Recommended Antispyware Software

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Vundo virus information. We have seen a large number of infections from the Vundo virus recently. Most commonly, it's Windows XP with Internet Explorer 6 or 7 that is infected. Vundo is a trojan type virus that installs as a browser helper object (BHO) in Internet Explorer and serves popup ads while you are surfing. Some variants identify that you are infected with spyware and offer to sell you software to fix the spyware. The software sounds official like "MSAntivirus" or "AntiSpyware 2009." These are scams. Do not buy software from a popup even if it looks official.

Vundo renames itself and creates undeletable entries in the registry. These self-defense mechanisms make it difficult for antivirus and antispyware programs to permanently remove. Vundo seems to reappear when it's deleted and reinstalls itself with every boot.

To remove Vundo, we recommend SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes AntiMalware and a good antivirus program such as AVG. Boot into Safe Mode with networking, update SuperAntispyware, AntiMalware, and your antivirus program. Run a complete scan and reboot into normal mode. Repeat the scans in normal mode. once you are convinced that Vundo is gone, create a new entry in System Restore. These antivirus programs have failed to prevent or fix the latest variants of Vundo: McAfee, TrendMicro.

The best defense against this trojan is to STOP USING INTERNET EXPLORER. IE is the favorite target of hackers because it has the largest number of users and they keep finding exploits. Any other browser is safer simply because they have fewer users. We recommend and use FireFox, Chrome, and Opera.

Antispyware is essential for any computer connected to the Internet. It is every bit as important as antivirus. Spyware slows your computer and your Internet connection down to a crawl and sometimes to the point where you can't boot. Spyware has matured enough that it is very clever about getting past your computer's defenses and you need equally sophisticated defenses.

Antispyware needs to be similar to antivirus by having multiple lines of defense:

• A file scanner that seeks out spyware already installed. A smart scan (fast) and thorough scan (slow) should be selectable. You can use as many scanners as you like - they don' t tend to interfere with each other.
• An immunization method to prevent spyware from being installed. Usually this involves setting portions of your registry to read-only. Some spyware gets around it anyway.
• A real-time memory-resident scanner to catch installations as they occur. Only install one of these as they could step on each other and cause problems.
• A backup and restore to be able to recover from an ugly spyware incident.

Some antispyware programs exaggerate the threat of cookies or most-recently-used (MRU) entries. These are generally harmless, but it doesn't hurt anything to delete them. These shouldn't get red flags, more like a yawn would suffice.

These are a few antispyware products that we recommend:

Free Antispyware

SuperAntispyware. This product is from the developers of SuperAdware and the original Pop-up Stopper. SuperAntispyware is very effective at finding and terminating memory-resident trojans that tend to be difficult to control because they change file names at each reboot. Tip: Run SuperAntispyware in safe mode for difficult trojans. SA is free for personal use on your home computer. If you install any antispyware, this is the best free program we know of. Updates are manual in the free version. US Netizen Recommended

Antimalware. This antispyware program is similar to SuperAntispyware and is a worthy addition as extra ammunition in fighting spyware. US it as a scanner, then close it. Does not include continuous protection. Updates are manual.

Windows Defender. This is built into Windows Vista and Windows 7 and is optional in Windows XP. It is an unobtrusive memory-resident and manual scanning program. Updates are automatic and scanning can be scheduled. Unfortunately, the protection is not as good as SuperAntispyware. Notably, Windows defender fails on the variants of Vundo, a stubborn trojan virus and spyware. No longer recommended

AdAware SE Personal. Another good scanner with a smart scan option that scans in less than five minutes. Again, no option for automatic updates or a scheduled scan. This one is free with the option to upgrade to the pay version, but they don't nag you. No immunization options. No scheduling options. If it can't clean a process, it will ask to run at next boot. Overall, a good program for scanning. Get AdAware.

Spyware Blaster. This is a free immunizer that prevents spyware from being installed. Simple to use and is regularly updated. Use this in conjunction with a scanner. Get Spyware Blaster.

Spyware Guard. This is a free real-time-memory resident scanner. Get Spyware Guard.

SpyBot Search and Destroy. A good scanner that is very thorough. It lacks a smart scan, so it is always slow. The immunization is simple, so use it. The memory-resident Tea Timer is not installed by default. If this is your only antispyware, install Tea Timer. There is no option for automatic updates. A scheduled scan can be set in Windows Scheduler. This can be set to run on your next Windows boot, but the option is buried in the settings. Updates are surprisingly rare. This program is free to use, but donations are recommended. Get SpyBot S&D. No longer recommended.

Industrial Strength Antispyware

Another option is paid antispyware. if you don't have the patience for free software or your computer is seriously infected, you need industrial strength software that you just can't get for free. Visit this page for a very detailed rundown on all the good and the really bad antispyware programs. Many programs are horrible and are responsible for those popups that tell you you are infected. Don't be fooled by advertisements masquerading as Windows alerts!

To save a bunch of time, we have distilled the paid choices down to out top pick: Webroot SpySweeper.

Webroot Spy Sweeper. This program has all the elements of good antispyware software: deep scanning, memory-resident processes, automatic updates. Not too CPU intensive when it's just protecting and not in deep scan mode. This is the most thorough scanner around and it does not install spyware itself. It has the seal of approval from a few reputable magazines as well. If you install this program, you should not install Spyware Blaster or Spyware Guard. Reviewed by PC Magazine in 2006 and touted as "Spy Sweeper is the best antispyware we've seen." If you buy an antispyware program, SpySweeper is the one. Take the free trial of course before you buy. US Netizen Recommended

What About Earthlink Anti-Spyware Protection? This program is included free with a $21.99/month subscription to Earthlink. Actually, this is a rebranded version of Aluria Anti-Spyware. This was also reviewed in 2006 by PC Magazine and was the worst of the bunch. The review stated "In testing, Aluria Anti-Spyware wasn't effective at removing or blocking keyloggers, though it did detect two of the six. When installed on our infested systems, it found two-thirds of the sample spyware but succeeded in removing less than half of those." We tested the Earthlink Free Spyware Scan and found that it did not actually scan our computer, but falsely reported finding five spyware programs. It reported our computer being infected with 008RemoteKeylogger, CoolWebSearch, IST.XXXToolbar, ISearch, and PSGuard.

We carefully looked for each of the five spyware programs and none were present. Of course, they offered to sell us the Protection Control Center for $48/year to remove these fictitious spyware programs. This is quite deceptive advertising by Earthlink, but they didn't create the software, they just licensed it from Aluria. When we ran the Aluria Scanner, it found three fictitious spyware programs and offered to sell us Aluria Anti-Spyware at $29.95 to remove them..

Based on our observations, we recommend staying away from anything created by Aluria including Earthlink Anti-Spyware Protection.

What about AOL Spyware Protection? This program is a rebranded version of Webroot Spy Sweeper. So, for $23.95/month, you get to use Spy Sweeper which would otherwise cost you $29.95/year.

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