OT: Major revelation in dealing with browser hijackings!!

[comicwiz]

Cool, comicwiz. Thanks. Just out of curiosity, what's the technical difference between Spybot and something like Lavasoft's Ad-aware? pros/cons etc?

 

The best way to describe it sterling is that each of these spyware apps is more proficient in dealing with the problem in a proactive or reactive state. I have yet to find a single program -- paying or not -- that works as well as SpyBot to "remove" the spyware that's thriving in your PC's . There are plenty that do this, but not as effectively.

 

Having said this, the one thing I wish SpyBot developers would do is cover the preventative angle as well as it does the removal -- which as far as I know through my own experience -- applications such as Ad-Aware, Hijack This and Pest Patrol are more adept at handling. So by design, you almost need both, and the main reason why is because spyware mostly attacks important registry files. This is the main reason why anti-virus solutions aren't able to pick them up. But because of this, it is sometimes very dangerous to allow them to enter your PC so freely, becuase a corrupt registry file could present extremely difficult and unstable operating conditions for your PC.

 

For the time being, SpyBot serves my purposes -- and it keeps things simple and low-cost. I could have been worse off, that's for sure. But between my firewalls, anti-virus software, and SpyBot, I've covered most of my anlges. And I don't want to pay for any preventative tool just yet. I have a feeling that someone will come out with an all-in-one solution soon, and when they do, I'll let everyone know.

 

Another really important thing I should point out; if anyone is using any P2P software like Kazaa or WinExplorer, you are opening yourself up to a significant amount of spyware threats. I have actually seen with my own eyes, spyware that attaches itself to multimedia files like music and software. Once in, this software is primarly designed to track the activity on your PC, and send data to the source/originator. The other angle is that you become their ad relay guinea pig, as your PC's ability to control your own internet browser becomes lost, and you automatically start getting pop-ups, some of a very distasteful nature. Lets just say its not the kind of stuff you want your kids seeing.

 

So if you do a fair bit of music downloading, get SpyBot, and something like Ad-Aware or Hijack-This as well (pay the money) -- either this, or stop using Kazaa of the P2P programs altogether.

[comicwiz]

I hope things run smoother now...

 

They should Aces. You will notice significant improvements in start-up, and overall performance -- and it doesn't hurt to run SpyBot once a week just to keep the machine immune from any threats that may invade.