Does Dell reccommend a specific spyware program??? Help!

Question

I I have a new inspirion xp 1000.   What spyware program is good for my system.   I have all virus updated.   Please help on spyware.   Thank you!   Lil :smileyhappy:

msil217 · Answer

They are in my sig. :) You could also download A2 trojan scanner, Bazooka scanner, and Microsoft Anti-spyware. All are free. If you want to pay for a program, Spysweeper is good.

betweensunandmo · Answer

ad aware and all those programs are good, but as i understand it, all they do is get rid of spyware, they dont actually block it (correct me if im wrong) ...spysweeper does block spyware, i've got it and it seems to work great, its like 20 bucks at best buy.

msil217 · Answer

Spyware Blaster blocks spyware. It prevents it from being installed in the first place.

joe53 · Answer

Hi: To specifically answer your question, yes- Dell does have recommendations for spyware protection, and they can be found here.

dalem29 · Answer

I would concur with msil217:

I would recommend having Spybot and Ad-Aware in addition to Spyware Sweeper and/or Spyware Blaster. The Blaster program is free and keeps most stuff out and Ad-Aware catches other things, mostly data miners...once your system is cleaned up. It is best to have both Spybot and Ad-Aware...in some cases one will catch what the other will not. Ad-Aware seems to get everthing, have not had a hit on Spybot in some time. Run the programs sequentially, they don't interfer with each other.

Just like your antivirus program, you should take a minute or two each day to search for updates. My Norton Internet Security quite often has updates available everyday. Ad-Aware has updates about every 7-10 days on the average, the other two somewhat less frequently than that. But the key to staying out of trouble is keeping updates current, as bad things are created on the Net every day.

Hope this helps

Noch · Answer

Hi guys   I have been watching this conversation with some interest. I have rather dumb question. I Have Norton Internet security, which seems to have a real good firewall. So, the question is , do I need to bother about installing all these spyware programs - wont the Norton firewalls adequetely protect my machine?

ky331 · Answer

this is a reply to Noch:

in short, NO.

firewalls, anti-virus programs, and anti-adware/anti-spyware are three separate categories of programs... each has its own purpose... and having only one (or two-out-of-the-three) kind(s) won't protect you from what the other(s) are supposed to do.

a firewall allows you to monitor (and permit) which applications on your machine have access to the internet. for example, you must 'tell' your firewall to allow, say, Internet Explorer and your Anti-Virus's UPDATE program to access the internet. But, once you give your permission for these (and other) programs to access the internet, the firewall (by itself) does nothing to monitor WHAT's being transmitted, so yes, viruses can get thru the firewall.

that's why, you MUST run an anti-virus program (such as Norton, McAfee, AVG, or AVAST) to both protect/inoculate you from obtaining viruses... and also, to scan, after the fact, for viruses which have already installed themselves on your system (which can get thru before you have the latest updates)

anti-virus programs can generally catch some other classes of 'garbage', such as "worms" and "trojans"

but there's a completely separate class of programs... going by names like 'malware', 'spyware', and 'adware'... which, in general, anti-virus programs don't look for. that's why you also need the likes of Ad-Aware SE 1.05, SpyBot Search & Destroy 1.3... there are MANY such programs, some of which were listed earlier in this thread.

two more points need to be emphasized:

1) you should only run ONE anti-virus program at a time... running more can cause conflicts, as each one might detect the other as housing viruses. in contrast, it's entirely safe... and in fact, RECOMMENDED to run at least 2, if not more, of the anti-spyware/anti-adware programs.

2) while anti-virus programs are 'protective'... they try to catch things in advance, before you're infected... the ' basic' anti-spyware programs, like ad-aware ( free version) and spybot ( unless you turn on the 'tea-timer' option) do NOT protect against spyware from invading your system... rather, they simply try to remove, after the fact, spyware that's already 'infected' you. some of the more 'advanced' spyware programs (such as spybot's " tea timer") can also offer you various degrees of up-front 'prevention'.

by the way, you mentioned having norton internet security... i'm not familiar if that's an entire 'package' of programs (firewall plus anti-virus), or if, as you've indicated, it's simply a firewall.

Message Edited by ky331 on 04-05-2005 12:47 PM

Message Edited by ky331 on 04-05-2005 12:48 PM

LittleDarlin · Answer

Thanks all,   I have downloaded the ad-aware.  Should I download the spybot along with it?  Or is the ad aware good enough alone??   Please advise,   Thank you!     Lil:smileyhappy:

msil217 · Answer

@LittleDarlin wrote:

Thanks all,

I have downloaded the ad-aware. Should I download the spybot along with it? Or is the ad aware good enough alone??

