Tag Archives: Spybot 1.6

A-squared free

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Besides Spybot 1.6 and Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware, I have A-squared free (latest version is 4.0.0.21) running on my PC. Of course, make sure that only one antispyware program is on at any moment, since having more than one active might cause conflicts and impact system performance. I’ve talked about Spybot and Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware in previous posts, so I’ll concentrate on A-squared free here.

Some things I like about A-squared free:

  1. Clean and user-friendly interface.
  2. Although updating has to be done manually, it’s not a big chore. There are updater options like installing program help, additional languages, etc. I turn these off and just update the spyware definitions.
  3. Four scanning options—Quick, Smart, Deep and Custom. For normal purposes, the Quick or Smart option is fine. I use the Deep Scan for times when I’m away from the PC. It takes more time but is more thorough.
  4. The ability to quarantine and selectively delete suspect malware is very easy to accomplish.

Here are some tips:

  • Before running a scan, clean out the gunk in your hard drive first. CCleaner or ATF Cleaner are the programs I use to do this. Then run the scans and be patient. Take a break and go do something else.
  • Since I have three different antispyware programs, I run their scans in rotation. For instance I might run Spybot’s scan today, then a few days later I’ll do Malwarebytes, followed by A-squared.
  • In conjunction with the AS scans, I run my Avira Antivirus scan at least once a week. Yes, it’s plenty of housekeeping, but this is the only way to make sure those nasties from the Internet don’t make their home in my hard drive.
  • Last but not least, I have Comodo Firewall Pro (it’s now known as Comodo Internet Security, and comes complete with an antivirus option) running at all times. It does bother you a bit during initial installation, but after it has learned your system, it sits quietly in the background, monitoring your Internet traffic. And need I mention that it’s free? Heartily recommended.

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Spybot 1.6: here’s a useful tip

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I mentioned in a previous post that Spybot 1.6 doesn’t have a Pause button, so if for some reason or other you want to stop a scan, you’ll have to start all over again. Alptugay set me straight about this. Spybot 1.6 does have a Pause button for scanning, but it’s not enabled by default. To enable it, do this (many thanks to alptugay):

Make sure Advanced Mode is enabled (in the File Menu, click Menu > Advanced mode). Navigate to Settings. In the Settings window on the left, there is another Settings button. Click it. At the right window, scroll down close to the bottom and you’ll see Expert Settings. Put a check mark for Show Expert buttons in results list. Go back to Spybot S&D button, click it and do a scan as usual. You should see a Pause button to the left of the Stop Check button.

image

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Two antispyware programs in a quick test

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First, let me get the basics out of the way. As all antispyware gurus will tell you, there is no antispyware program that is 100% effective (this holds true for antivirus programs too). Unlike antivirus programs however, it’s alright to install more than one antispyware program in your computer, provided that you adhere to the following:

  1. Have only one antispyware program provide real-time or resident shield protection. If you have more than one antispyware program doing this, you run the risk of your computer slowing down or behaving erratically.
  2. Run one antispyware scan at a time. Don’t multitask antispyware programs.
  3. Certain antivirus programs already have antispyware modules running or enabled, such as AVG Internet Security and AVG Antivirus. Check the program’s configuration settings or refer to their web sites.

I’ve been using Spybot 1.6 for some time as I’ve reported in previous posts. For the past week or so, I’ve downloaded and tested two other antispyware programs, namely Spyware Terminator and Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware (I’ll call it MAM from now on, that name’s too long!) The former is essentially free while MAM has free and paid versions. I tested the free version. Let’s get started.

SPYWARE TERMINATOR has a nice-looking and intuitive interface, and it’s very easy to navigate. The scanning speed is fast, and what I like is the fact that you can customize what you’d like to scan, down to adding your own files, folders, disks, whatever, and then save it as a scanning option. For example, if you download all your web stuff into a folder called Downloads in your C: drive, you could create a new Scan favorite called Scan Downloads, and direct Spyware Terminator to scan only the C:\Downloads folder. A file filter is also available where you have the option of scanning all files (slowest), all executable files, infectible extensions (fastest) or even create your own custom extensions. So there’s a lot of flexibility here if you want to go that path. If not, choose either the Fast Spyware Scan or the Full Spyware Scan (again you can customize some of the options).

