No Reply From The Free Anti-spyware Program Vendors

[loginandtonic]

Some of you may recall I was using the free/shareware progs but only the paid one (Spyware Doctor) found graybird etc. I then got a free 1 year sub to SD by using Trialpay (took 13 hrs from trialpay to licence issue).

The always free anti-spyware people have not replied to my emails or forum posts about why their progs missed some trojans SD says it found.

I strongly recommend that instead of people posting, well meaning though they are, to say the always free progs do the job, they may not always be doing the job at all. you could like me have had trojans sitting on your machine that the free anti-virus progs and free anti-spyware progs missed.

Your options in getting Spyware Doctor:

pay 20 to 50 quid (not necessary - i dont recommend paying anything...read on)

or

do a free or paid trial of something at trialpay and get SD free completely legitimately

or

get google starter pack edition (free, but some less functionality) and get a version of SD there

or

use the link i posted in the orig thread for 90 days free SD (offer may expire by now)

You can check your machine with a free download of SD from PC Tools, but that free download only scans and won't fix anything it finds, for that you'll need to follow one of the above options.

You can also use free MS Windows anti-malware, how comprehensive it is I don't know. Link http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en

DONT RELY ON FREE PROGRAMS FOR ANTI VIRUS OR ANTI SPYWARE, yes in theory they should be as good because of the talent out there giving their programming services for free, open source etc, but i am now convinced that particularly with spyware control you should use SD and/or MS's Windows progs for the best chance of being malware/spyware clean as much as is poss.

dont listen to the people who will post on this thread after me that i dont know what i am talking about, sure we all want to believe the always-free one's are best - my experiences suggest otherwise, so wise up on this, get a proper program and give yourself a better chance of running a clean machine.

and to those of you who think you know it all on this forum, thx but on this one

[Guest Skinty]

Or you could just run Linux.

[The Ayatollah Buggeri]

This is an oversimplification. Free software can be OK: the key is to be clear how it is actually being paid for. Sometimes this is through a 'limited version = free, full version = costs' model. Some other software products are offered free without technical support, but the support costs. Others are funded through advertising on their support websites, and some (e.g. Firefox and some Linux distributions) are produced by volunteer labour, the volunteers being motivated either by altruism, ideology (e.g. hatred of Microsoft) or the desire to improve their programming skills.

The time to be suspicious is when free software is on offer with no indication of how the labour to produce it was volunteered or paid for, or if software is offered for free through dodgy channels that you know costs money through legitimate channels. In either scenario, the chances of it either not working or being disguised malware are high.

I do use a paid for utilities package (Iolo System Mechanic Pro), mainly because it's reasonably good value at £15ish a year, and it has an antivirus, firewall and system maintenance utilities package all bundled into one, hassle free and reasonably bloat-free offering. But there are perfectly good, free alternatives, Comodo and Zone Alarm being two examples.

[athom]

Can someone please do us all a favour. The next time you do a system reinstall or buy a new computer have this program on a disk and run it on a completely clean system. I just want to know if it finds anything. "subscribe now to clean your PC of these dreaded threats..."

This is what i got

[Gone baby gone]

Lots of anti-spyware / anti-virus software identifies things that are perfectly legitimate as trojans / viruses, etc. Two reasons for this, one they look for certain patterns in the code, which may occur in other software, two - the more chance you think there is of being infected with something the more likely you are to buy or renew a licence...

[interestrateripoff]

Lots of anti-spyware / anti-virus software identifies things that are perfectly legitimate as trojans / viruses, etc. Two reasons for this, one they look for certain patterns in the code, which may occur in other software, two - the more chance you think there is of being infected with something the more likely you are to buy or renew a licence...

Yep seen this many times.

To the original OP did you send a sample of the file supposedly infected to any of the free security providers?

I've sent samples in the past to spybot and if genuine get added.

http://virusscan.jotti.org/en

Did you upload the file here and scan it?

