Realtime protection is what gets my ettention out of thisif it stays free. But if they plan to charge for it, I'll prefer to invest in Spy Sweeper

You have to pay for Microsoft Antispyware yet it still requires other programs to 'finish the job'. Microsoft needs to post that puppy for free until they get the bugs out of the program and all the hackers figure out how to use it to install spyware (like they do with Media player).

Microsoft Antispyware 1.0 Beta is free, no paying involved. Microsoft didn't create this program, Giant did, so you probably won't see as many vulnerabilities.

Really? Anti-Spyware Testing. I think you are really misled that a large database gaurantees better detection. Paying for spyware remover programs is a waste of time and unnecessary if you know what you are doing.

Yes, mostly the same with me, I use IE without getting spyware... but once you have spyware once, it seems hard to return your system to a pure state. Because a spyware/adware program will often open your system up to a lot of other spyware programs. On one of my computers, I didn't start being careful about clicking dialogs until I found out about spyware/adware, which didn't really exist so much a decade ago. I cleaned the computer of it, and running IE more conscientiously or running Firefox I don't a lot of spyware--- once in a while maybe every month or so a spyware program appears again on my computer that I have to remove.

Microsoft deserves credit at least in that now GIANT's software will be used more; not many people knew about GIANT AntiSpyware, and Microsoft distributing it will make it more popular

Yes that test 5 shows adaware picking up more than some of the paid ones that cost. But test one shows some of the paid ones picking up more so does test 3 lol. And that flexbeta test showed that ms antispyware picked up more than spybot and adaware. Plus them test on spywarewarrior didnt include trojans worms and keyloggers. I like any product that has all this in their database http://research.pestpatrol.com/WhitePapers/Glossary.asp I never said it guarantees better detection, just that them paid has a larger database and includes stuff that spybot and adaware doesnt check for. And I have always said spybot and adaware is a must have and if you have the money and want to buy one go buy one. Yes I agree with you if you know what you are doing you usually dont have to worry but anyone can make a mistake and most people dont even know what software contains spyware cause they dont read the eula for everything they install or goto the wrong site and get some crap from the website.

The Spyware warrior test is a much better test then flexbetas, it is more throrough and accurate. Spyware removers that artificially inflate themselves with Trojan and Keylogger detections are not accurate either. Those should be removed with Antivirus software. This would make sense why the database numbers look better then they are on the paid ones.

I agree that antivirus should remove the trojans but they miss sometimes so you have backup just in case. But when it comes to keyloggers and other monitoring software antivirus products dont catch some cuase from what I have seen and read some is considered not a bad thing not a threat or infection. I think it is good that keyloggers and trojans are listed in their database. even spy sweeper detects them http://www.webroot.com/spywareinformation/spywaredefined/



Even spybot detects some trojans and keyloggers http://www.safer-networking.org/en/dictionary/index.html
I havent seen any product that detects all the different type of spyware thats is listed here. Thats what I meant by more.

Good certified AntiVirus programs do not miss any Trojans. So wether or not a spyware remover program catches these is irrelevant. There are alot of Trojan programs that have nothing to do with Spyware/Malware and artificially inflating your database with AntiVirus definitions does not mean your application detects more spyware. PestPatrol takes alot of liberties and adds in detection for Trojans that are not spyware/malware related. It is like saying my AV program and Ad-aware detect more things then any of them, it is a stupid argument. What matters is wether or not the program detects spyware/malware that the AV programs do not classify as Viruses ect... Adaware and Spybot do this fine and better then PestPatrol and Spysweeper.

The link I posted for the test was the most accurate because it used the latest definitions if you ran the test with the most current definitions you would see roughly the same ratio.

The bottom line is you do not need to pay for spyware removal programs.

EXACTLY.

I've tried out a few of the various spy/ad removing apps that charge a fee to use and to update, and have also tried most of the free variations that are out there. What i've found, is that occasionaly, the more costly apps do find one or two things the free aps leave behind. However, if those are nothing more than false positives I can't say for certain.

In the end, much like with a variety of other types of software, a lot of it comes down to the point of cost. Why pay for it? That is the real question. Spyware Doctor by PC Tools, and WebRoot's Spysweeper are two classic examples of where you have to not only pay for the software itself, but also pay to access updates. This, sadly, is a trend that the makers of anti-virus aps are starting to follow. They need to read their history books.

