What's the best spyware/virus/adware program out there?

**nightowl** · 10-12-2004 12:33 AM

Just list them on which one you think is best. Lately I've been hearing these "clicking" noises on my computer that sounds like when you click on like IE for example and it for a brief moment that hourglass appears beside the mouse which indicates that something is loading but nothing happens. It would keep doing this and sometimes nothing would happen while other times a pop-up would come up. Anyway I know my computer is filled adware, spyware, trojans, and possibly viruses despite my efforts with Spybot, ad-ware, and AVG and I was wondering if there was anything else out there. Even if it's not free, just list it anway(i have no intentions of paying for it

)

*sigh* thanks guys

**Umbrasquall** · 10-12-2004 01:51 AM

"Format C" is a good one I hear.

But really, if you have XP just use Windows Restore everytime you get an ad problem. Solves it really quick.

Other then that, I'd use adaware, norton, and if this is a consistent problem get a firewall. ZoneAlarm is annoying but free.

**nightowl** · 10-12-2004 02:04 AM

thanks, i'll check it out

if you have XP just use Windows Restore everytime you get an ad problem. Solves it really quick. [/b]

Are there any consequences though? for example will anything i installed or downloaded get erased as well? If i did do this though I would have to go back many many months. Possibly more than a year back.

**Umbrasquall** · 10-12-2004 02:07 AM

No you won't lose anything. It just changes the system files etc. But if it's that far back restore probably won't work.

**jacobo** · 10-12-2004 02:37 AM

my friend had one that would only let him on his computer for a minute then it would shut down... it was funny.

**Umbrasquall** · 10-12-2004 04:58 AM

Originally posted by adidas
my friend had one that would only let him on his computer for a minute then it would shut down... it was funny.

I had that once too. It happened to a lot of people who had XP.

**Demerzel** · 10-12-2004 06:20 PM

heh.
blaster.
my friend had that. then my school had it. it was funny.

CT · 10-12-2004 06:29 PM

adaware is good for spyware:
http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html
TrendMicro Housecall, very good online virus checker:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/.../start_corp.asp
Symantec test:
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default...id=ie&venid=sym
good FREE alternatives to norton antivirus or similair paid program:
Avast! : http://www.avast.com
AVG : http://www.grisoft.com/

**Alric** · 10-12-2004 07:00 PM

I knew someone who had that virus. They thought their computer was just junk but I happened to use it one day and I was like "It shouldn't be doing that", so I fixed it.

Thats the one thing that really makes me mad about viruses and stuff. Some stupid jerk thinks it funny to mess up someones computer who may not even know how it works. They spend $2,000 on a computer use it for a week then its totally worthless and they don't even know whats wrong let alone how to fix it. Real funny to try and make people cry.

**Kaniaz** · 10-12-2004 07:16 PM

"shutdown -a" stopped the super hi tech advanced blaster in it's tracks.

**nightowl** · 10-12-2004 08:17 PM

thanks guys. Ill go research/acquire those programs. BTW, i found out the name of the trojan virus that's been vandalizing my computer. It's called "BackDoor.Afcore.2.G" if anyone was curious

**Awaken** · 10-13-2004 12:23 AM

Norton is garbage. It's huge and it eats your system resources. BitDefender is a much better choice.

**Aphius** · 10-13-2004 12:36 AM

I just use Ad-Aware, it works pretty good for me.

There isn't anything better is there?

**Awaken** · 10-13-2004 01:17 AM

WebRoot Spy Sweeper is pretty good I hear.

CT · 10-13-2004 01:31 AM

Use firefox and you wont really need to use any kind of spycheck.... and its faster then IE, and its got tabs, skins and extensions.

**CarbonCopy** · 10-13-2004 02:27 AM

Originally posted by CT
Use firefox and you wont really need to use any kind of spycheck.... and its faster then IE, and its got tabs, skins and extensions.

There's the info that you need kids, stop the problem before it starts. Since I started using Firefox and Mozilla exclusively I've had zero spyware/adware, not to mention it's faster and more efficient.

CT · 10-13-2004 02:44 AM

definately!

**nightowl** · 10-13-2004 02:46 AM

Originally posted by CT
Use firefox and you wont really need to use any kind of spycheck.... and its faster then IE, and its got tabs, skins and extensions.