I think what you have got is a false positive, I have seen these many times. If memory serves me correct Sophos once detected CCleaner as a virus on my PC. After sending the file to Sophos this was resolved. Just because something has been flagged as a virus it does not mean that it is.

[Gurgle]

Or you could just run Linux.

Or a Mac

[godless]

Or a Mac

Or a BBC

[curious1]

Or a BBC

[athom]

Or a BBC

I case you fancy a game of Chucki Egg http://www.repton3.co.uk/chuckieegg.aspx

[Gurgle]

I case you fancy a game of Chucki Egg http://www.repton3.co.uk/chuckieegg.aspx

Awesome!! One of my favourite all-time games. I played this for days on end when i was a kid. (Yeah, no life I know.)

[Prescience]

. If memory serves me correct Sophos once detected CCleaner as a virus on my PC. After sending the file to Sophos this was resolved. Just because something has been flagged as a virus it does not mean that it is.

I have been a Sophos tester since the Beta Edition thru Gamma and now a user of the full-blown Enterprise Edition.

IMHO the full package is the global best.

But it costs.............................

Sophos like all real time scanning systems has to be educated by the user at first implementation: early on, it even flagged up problems for MS upgrades and package installs!

Let alone other proprietory and known software.

As already stated, send the "Virus" trojan suspected malware profile to a major market vendor in AV, ASW etc and see what they report.

I would suggest that if you suspect virus infection or indeed Spyware, Malware or any other naughty stuff is residing on your HDD< then take up the Sophos offer of a free scan.

http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/vi...jgraybirdv.html

[loginandtonic]

thx for all posts

just to update: SD - did a full scan - has now found more trojans - i already have the full paid version, found Execryptor tagged "suspicious" ditto Thermida.rga and tagged "high" risk agent!sd6 which i dont what that is, it has sd in the name...?!

anyway, i stand by my recommendations because the free progs never found these

[interestrateripoff]

thx for all posts

just to update: SD - did a full scan - has now found more trojans - i already have the full paid version, found Execryptor tagged "suspicious" ditto Thermida.rga and tagged "high" risk agent!sd6 which i dont what that is, it has sd in the name...?!

anyway, i stand by my recommendations because the free progs never found these

http://www.threatexpert.com/report.aspx?md...f3be7837acd70a4

"suspicious" does not equal virus, many legitimate programs can get flagged in this way.

http://virusscan.jotti.org/en

http://scanner.virus.org/

Upload the suspect files here and get a second opinion.

[loginandtonic]

http://www.threatexpert.com/report.aspx?md...f3be7837acd70a4

"suspicious" does not equal virus, many legitimate programs can get flagged in this way.

http://virusscan.jotti.org/en

http://scanner.virus.org/

Upload the suspect files here and get a second opinion.

thx irro, but i dont know how, and i've just deleted them having created a restore point in case they were as you say sus but not bad boys

[mspL4]

Hey!,

Try SuperAntiSpyware and MalwareBytes' AntiMalware for free spyware detection...and Avira Antivir for free Anti Virus...I run all 3 at home and in work and between them they are Da BomB, (unless you don't update them regularly).

For servers I use ClamWin free Anti Virus...

There's also a fix out for the Avira so that you don't keep getting reminders to upgrade to the Full Version every time an update takes place...run secpol.msc and create a software restriction policy for avnotify.exe

Spyware Doctor? Isn't that Jarg anyhoo?

mspL4

[loginandtonic]

Hey!,

Try SuperAntiSpyware and MalwareBytes' AntiMalware for free spyware detection...and Avira Antivir for free Anti Virus...I run all 3 at home and in work and between them they are Da BomB, (unless you don't update them regularly).

For servers I use ClamWin free Anti Virus...