It was tried originally, to charge people for updates to antivirus detections. It failed horribly, and the companies that offered users no other option, quickly lost their customers and ended up out of business back in the 80's/early 90's.

No one is going to pay for what they can get for free, and much like in the case of anti-virus apps, there are pleanty of free adware/spyware definitions on the net you can get access to for updating your protection. It has also been proven lately, that the "BIG two" antivirus apps, i.e. Norton and McAfee have some rather large holes in their detection capabilities that a variety of freeware apps catch. Both AntiVir anti-virus and AVG personal anti-virus(both free) have been shown to catch, block, and remove more than either Norton or McAfee's products.

Much is the same when it concerns spyware/adware apps. I personaly like the idea of the Hitman product, of combing several different apps into one, but again, it isn't released in english, and is technicly an illegal product, due to the fact it makes use of combining several commerical products without the license to do so.

If any programmer is able to put together an application for free personal and commerical use, that offers frequent and free updates via the internet to detection/blocking lists, that is able to combine the effectiveness of Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, Spyware Blaster, and either AVG or AntiVir anti-virus all into a single app, the others will probably all end up going out of business due to lack of sales.

I also think the idea of combining an anti-virus and anti-spyware/anti-adware propgram makes some good sense. The reason? Take a look at some of the latest CWS(Cool Web Search) spyware variants. They behave very much like a virus. They can change, i.e. morph themselves, into versions that are just different enough from what spyware apps detect to either avoid detection or to simple reinfect your system once the originals are removed. This is why I also think a good registry cleaning app along the lines of Registry Medic or Registry Mechanic, should be added as well. Most anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-adware products will clean the base infection, but do nothing to remove the the variety of registry changes these malicious programs leave all over your system. This ends up making it twice as likely that you will get re-infected all over again.

One thing that could help this is simple, educate consumers and computer users. If we could somehow put aside petty differences(which sadly still exist on the internet in far too many places), and present a united front to these companies that are creating and releasing these malicious applications on the internet, and simply hit them where it counts the most, i.e. the pocketbook, and refuse to buy their products until they cease doing so, you'd see spyware dissapear from the net very very quickly.

don't resurrect such old threads. i don't like ms antispyware either, big bulky and it messed up my pc.

ahem, norton

The pay spyware programs find nothing more then the free ones find with an ICSA cerrtified antivirus program. Whether or not an antivirus or spyware removal program leaves registry entries behind has nothing to do with the likely hood of reinfection.

Not surprised the Microsoft product won out at the end of the review - it was after all GIANT softwares product.

Indeed it was, but not many people used it before because it wasn't known. Now that Microsoft purchased it, everyone is using it, or just about everyone.

Mastertech give you a example you can try it out to see what results you get. All these programs are updated and did a scan today. Mcafee home edition v9 adaware and spybot didnt detect this keylogger http://www.bosseveryware.com/ Spyweeper and msantispyware(giant) did. And mcafee is ICSA certified.

That is because Bosseverywhere is not a keylogger or something that is installed as a Trojan, Virus or Spyware, it is an application either you or an administrator would install. MS Antispyware also detects VNC which is remote connect software that the user has to install. These are not malicious programs, you don't get Bosseverywhere via a bad email or bundled through some download. It is like detecting Remote Assitance is enable in XP, big deal.

BTW MS Antispyware detects Kazaalite as Spyware. These programs produce a lot of false positives.

They can be if someone else puts them on your computer and uses them without your knowledge. So there you go there is one that the free ones cant detect and that is ICSA certified.

Hello! ICSA certification does not detect applications that are not malicious. Any ICSA certified program is not going to detect things like remote connect software such as VNC, PC Anywhere ect... or Boss Anywhere which is something you install. ICSA certification has nothing to do with normal applications.

Well I have proven my point there is stuff at least on thing the free ones cant detect nor a ICSA certified antivirus can detect and paid ones like spysweeper can. You look around on the net and ask them people that got thier passords stolen cuase of vnc or cuase of keylogger and ask them if they would or wouldnt have like to known about it. Tell you what let me install one of them on your computer and sit there and do nothing cuase it dont matter that someone has them programs on your computer right and let me have fun. I think I got my point across. If one of them program gets installed withour you knowledge then you should know how is spying and keep tracking of you.