The scanning speed is fast for the Fast Spyware Scan. It zipped through my C: drive (containing over 120,000 files) in under 10 minutes. Of course the Full Spyware Scan takes longer, taking about 25 minutes on my system. More screenshots can be viewed here.

Spyware Terminator also gives you the option of integrating Clam Antivirus into the package, if you don’t already have an antivirus program installed in your computer. I haven’t tested this, since I already have Avira’s AntiVir installed in mine.

All in all, Spyware Terminator is a nice antispyware program to have. With so many options available in the program, plus the fact that it’s free, makes me give it a two thumbs up.

MALWAREBYTES’ ANTI-MALWARE is another antispyware program I tested. The interface (very Windows 98-ish) is a bit more old-fashioned when compared with Spyware Terminator’s.

However, the tabs are easy to understand and navigate. The free version does not provide for scheduled updates and real-time protection. To obtain that, you have to make a purchase, costing $24.95 USD. It’s your choice. I opted for the free version. The quick scan as its name implies, is fast, which is useful if you like to do daily scans. The full scan is slower, on my system it took about 50 minutes. I should inform readers that MAM is one of the few antispyware programs to be able to clean out that awful Windows Antivirus 2008, a rogue program masquerading as an antivirus program, currently making its rounds on the Internet.

So which one should you choose? If you’re not planning to get the MAM paid version, you could download and install both, just as I did. Follow the caveats I listed at the beginning of this post, and you’ll be fine. Until the next post, let’s be careful out there in cyberspace. 

Spyware Terminator

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Spybot 1.6 Update

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It’s been over a month since I last posted about Spybot 1.6, so here’s a quick update. I still run regular scans with it, and at present (August 15, 2008) it detects 286,516 nasties. The scanning time has also increased from 8 minutes last month to 15 minutes now, which is still alright for me. Remember that Spybot continuously adds to its malware database whenever you run an update (sorry, you have to do this manually) so as its database grows larger the scanning time increases.

I hope that the next version (2.0?) will have automatic or scheduled updates, plus the ability to pause a scan. 1.6 does not allow you to do this, so if you click Stop Check for some reason, you’ll have to start all over again.

Doris has written an excellent post about Spybot recently [Cue James Bond's signature tune, please] I totally agree with her about disabling SD Helper, Tea Timer, and Immunization-they are not necessary for the program to do its stuff.

Oh, and here’s my “useless” tip of the day: when you’re running a Spybot scan (or any scan for that matter) for goodness’ sake, go and do something else. Take out the garbage, walk the dog, have a shower, watch the TV, etc. Don’t sit and stare at the monitor, unless you want to fall asleep.Sleepy

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Spybot 1.6 Final is released

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The final release of Spybot 1.6 is out. More details are available here at Spybot’s homepage, and you can download it here (the version number is 1.6.0.30). I’ve tested it on my system and it works fine, taking just over 8 minutes to scan my C: drive. Kudos to Patrick and the team!

If you’d like more info regarding spyware and all that stuff, head over to my friend Doris’ blog. She’s written a lot of good advice about clearing all that gunk from your hard drive. Well worth a visit.

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Spybot 1.6 rocks! Part 2

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The latest version of Spybot 1.6 is Release Candidate 2, or RC2, which can be downloaded here. I’d suggest uninstalling any previous versions before installing this one, and also disable the TeaTimer feature. The scanning speed is a little slower than 1.6 Beta (see my previous Spybot post). Scanning my whole system with RC2 took 8 minutes vs 5 minutes with 1.6 Beta.

I’ve noticed this was due to the fact that Spybot took some time on virtumonde.dll and Zlob, two malicious spyware. Still, 8 minutes is pretty fast in my book.

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