Spyware Doctor ???

[russrags]

What kind of Spyware software are you using ???

 

About a year ago I got a virus and ended up with Spyware Doctor on my computer, but I do not like doing business with this company and am wondering if there are other's who have the same experience with them, and what seems to be the best way to go for anti spyware these days???

 

I think Spyware Doctor has a little too aggressive business plan and it's unethical the way they operate. I suspect they're the kind of company who will infect you with the virus, then sell you the cure. I bought their software, and now as it turns out I was only renting their software as it is now expired and does not work at all. Upon spending money with them, within 48 hours they were trying to draft even more money from my account and I had to put a stop to that. Now that my software is 366 days old they hit me with SPAM with the big warning ads that I might be infected and wanting me to renew my account !!! Unbelievable.

 

What anti spyware are you using???

 

Russ

Nashville

[3red]

none, i use linux

[dahkter]

Hi Russ,

Spyware Doctor sounds like a virus itself.

On a Windows Machine, I'm a big advocate of Avast Anti Virus.

It automatically updates new virus definitions all of the time, and is less of a resource hog than Norton or McCaffee. Although not an anti spyware software, it catches the culprits before they're on your PC in the first place.

My recommendation would be that you back up all of your files on that computer, reformat and do a clean install of windows, then install Avast antivirus. Whenever you download anything from the internet, right click and scan for viruses before opening.

I know there are others on here who are great with computers, they should be able to offer you some more good advice.

Take care,

Jason

 

PS - Avast Antivirus is free software and is available at www.avast.com

[Magpel]

I use Spybot Search and Destroy, LavaSoft Adaware, Windows Defender and sometimes Rogue Remover. I use AVG for virus scanning. It updates daily and never catches anything, so, at least by its own insular standards, it is "working." I used to go get occasional "full body scans" at BitDefender.com but it doesn't seem to work since I switched to a Vista machine.

 

Reaper is great, but that's a DAW, not a spyware scanner.

 

My understanding is that majority of apps out there that want to shred your spyware are actually spyware...

 

The only real solution is to monitor your critical financial data daily and otherwise, live boldly and fearlessly by your own moral compass...

 

(ha ha)

[Inazone]

I've heard things like Spyware Doctor called "ransomware" because of the way they essentially force you to buy their product if you want to be able to use your computer. It's not legit, that's for sure.

 

You might want to try Trend Micro's free online "Housecall" scanner (http://housecall.trendmicro.com/) and see what it turns up. I'm not saying it should be your only solution, but I like it for situations where I don't want to run a memory-resident application.

[Super 8]

I like NoScript. It keeps a lot of crap from running on my machine.

http://noscript.net

[blue2blue]

Yeah... never EVER click on a so-called anti-virus or anti-spyware pop up advert! These companies are barely above the level of the virus writers and will do everything they can to plant invasive, extremely hard to remove software on your computer with even a single click on their websites. (Mind you, software from Norton and McAffee can be a PITA to remove, too -- although Norton was forced -- by a class action law suite, IIRC -- to create and offer a "Norton Software Removal Tool" just for getting the pernicious and ineffective Norton AV software disentangled from your Windows machine's guts.

 

I'll second the advice that Trend Micro's Housecall is a good anti-virus tool (I've also successfully used BitDefender's online scan but it's been a while and it turned up some false positives because it was pretty aggressive.)

 

But Housecall by itself is not an anti-adware spyware tool (Trend Micro sells one, though). I use Spybot and Ad-Aware. Adware is also called "grayware" sometimes because it exists in a legal netherworld. It's generally assumed to have been installed by consent (although social engineering trickery is often the trigger).

 

I don't run any anti-V or anti-spy softare in background (except for my firewall, of course). Since the big AV software [including Housecall, apparently ], as revealed by a study around a year or a year and a half ago, misses about 80% of new virus threats -- the ones you really need to worry about because they're the ones that are actively being promulgated -- I figure I'm better off simply surfing a little defensively. (Drive defensively. Surf defensively. Makes sense to me.) I don't go to sleazy porn or warez sites -- and I watch my step on those not quite-legal "free lyrics" sites (my closest call was at one... it used a drive by vulnerability in IE6 that I had just read about the night before -- but, stupid me, I was still using IE. The site DL'd its malware payload without asking --or me noticing -- and then I got an 'Are you sure you want to install this program?" I used MSConfig to back out of all processes, rebooted, ran Housecall, found the payload, nuked it, and then scanned the machine with BitDefender, just to be on the safe side.

 

I also use the Firefox plug in NoScript, which affords an extra layer of protection by intervening when a page uses javascript (which is about 97% of commercial sites at this point) and allowing you to turn on JS for that site or only turn it on temporarily.

[MrKnobs]

Anti-spyware software is unnecessary with a good anti-virus scanner.

 

Microsoft provides free scanning with a very good program found HERE.

 

In my opinion, programs like McAfee or Norton are worse performance sappers than the viruses they prevent.

 

Terry D.

[rjt]

I have Spyware Doctor (recommended in a Music Mag by an author I think is good.) Anyway, I don't like it. They have/can tone down their salesmanship if you send them an e-mail, but I just don't like the way their products work. Their AntiVirus program just crashed (literally shut itself off when I ran it) and their tech support was horrible. When this subscription runs out, I am going to remove it from my computer. I prefer a lot of the free ones like AVAST and AVG....for spyware I like Spybot. No more PC Tools Spyware Doctor for me!!

 

(As an aside, the problems I have had with Spyware Doctor include: Installing the Google Toolbar without asking me if I want to do that and now, very, extremely slow scans......takes about 8 hours with the "new" engine....used to take about an hour, and as stated their tech support stinks... IMHO)

[daklander]

 

none, i use linux

 

 

Me too, for the most part.

However, I do have to have Windows for some work stuff and there I run Avast. I ran AVG Free until recently when I read some good things about Avast in several reviews, catching more spyware and more virii.

I would stay farther away from Spyware Doctor than I do for Norton of McAfee.

Use Ad Aware along with Avast or AVG Free and you should be OK.

[russrags]

Hey Thanks guys, your all GREAT.

 

I've been using AVG and am pretty happy with that for anti-virus, I'll be uninstallling this Spyware Doctor program momentarily and just go with the Microsoft anti-spyware.

 

A full re-install of XP is in the near future ..uuuuggggh, I've got an album to mix first.

 

 

Russ

Nashville