Sweet...I just ran MS Antispy and found 5 entries that spysweeper and adaware SE didn't find

You didn't prove anything other them you don't understand the difference between malicous programs and administrative applications. The only way administrative applications get installed is for someone to PHYSICALLY install them on your PC, they don't just "appear" People need administrative access to do these things. These are not programs people get via infected, emails, downloads, file sharing or any of the other real problems. These are programs, some of which you can BUY. You can buy PC Anywhere in the store so does this mean Spysweeper is a better antispyware program because it says it is installed??? Your whole argument is laughable.

Again MSAntispyware will sometimes find useless entries for applications that are no longer installed on your system. This does not mean your infected.

Whatever Mastertech what I say still is true if someone installs one of them programs on your computer and dont tell you thats a security risk and something I would like to know about. That has actually happened before and if that person had one of them programs he wouldnt have had his passwords changed and someone in his computer doing what they wanted. Antispyware products are suppose to let you know of monitoring programs and a program that gives you control of another computer and that person doesnt know is considered not good what so ever. If you know its there then ignore it, if you dont then you can figure out whats going on. Thats why they probably list it, cuase they dont know if you know its installed or not and letting you know about it.

No spyware removal program is perfect. Just because you pay for a program doesn't make it any better, just assures you that your gonna be out some money. Using the MS AntiSpyware, Spybot, and Ad-Aware will remove almost everything you need. If you want to pay an extra $30, get SpySweeper which is a very good program, it probably isn't necessary to most people.

old news.... Btw I prefer spybot and ms antispyware(wish they would come up with a better name lol)

So what's with all of these quibbles over MS AntiSpyware not being free?? They have already stated that the program will be completely free to all authentic Windows users.

I don't feel like searching for the article/statement, but I know it to be true. I've used both AdAware and SB - S&D before MS AntiSpyware, and both programs let spyware through and missed things on occasion. Since I installed MS AntiSpyware I have not had ONE instance of spyware on my computer. Some of the toolbar apps, etc. would get through previously, not anymore, not once.

MS didn't even develop this product, which has been stated earlier, so no one is an "MS Fanboy" fo claiming this product is better, it just IS. I would highly recommend this program as the best-in-class.

So your saying antivirus programs and antispyware programs shoud detect PC Anywhere? And what about your nonsense notion about ICSA certification? BTW which only applies to viruses NOT regular programs such as remote connect software. Even better why do neither of these mention if Remote Assistance is enabled? This is as big a threat as VNC according to you. No offense but the only way Boss Anywhere can get installed on your machine is if your not the administrator (work environment) or a complete idiot. It is not Spyware and it is not A Virus.


I've not had one instance of Spyware using Ad-aware or Spybot without MS Antispyware. Then again I've long uninstalled MSJVM, installed SpywareBlaster and upgraded to SP2.

hehe after I installed MS Antispyware here I don't remember more neither LOL MS Antispy rocks

Link to the actual comparison:

<a href='http://www.<< spam >>/main/articles.php?action=show&id=84' target='_blank'>http://www.<< spam >>/main/articles.php?action=show&id=84</a>

EDIT: OK, this is really stupid. Whatever.

The test just confirmed what all educated users already know.



This was an assumption that turned out to be incorrect. MS antispyware will continue to be free for Windows users, as confirmed by Bill Gates.

MS bought it, made some small changes, and is offering it for free. Good enough for me.

I'd never heard of this program before microsoft bought it, I used ad-aware and/or spybot. Thae fact that MS bought this program and offering it for free is kinda like them admitting that the spyware problem is as a result of the flaws in windows. Buying an already designed program is easier for them than starting from scratch.

Well done Microsoft I say.

Who cares if Microsoft bought it from someone else as long as it works. In this case it works much better than any other anti-spyware. I uninstalled As-Aware as soon as I got MS Anti-Spyware.

I recommend it!!