There's also a fix out for the Avira so that you don't keep getting reminders to upgrade to the Full Version every time an update takes place...run secpol.msc and create a software restriction policy for avnotify.exe

Spyware Doctor? Isn't that Jarg anyhoo?

mspL4

THIS IS THE REASON I POST - I did have SAS updated + no it did not find them, thats why i post here my very strong recommendation: use the links I provided in the other thread on Graybird etc + get either the google free version or the trialpay full version - don't mess about with perhaps what might be a false sense of security that the free ones are as good

[mspL4]

THIS IS THE REASON I POST - I did have SAS updated + no it did not find them, thats why i post here my very strong recommendation: use the links I provided in the other thread on Graybird etc + get either the google free version or the trialpay full version - don't mess about with perhaps what might be a false sense of security that the free ones are as good

Maybe SAS didn't detect them because they weren't there in the first place? A common trait of so-called "Proper" programs is to inform you that you have loads of threats on your machine when really you haven't...and you can't clean them unless you purchase the FULL product.

Running all free AV and AS software on a number of machines without problems, these Open Source alternatives are developed by the same breed of Software Developer as their Commercial counterparts. Sure, the ones you pay for may look nicer but that's about it.

That's why Free Packages always state, "for Personal use not for use in a commercial or enterprise environment" as the functionality isn't there for mass deployment and administration, these are features which benefit many users, not just one but this doesn't affect their effectiveness as a detection and eradication tool.

Paying for Software? Are you crazy?

If you're determined to use something which is "serious software" and which you should pay for then I'm sure you could always "Obtain" a copy without paying...this would probably tell you what's really running on your machine, if anything...

It's also best practise to run more than 1 Anti Spyware program on your system as there will always be threats that one will pick up which the other one won't, (this doesn't necessarily mean that it's Sh!t software) this is due to the updating mechanisms and the speed at which Threats are identified and Definition files are deployed to the client apps...

Please don't shout...I'm tired

mspL4

[loginandtonic]

Maybe SAS didn't detect them because they weren't there in the first place? A common trait of so-called "Proper" programs is to inform you that you have loads of threats on your machine when really you haven't...and you can't clean them unless you purchase the FULL product.

Running all free AV and AS software on a number of machines without problems, these Open Source alternatives are developed by the same breed of Software Developer as their Commercial counterparts. Sure, the ones you pay for may look nicer but that's about it.

That's why Free Packages always state, "for Personal use not for use in a commercial or enterprise environment" as the functionality isn't there for mass deployment and administration, these are features which benefit many users, not just one but this doesn't affect their effectiveness as a detection and eradication tool.

Paying for Software? Are you crazy?

If you're determined to use something which is "serious software" and which you should pay for then I'm sure you could always "Obtain" a copy without paying...this would probably tell you what's really running on your machine, if anything...

It's also best practise to run more than 1 Anti Spyware program on your system as there will always be threats that one will pick up which the other one won't, (this doesn't necessarily mean that it's Sh!t software) this is due to the updating mechanisms and the speed at which Threats are identified and Definition files are deployed to the client apps...

Please don't shout...I'm tired

mspL4

just take my word for it ok, i'm not as green as i am cabbage looking, if i wasnt 99% sure i wouldnt post the warning here, i know i'm among IT boffins on this forum so i wouldnt say it if i wasnt sure, and the links i posted on my graybird thread (see my other thread by clicking on my name then options then topics) gives you access to free downloads of functioning SD or just go to google starter pack free edition + select SD as a free option

ps i will just add SD might flag harmless things sometimes, who knows, it might have flagged part of MS Word as my MS Word now doesn't start, but you can rollback with the program's own restore point

[loginandtonic]

MS Word back to working, and I didnt do a restore, so MS Word problem was unrelated to SD, just a Windows problem

[loginandtonic]

i have a fully updated paid version (via trialpay) of SD with intelliguard etc

yet the fake virus scan browser hijack problem STILL happens, and the only way out is to kill IE or Firefox 3.5 (happens in both) when i stumble upon a web page that has that fake virus scan in it

i though SD gets rid of that and/or protects against it, but seems not.

meanwhile Avast! etc says my system is clean as does SD.

go figure.