Member Avatar for 2wenty thre3

hey guys.. i was wondering what is the best program to get to fight against spyware, adware, and trojans... thanks for looking.

*sorry if this is in the wrong forum*

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Short answer for : there isn’t a single “best” program that will catch every spyware/adware/trojan. The thread makes that clear — some posters focused on browsers, others on scanners — and the practical takeaway is a layered defense: prevention, detection, containment, and reliable recovery.

Prevention: keep the OS and all applications (especially browser plugins) patched; run day-to-day work from a non‑admin account; turn off automatic execution from removable media; reduce unnecessary software and services; and treat downloads and e‑mail attachments with suspicion. As suggested, browser choice and settings reduce exposure, but is right — no browser is immune, so harden the browser (disable unnecessary plugins, block scripts by default, and limit Active content).

Detection and cleanup: use a reputable real‑time scanner plus occasional second‑opinion on‑demand scans from a different vendor. Keep definitions and program updates current. Maintain a bootable clean rescue environment (CD/USB) you can use to scan an infected drive offline. If a machine shows heavy infection like experienced, disconnect it from the network immediately and work from rescue media or a known‑clean image.

Containment and recovery: back up user data (save only data files, not executables), verify backups, and keep a tested clean system image. For stubborn infections, restore the image or do a clean reinstall — trying to chase every hidden component often costs more time and leaves risk behind. Regular, tested backups are the single most important recovery tool.

Quick checklist: patch everything; use least privilege; disable autorun; harden browser/plugins; run realtime + periodic scans; keep rescue media and tested backups. No single product is a silver bullet — combine good habits, layered tools, and a recovery plan.

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Member Avatar for pcschrottie

The latest version of Firefox or Opera. They are immune to Spyware etc. Trojans can enter your PC by downloading stuff from Emule or other places. Best program ist still Brain 2.0.

Michael

Member Avatar for Spooner

Hi,
I downloaded Spyware Doctor because my computer was slow.
1st scan it found 14139 infected files!!!!!
Good program my computer runs like new again.

Take care,
remi

Member Avatar for Ancient Dragon

always have an antivirus program running on your computer while online. it won't protect against spyware but will catch most viruses. Both Norton and McAfee are excellent. are some product reviews.

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

NO Web browser is immune to spyware and other debris on the internet. While Firefox and Opera are much better, in my opinion to IE, they are not immune. You can even bring down a problem with a text based browser like lynx. I would encourage others to use something else besides IE, but to say that the others are immune is not accurate.

As for Antivirus, I work with AVG (Windoze) and Clam-AV (linux, Mac). I find that Norton and it's friends are too processor-intensive. I have not done any time trials on scans, however... I schedule them for the overnight when I am sleeping.

Christian

Member Avatar for dlh6213

hey guys.. i was wondering what is the best program to get to fight against spyware, adware, and trojans... thanks for looking.

No one program can catch everything, you need an 'arsenal' of tools to fight the battle. Check the 'Protection' link below for some advice.

Member Avatar for Colonel Panic

The latest version of Firefox or Opera. They are immune to Spyware etc. ...

Michael

:eek:

Ah hahahahahahahahahaha

Thats the funniest thing I have read here, well in any forum. I almost wet myself I was laughing so hard!!

Reminds me of the time someone told me they hated Token-ring cause of all the collisions...Or the time that someone told me that Unix doesn't crash...

:ROFLMAO:

Member Avatar for pcschrottie

I don't want you to wet your pink panties.

So maybe for all the hysterics here I should correct my statement as follows:

By using (the latest version of) Firefox, Mozilla or Opera you drastically reduce the possibility of Malware being installed on your computer, compared to someone using IE with ActiveX and ActiveScripting enabled, as most of my (unexperienced) customers did before consulting me.

Or you want to tell me that Spooner above with his 14.000 infections was using FF? Well if you do, then it's my part to piss my pants of laughter.

Cheers,

Michael

Member Avatar for antioed

Actually both Norton and McAfee can catch spyware...not sure if that's only the corporate versions or what...unfortunately they don't catch much, which is lame. I use the Computer Associates eTrust Pest Patrol, which is pretty good at catching nasties, and also Adaware - make sure that whatever you use you update the reference file because none of them will be very effective if they're not up to date. Another idea is to make your user account a non-admin account so things have more trouble installing. And using Mozilla or some non IE browser is a really good idea. It's not that IE's junk, it's not, it's that everyone uses it and the scumbags out there trying to exploit users know this...if only 1% of users are on "other" browsers and the rest are on IE why waste your time trying to find flaws in a fraction of 1% of the browsing population's browsers - it won't happen...same goes for *nix based operating systems. I'd say *nix is more secure, though, because of smarter more "open" security testing methods.

The whole thing started when Microsoft put their products out, charged money and claimed they were secure without giving the open soruce community a crack at it first. What we see now is a bunch of anti-imperialists, con artists and geniuses who don't like Microsoft or are trying to make a quick buck at user's expense, whatever the reason; they attack it. If they didn't like Unix or thought they could break it or enough people used it as their operating system it'd probably be similar except that before a flavor of Unix is released the source is usually put out for the whole world to take a whack at it before it is released to the world. Plus the type of user on Unix is traditionally someone who knows their stuff and therefore isn't as easy prey as your mom or dad who can't program a vcr let alone secure a computer.

Member Avatar for fry

Maybe not the best, but very good and reliable - . I have found that its database really updates daily! Simplicity and convenience is a peculiarity of this program too (flexible settings and good administrative tools). Also Privacy Expert includes useful additional features such as: pop-up blocker (stop unwanted pop-up ads), disk clean-up (securely destroy all the data on your old hard disk) and others. So, I'd recommend it.

Member Avatar for Colonel Panic

I don't want you to wet your pink panties.

So maybe for all the hysterics here I should correct my statement as follows:

By using (the latest version of) Firefox, Mozilla or Opera you drastically reduce the possibility of Malware being installed on your computer, compared to someone using IE with ActiveX and ActiveScripting enabled, as most of my (unexperienced) customers did before consulting me.

Or you want to tell me that Spooner above with his 14.000 infections was using FF? Well if you do, then it's my part to piss my pants of laughter.

Cheers,

Michael

What ever ass <Insert random joke about the "pink panties" being your mother/sister/wife/girlfriend's>. I wasn't talking about Spooners specific situation, just the broad and ignorant statement that you made. What makes it funnier is that you have customers that you consult. No need to get uptight buddy, but whatever. If you really feel like your feelings were hurt, PM me then...

:moves on:

Symantec 10 corporate catches spyware. It actually catches quite a lot. It has it's own preferences on how to handle spyware seperate from viruses. From an administration standpoint, I love it. I have one program that I have to administer to catch spyware and viruses and it's a realtime scanner too, which some of these anti-spyware programs don't have, unless you buy the "pro" version.

Has any one else beta tested Microsoft's Anti-Spyware? It seems okay to me. I was thinking about imaging a drive with some spyware to see how it stacked up with the others.

Member Avatar for pcschrottie

Please give me an example of malware installed under FF 1.0.6, so I can learn something. Thx.

And something else: promoting software as a solution against malware is, in my point of view, the wrong approach to the problem.


Michael

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