I agree with one thing in all the posts previous This isnt a perfect world and some programs work better than others whether they are paid for or free. IMHO free antispyware programs are made by honest people who are sick of the crap we have to endure to safely browse the internet. In a perfect world these keyloggers and active x controls that try to instal themselves wouldnt exist. Ive tried several antispyware programs and ternd to stick with spywareblaster, adaware, spybot and spywareguard (only if i ever need to use internet explorer) and on the odd occasion where ive had a memory lapse ive had to resort to hijackthis. Since learning that microsoft will be issuing msantispyware as a free app i'll be installing that as another safeguard but i will not discontinue use of the other apps i use to keep my system clean.
with regards to mastertech thinking that antispyware apps should not scan for admin installed keyloggers etc then he must be deluded. for instance if say for argument say bought a pc from a little pc shop and the guys there decided that it would be a great idea if they installed a keylogger and remote access app on your nice new machine that you so long have waited for to purchase stuff over the internet entering your credit card details thinking your on a secure site you've read the agreement with the online shop that your details are gonna be safe. Yeah safe from them but not from those inoccuous little programs that the guys at the pc shop have installed and can easilly gather very personal details about you. So IMHO ANY program designed to spy on the way you use YOUR pc SHOULD be detected by antispyware programs

That is just ridiculous. If your stupid enough to buy a PC from a shady shop that is your problem and I don't think they would be using programs that show up in Add/Remove. Antispyware applications are designed to detect programs that get installed on your machine without your knowledge. These do not include ones that people physically install while sitting at your machine that are not hiding what they do. You do realize businesses and IT use remote connect software all the time for maintenance. If dumb users run MSAntiSpyware it will disable IT's ability to fix their PC.

So do you think Antispyware programs should detect PC Anywhere and Windows XP Remote Assistance? Why doesn't Microsoft AntiSpyware detect that Windows XP Remote Assistance is enabled?

How is it ridiculous how do you know that your local neighbourhood pc store that is legit hasnt got some criminal working for them come on dude wake up and smell the coffee there are unscrupulous people out there in the IT business and you know it. The only reason any kind of remote assistance is installed on PC's is because at times some people need help but there are more sinister ways that these programs can be used but consumers need to be informed that these programs are installed on their machines and the reasons why they are installed. We as consumers need to know that these programs are installed and given the choice as to remove them or not

oh and as a post script : any admin of a network that relies on remote assistance who cant configure antispyware to exclude neccessary programs from deletion shouldnt be an admin

I am an OEM and deal with local PC shops all the time. If you were one you would realize people are buying their PCs from DELL, Gateway and HP not local shops anymore. These companies don't install any remote connect software.

Not to mention you are avoiding the question. Why doesn't MS AntiSpyware detect that Remote Assistance is enabled? Should it detect that PC Anywhere is "Spyware" too? Remote Connect software is NOT spyware.

If you worked as an admin you would understand my concern. The problem is after the fact. An end user installs MS AntiSpyware (Which does not need admin rights to install) and disables the remote connect software preventing them from getting help in the field. You can not see why this is a problem if the end user is six states away? No Antispyware programs have no business setting off panic and false alarms regarding remote connect software.

So what you're saying is that everyone that works in IT and build pc's are honest people , what about the recent AOL scandal where some high up technician decided to sell off everyones details to ad firms. An admin who is in charge of maintaining a network of pc's whether remotely or on a LAN is obligated to keep their clients informed as well as the end user informing their admin.
I go back to my previous point where sadly their are dishonest people out there and in some circumstances these remote assistance programs can be a REAL threat to the novice user allbeit they are installed initially for a beneficial purpose. Ive messed around with some remote assist progs and i use one in particualr on regular occasions to help out friends and family, right now due to me being limited to dial up i can notice the bandwidth useage very noticeably if someone is remoting with me but on dsl you wouldnt know if someone is trawling thru your private files. Honestly I dont mind false positives from antispyware apps in fact i welcome them because i know what i have installed on my pc at least these false positives show that the program is doing what it was intended for and that is to scan your pc for any threats whether spy , ad , mal , or security breaches.
In answer to your question why doesn't msantispyware detect remote assistance I can't honestly tell you why not ask microsoft or GIANT the main developers of the software.

Looks like I am not the only one that can see where them type of apps can be harmfull to your computer if you dont know they are installed.

Messing around with and actually using a Remote Assistance program are two different things. These programs are not spyware, malware or viruses. The average end user is going to think they are and in certain circumstances foolishly remove them. The average user will not have these installed, detecting them as spyware is a waste of time.

You lost all credibility saying you welcome false positives, it is obvious you do not do this for a living.