I've had it for a couple months now. it's not that Im getting viruses from using that. I WAS getting virusus when i was using IE and aparrently I still get the occasional spyware and random pop-ups(which popup even when i dont have a web browser is opened, which suggests a trojan/virus). Im going to try to get rid of the trojan with the programs you guys suggested since AVG is incapable of getting rid of it. I keep getting this f*!#*ing notice that does NOT go away saying it's unable to get rid of it or put it in the virus vault or some crap like that(from the AVG program). I have to press it at least 12 times(in a row) to have it finally go away

ugh...

**Alric** · 10-13-2004 07:36 AM

I have firefox and only use that but I still keep getting spyware which spams popups in ie. Which is weird since I disabled ie and I can't even use it. I want to uninstall ie but I am not even sure if I can because they make it such a pain.

**TheUnknown** · 10-13-2004 08:12 AM

best choice, ditch windows completly and get Linux. Not only is it almost 100% immune to viruses, spyware, and adware, its completly free. There are many different distributions to choose from, for many different tastes.

I personally use gentoo http://www.gentoo.org. Its a slim and optimized distro, that runs MUCH faster then windows could ever hope to. The install is a little hard though, so I do not recommend you touch it if you can't read docs well or have never touched linux at all. It takes a few days to install because you need to compile everything.. but its UBER-fast, and once you have it, its extremly easy to install stuff.. (to get firefox, type emerge firefox, if you don't wanna compile it, type emerge firefox-bin for the precompiled, thats it)

Another good distro, especially to start out on is, Fedora http://fedora.redhat.com . This has an extremly easy install, but the cds are a rather long download, and it comes jam-packed with software you probably will never use (you can drop it out though).

I hear alot of good stuff about SUSE linux also http://www.suse.com. Its supposed to be an easy install with all the software you need. Its about the same type of idea as Fedora, never used it though.

Debian http://www.debian.org is one of the most popular distros, its like Fedora and SUSE, but for more of an elite user, you can find the most software choices on this and you can customize it more (not as much as gentoo though).

A new distro that is a package-based distro like all the others i listed except for gentoo is Arch Linux http://archlinux.org/. I really like this one because its install system is like gentoo's, but you don't need to compile everything.

All of the above are free, do not contain spyware, and can do pretty much anything windows can, better. The only negative is most directx games you won't get on linux, because directx is microsoft.. but opengl games like doom3, and enemy-territory you can get to run better on linux then windows.

Don't wanna make this sound like a troll, but I'm sure some of you might be interested, and might wanna take a peek at how Linux can be better then Windows in many aspects.

**TheUnknown** · 10-13-2004 08:14 AM

btw, i forgot to mention (although i hinted at it), I use firefox on both my windows and my linux harddrives, you would be insane to use IE after you've looked at some of microsofts security announcements..

**Aphius** · 10-13-2004 11:22 AM

Originally posted by CT
Use firefox and you wont really need to use any kind of spycheck.... and its faster then IE, and its got tabs, skins and extensions.

How come you're plugging FireFox all of a sudden? It's in your sig, and your saying "Firefox is r0xx0rz"

Oh, another Linux thing you can get is "Lin-Spire" DeviantArt plugs it a lot. It apparently like windows but... not.

CT · 10-13-2004 02:52 PM

Originally posted by Aphius+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Aphius)</div>

<!--QuoteBegin-CT

Use firefox and you wont really need to use any kind of spycheck.... and its faster then IE, and its got tabs, skins and extensions.

How come you're plugging FireFox all of a sudden? It's in your sig, and your saying \"Firefox is r0xx0rz\"

Oh, another Linux thing you can get is \"Lin-Spire\" DeviantArt plugs it a lot. It apparently like windows but... not.

[/b]

I'm getting paid.
Nah j/k, why shoulndt I plug Firefox??? I have been using it for a couple of months now, and I really love it. Besides, this thread is about spyware and trojans caused by browsing the web, and really firefox is pretty much immune to that, and if there's any exploit found in firefox (none as of yet... while IE has got tons) it will be fixed in no time (as opposed to a year or two for IE).

I just wanna spread the joy! Seriously, I wanna share the awesomenes that is firefox!

**Identity X** · 10-13-2004 02:57 PM

If you can solve the symptoms, stop the cause. Namly Microsoft Intenet Explorer. Use Mozilla Firefox. How I deal with such things is Spybot, AVG, the built-in Windows XP software firewall, and, most importantly, a dial up connection! 56K rules! Broadband effectively invites crackers towards your computer. Having a wire that you can yank out of the phone socket is the most effective way to stop them.

As for CT plugging Firefox, I say well done man.