website item. Its usefull for instance for ads. If you want to get rid of everything from doubleclick.com (a common ad server) you can tell the hosts file to look at 0.0.0.0 for it, and since its not there you will no longer see ANY ads from doubleclick.com.
The reason why stuff like your NAV stop working, is because whatever hosts file is being created for you has thousands of entries for various ad servers and popups and stuff, and one or more of the internet addresses in there are something your NAV needs to operate.

Worst comes to worst, delete or rename the hosts file and everything defaults to normal.

 

[dirtrat]

No problem. Just erase what you changed, or delete the file entirely.

Well in my case I didn't even realize my Host file was causing this problem so you have to be aware of what problems it can cause. For a good explaination of what the Host file does go HERE.

 

[irrigating]

Bump for a great program
Ad-aware was nice, but this seems better.

 

[Renovator]

Our site is one of the stateside mirrors for SSD. Some of our user support folks have been involved in the Beta development of the proggie as well.

The thing to keep in mind with bot killers is that they need to be continually developed and updated. The otherside has the resources to keep changing the approach to datamining.

This can create a problem when attempting to clean with an outdated adware utility. For example, cnBabe has recently started to hook the users winsock. If not dealt with properly, a user can loose his connection.

While at one time we also hosted the other application mentioned, it still ships with a signature file from June, and the most recent update was back in September. So, after those two downloads, it's probably a good idea to find and download a winsock repair tool as well. JIC.

I think in matters like these, SpyBot currently holds the advantage.

 

[gonzo2k]

I currently use Ad-Aware.
It seems to me if AA wants to stay competitive, based on the opinions posted here, it better learn to delete SPYBOT!

 

[irrigating]

bump, so more AT'ers can check it out.
I've been using it since the original post, indispensable when you share comps in a household where people love to click yes to"do you want to run and install Gator software on your computer?"

 

[microAmp]

Originally posted by: RocketsFan
I've used this product in the past and it's been great. It's found stuff AdAware hasn't.

 

[Gorin00]

And if you like it and use it...please help the developer out and throw him some paypal!

 

[sat4fun]

I am a heavy Kazaa user, so I have had the need to use them all and by far the best is PestPatrol. This beautiful program not only killls spyware, it sucessfully kills trojans. I have had almost everything that is known to spread through Kazaa, and PestPatrol it the only one to clean my system up. I had a mean remote admin trojan that screwed me up and I was about 30 seconds from reformatting, but PestPatrol cleared it all up. Updates are fully automatic. This program kicks ass.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: sat4fun
I am a heavy Kazaa user, so I have had the need to use them all and by far the best is PestPatrol. This beautiful program not only killls spyware, it sucessfully kills trojans. I have had almost everything that is known to spread through Kazaa, and PestPatrol it the only one to clean my system up. I had a mean remote admin trojan that screwed me up and I was about 30 seconds from reformatting, but PestPatrol cleared it all up. Updates are fully automatic. This program kicks ass.

($30)

 

[sat4fun]

Originally posted by: jjsole

Originally posted by: sat4fun
I am a heavy Kazaa user, so I have had the need to use them all and by far the best is PestPatrol. This beautiful program not only killls spyware, it sucessfully kills trojans. I have had almost everything that is known to spread through Kazaa, and PestPatrol it the only one to clean my system up. I had a mean remote admin trojan that screwed me up and I was about 30 seconds from reformatting, but PestPatrol cleared it all up. Updates are fully automatic. This program kicks ass.

($30)

You missed the part where I said that I was a heavy Kazaa user.

 

[1Cheap2Crazy]

I'm glad everyone likes this program. I thought since it was freeware that some people would think it's not such a hot deal, but I was wrong :0

Remember to update this program though!!! There have been some updates since this was first posted.

Also here is a link about AdAware, SpywareInfo
Sadly Adaware has not kept up with the times and is basically useless. Version 6 should be out sometime in February.

Happy New Year and save surfing.

 

[Oaf357]

This is a good little program. A little aggressive but good.

Didn't find much though. A tip that EVERYONE should use is in IE6. Disable Third Party Cookies and a lot of this crap never appears.

 

[WoofyJr]

Originally posted by: dirtrat

if you use the hosts file and can't connect to a certain site, why can't you just go in and edit the hosts file... remove the references to the site you wanted to go to... and all should be fine. (Or am I missing/misinterpretting something?)

Be careful messing around with your HOST file. If you start getting alot of red X's instead of images loading on web pages you visit, then you know its being caused by your modified HOST file. Just a warning!

I'm not quite sure what you mean by that... I want to try this Spybot program but I need to understand what should I do with host file. I do have NAV so I do not want to mess it up. If it detects hostfile, should I remove or leave it alone? Tell me in the english so that I will understand better..... It sounds complication to me

 

[THX]

Originally posted by: sat4fun
You missed the part where I said that I was a heavy Kazaa user.

Why not just get kazaalite?

 

[Macro2]

What does a Hosts file do?

 

[THX]

Won't let your computer contact iffy sites such as pop-ups, ad-only sites, and sites which lead you to downloading spyware. It just makes the browser refer to a dummy address rather than the real one. All you have to do is add the lines of sites you don't wish to contadct. Kazaalite is available with a pre-made HOST file which blocks out many of the popular ad sites.