Please advise,

Thank you!

Lil:smileyhappy:

Yes, because not one antispyware program can detect all spyware..

I would also recommend:

Spyware Blaster to keep spyware from being installed.

AND A2 trojan scanner. HERE

(The freeware version is below the paid version. I use the free version)

That's a good start.

Message Edited by msil217 on 04-05-2005 06:20 PM

Noch · Answer

Thanks, KY331vfor your learned and really helpful input.

You have converted me . I shall download spybot, but thats all, cos one does not wanna use up all 80 gigs of hard drive space, and I am reall anally retentive.

Anyway, to answer the your question, Norton Internat security, is a package containing virus software, firewalls, antipsam software and the like. It seems to do the trick.

dalem29 · Answer

Really would advise to download Ad-Aware. It seems to catch more things and update somewhat oftener. These programs are small, most of them just a few megs or less, and well worth the space they take up.

The HJT board if full of case of where people have traversed the Net with little or no protection, or have failed to keep things updated religiously. In some cases, they probably have gone back out after getting fixed and gotten into trouble again!

Infections can happen in an instant. When I was cranking up this 4600 for the first I went online to register. Because my Mountain Dew hadn't kicked in yet I failed to turn on the XP firewall. The Blaster Worm was patiently waiting at the portal and all it took was about 45 seconds. Not sure if it would have gotten caught by the firewall anyway, but the hassle of getting the computer cleaned up made a believer out of me of being protected to the highest extent.

ky331 · Answer

Noch,

I agree with Dalem.... at very minimum, you should run BOTH ad-aware SE 1.05 as well as SpyBot 1.3 ; the amount of hard disk space they take up is really insignificant, and they're well-worth the 'protection' they offer.

personally, i'm also a big fan of running WinPatrol 9.x ("Scotty the watch-dog") , which, despite running continually, can help protect you from browser home/search page hijackings, as well as advise you any time a new program is trying to add itself to the auto-boot list.

http://www.winpatrol.com/

by the way... for anyone downloading ad-aware or spybot for the first time:

1) ad-aware has several "add-ons" which can be obtained from the lavasoft web site. i think most people here would recommend you download/install/run the VX2-cleaner add-on.

2) spybot can find, but will *not* delete, something known as the " DSO Exploit".

The "DSO Exploit" has long been known to be a 'defect' with Spybot. Assuming you have been properly using Windows Updates, your system should not be at risk from the DSO exploit. However, if Spybot reporting it still bothers you, you may fix the situation by downloading/installing the following "fix" from MajorGeeks:

http://majorgeeks.com/download4392.html

BEFORE DOING SO, be sure you have installed version 1.3 of Spybot S&D.

Then, download/install the above fix.

(You may have to reboot your system at this point.... I'm not sure if this is required.... but best to play it safe.)

Run Spybot. It should now be marked as version 1.3 .1 TX

The first scan will still find the DSO exploit problem. When asked, click to remove/fix the problem.

This time, the "fix" should hold... that is to say, the NEXT time you run the scan, Spybot should no longer find the DSO exploit.

Message Edited by ky331 on 04-06-2005 11:31 AM

Message Edited by ky331 on 04-07-2005 07:55 AM

Noch · Answer

Hi KY and Dalem

Your advice seems v well considered - now I am a full convert . I am gonna download Spybot, Adaware and Spyblaster, and shall let you have my further report after installation.

Insert Smilies

This laptop is only a week old, so it should not have too much in the way of spyware on it yet, but I am very interested to see what is found on my older machines.

Once again, thanks for all the help on this.

Noch · Answer

Hi KY and Dalem

Your advice seems v well considered - now I am a full convert . I am gonna download Spybot, Adaware and Spyblaster, and shall let you have my further report after installation.

Insert Smilies

This laptop is only a week old, so it should not have too much in the way of spyware on it yet, but I am very interested to see what is found on my older machines.

Once again, thanks for all the help on this.

dalem29 · Answer

Noch: One more idea...

There are several sites that offer scans of all types. Trend-Micro, Panda, Sysgate and several other non-resident programs will seek out and remove viruses and other scumware, and others that will scan your ports and let you know if your computer is invisible to the Net, or have other vulnerabilities. Still others will show you the performance of your system. It wouldn't hurt to run these programs at least a couple of times a month, in addition to your antivirus and spyware stuff.

I don't have the links off the top of my head, but KY and others should be able to provide them and sometimes they are listed in the signatures of the regular responders or some of the seasoned "pros", both young and old who inhabit these boards. Good luck!! :smileywink:

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Does Dell reccommend a specific spyware program??? Help!

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