Antispyware Shootout

An anonymous reader writes "ZDNet has published a review of 8 antispyware products from Computer Associates, Lavasoft, McAfee, Microsoft, PC Tools, Symantec, Trend Micro and Webroot. Check out the Editor's Choice. Interesting winner ...." I've used quite a number of these scanners on and on & off basis, and I think the reality is that you if you are truly to clean a machine out, you're going to need to use like three - five of these. Each of them captures a certain area, but none are the One Ring or anything.

The site might be experiencing tech. difficulties

[digitaldc]

or the shootout ended up killing everyone, including the article.

Re:Enough power

[c0l0]

Well, I guess we now know why Intel is heading for _FOUR_ cores on one DIE in 2007. One for your personal tasks, and the other 3 cores each for one anti-spyware-thingie exclusively ;)

One Ring?

[Kjella]

Each of them captures a certain area, but none are the One Ring or anything.

Apparently powerful, but deceptive and treacherous with a rootkit from the creator?

Re:Enough power

[Oopsz]

There's only one thing you need to clean a spyware ridden system, and it doesn't use much CPU time at all..

Delpart [russelltexas.com].

And the winner was...

[Anonymous Coward]

...a Mac and a Linux user, who wondered what all the fuss was about.

TFA is 15 pages

[hikerhat]

That's way too long for me to waste my time on. I didn't read it, but I'll try and summarize it:

1. Don't download/install it if you don't know what it is and you're on a windoz box.
2. Install four or five spyware/virus scanners that execute every time you access a file if you're on a windoz box. Performance be damned. It doesn't matter what brand. Four or five different brands are enough.
3. No matter what four or five brands you install, someone is someday going to get their hands on your windoz box, and download some spyware/virus that isn't detected by the four or five scanners you have installed. So really, don't install anything. Just don't do number one, and lock your windoz computer in a big safe.
4. Amazon/Paypal/Ebay is not going to suspend your account if you don't click on that link in that email and fill in your name and password. Don't worry.

SpyAxe

[borawjm]

I recommend SpyAxe. It generates pop-ups and then, conveniently and promptly, lets me know that my machine has been infected with spyware.

Spoken like a true, like, 15 year old

[crivens]

"you're going to need to use like three - five of these. Each of them captures a certain area, but none are the One Ring or anything."

The best anti-spyware measure is between your ears

[Sockatume]

In the wise words of Luis Villazon: [pcformat.co.uk]

Imagine if there was a billion dollar industry dedicated to selling you hyenas to control the badgers in your garden. Imagine that, even though there are no badgers in your garden and never have been, these companies told you that you needed to have a snarling, vicious hyena patrolling your lawn in case one should ever appear. And not just one hyena either, imagine they told you to add another hyena every month to provide adequate protection. And imagine that the hyenas were bad-tempered, smelly, dug holes in the lawn and chewed on your leg whenever you stepped outside. Finally, imagine that your garden was surrounded by a high wall anyway and the only way for badgers to get in was for someone to post them to you in a conspicuous badger-shaped parcel that you could simply refuse to accept when the postman delivered it.

Only one way to be sure...

[Innova]

and I think the reality is that you if you are truly to clean a machine out, you're going to need to use like three - five of these.

Actually, I only need one method to make sure that the machine is truly clean:

format c:

Re:Enough power

[scruffy]

One for your real work, one for spyware, one for anti-spyware, and the last one for DRM.

What is spyware ?

[MagicFab]

Could someone please explain to me what Spyware and viruses are ? I've been on Linux for 3 years and I forgot.

Social Physics, really.

[Valacosa]

Nah. It's just that stories like this vindicate our reading of SlashDot on company time, so everyone opens it.

"Look Boss! It's about computer security! It's good that I'm reading this, right?"
 
(Funny joke, though)

Re:Enough power

[plover]

Three cores for the Aussie geeks, on their big island.
Seven cores for the anti-spy programs, in their halls of ivory.
Nine cores for trojans, doomed to spam.
One core for the user, all alone.

One chip to run them all
One northbridge to bind them
One RAM to feed them all
And in the SMP array bind them.

In the land of Mobos where the shadows lie.

typo

[commodoresloat]

Windows is a better operating system with more software than Mac OS X.

You misspelled "spyware."