Is there a legit spyware/adware product that I can download and have it scan AND remove those spyware/adwares?

Question

I have alot of hijackers and virus on my computer that I really need to get rid of. I have norton anti virus but it wont pick them up. I had to download spydoctor, but it only scans, it wont remove unless I buy the product online. Any ideas?! I really need to get this taken care of because my computer is running really slow, and its messing up my computer otherwise. Thanks all! I need as much help as I can get!

Answer 1

you asked for it !!
VIRUS REMOVAL:

this is a realll P.I.A. !!!

THE 1ST PART YOU NEED TO DO offline:
run anti-virus program
run anti spyware program
shut down System Restore
clear cookies
clear temp files
clear history
clear pre-fetch folder
clear out ALL emails starting at 2-3 days ago or when you 1st knew you were infected in:
ALL folders
sent
trash
junk

bookmarks or favorites folder in I.E. or Firefox

as you can see,there's QUITE a bit of work ahead of you.

shut down System Restore:
virus/spyware can hide in your system restore points so we shall delete all previous restore links hiding places by turning system restore OFF.
later,when we finish,we'll turn it back on,set up a new [ CLEAN ] restore to work from in the future.
hopefully,lol,you'll never need it !

XP Home:

start
all programs
accessories
system tools
system restore
settings
drive [c]
settings
check the OFF link

VISTA:

start
control panel
performance and information tools
open disk clean up
select o.s. [c]
select more options
select system restore and shadow copies
select clean up

XP Home & Vista:
start
control panel
internet options
general
clear cookies
clear temp files
clear history
and set history days to keep to 0

clear temp files
not all your temp files will be removed so easily,so we need to do this manually as well.
start
my computer [ or just computer in Vista ]
windows
temp
file
click each file and delete

Clear Pre-Fetch Files
start
my computer [ or just computer in Vista ]
windows
prefetch
file
select all
press delete key on keyboard

empty recycle bin

run anti-virus and anti-spyware programs again

when your protection programs find any pirates,DELETE them,do NOT quarantine !!

should you NOT have ANY protection programs installed:
Avast--anti-virus
AD Aware--anti-spyware
Spyware Blaster--anti-spyware blocker
Rootkit Revealer--anti-rootkit
Arovax
PC Tools Firewall--firewall to replace MS's deficient firewall [ turn that sucker OFF ! ] and replace with above.

replace windows firewall with PC Tools firewall
install Arovax protection and choose protection for internet explorer if you use it,firefox if you use that or opera if you use that
install spyware blaster and set for internet explorer and/or firefox protection

should you choose to install Firefox web browser [ and you SHOULD ]
here are some Firefox Security Extensions to install
CallingID Link Advisor
Finjan Secure Web Browsing
No Script
Dr. Web
SafeDownloads
http://browseraddons.friendpages.com...

now it's time to set up your new [ clean ] restore point

XP Home:

start
all programs
accessories
system tools
system restore
settings
drive [c]
settings
check the ON link

Vista:
start
control panel
back up and restore center
create restore point
create restore points on selected disks
select drive
click create
apply and ok

FINALLY....

SECURE COMPUTER:

NEVER !! :

open an email from:
anyone you do NOT know/trust
anyone purporting to be/from:

Microsoft
your bank
your creditors
your government
your financial company/ies
even your lawyer/s or church UNLESS you have a prior agreement with them
online petition
contains attachment/s

SAFE EMAIL SET UP:

YAHOO:
open options link on your email page
select spam
Spam Protection

Choose the tools you'll use to protect your mail account from spam. Not sure what tools you need? Take a look at our Setup Guide for help.
Spam Filter
SpamGuard is ON

For messages SpamGuard identifies as Spam:
Immediately delete these messages upon receipt. (Note: If you choose this option, you will not be able to review the messages before they are deleted.)
When I mark a message as Spam, in addition to deleting the message:
Add the sender's email address to my blocked addresses list
Image Blocking
Block images in messages that SpamGuard thinks are spam
[ possible but 1 or the other ]
Block all images until I've had a chance to look it over

Block Addresses

Block addresses from which you don't want to receive mail.
Add Block
Enter email address (or domain) to block:

GMAIL:
Gmail has an EXCELLENT spam filter,learn to trust it.
Spam Filtering is automatic,unlike Yahoo.
Gmail offers a second way to protect your inbox by using filters.
1st,you need to create labels [ folders ] to store your filtered email in.
then create the label filter.

SETTINGS:FILTERS:
Create a new filter
Create a Filter
Choose search criteria - Specify the criteria you'd like to use for determining what to do with a message as it arrives. Use "Test Search" to see which messages would have been filtered using these criteria.
From: Has the words:
To: Doesn't have:
Subject: Has attachment

after you fill the above out,you go to label [ folder ] selection.

MSN HOTMAIL:

on your email page,select options then more options
Junk e-mail
Filters and reporting
Safe and blocked senders

choose from these choices:
Safe and blocked senders
Safe senders
Manage who is allowed to send you e-mail. Messages from safe senders will not be sent to the junk e-mail folder.

Safe mailing lists
Manage which mailing lists are sent to your account. Messages to safe mailing lists will not be sent to the junk e-mail folder.

Blocked senders
Manage who is blocked from sending you e-mail. Messages from blocked senders are automatically deleted.

WINDOWS LIVE MAIL:
JUNK E-mail
Options:
safe list only
permanently delete suspected junk e-mail

Safe Senders:
add e-mail addresses to your safe list here
check:
also trust my Windows Contacts
automatically add people i e-mail to the safe senders list

Blocked Senders:
add senders addresses here to create a blocked address list

International:

Blocked Encoding List:

choose the language pack you do NOT want downloaded into your inbox here

Phishing:

check:
protect me from potential Phishing emails
move phishing emails to junk
apply & ok

Windows Live Mail has 2 other options:
Tools
message rules
mail
conditions:
where you choose:
from
to
subject
content and more

Message:
junk e-mail
add to:
safe senders
blocked senders

Web Browsers:

Internet Explorer:
XP Home & Vista:

start
control panel
internet options
general
history:
clear history
set days to keep to 0

Privacy:
advanced
override
First-party Cookies:
Accept
Always allow session cookies
Third-party [ spyware ] Cookies
Block
ok

Content:
content advisor
Enable
ratings:
set content you do NOT want permitted

Approved Sites:
add websites that ARE allowed ALWAYS here

apply & ok

Advanced:
Phishing Filter
enable

Security:
for Internet--Trusted Sites--Restricted Sites
custom
Enable Protected Mode
Custom Level:
XP Home:
Active X:
uncheck each active x control marked:
unsafe
unsigned

Vista:
be sure Active X controls and plugins is marked disable
as well as Automatic prompting for Active X controls
and download unsigned Active X controls
and Initialize and script Active X controls not marked as safe

XP & VISTA:

Access data sources across domains-disable
Allow scripting of Internet Explorer web browser control
disable

Allow script-initiated windows without size or position
disable

Allow websites to open windows without address or status bars
disable

Don't prompt for client certificate selection when none exist

Navigate sub-frames across different domains
disable

Use Phishing filter
enable

Allow status bar updates via script
disable

now for your Restricted Zone,EVERYTHING should be disabled EXCEPT:
Pop up blocker
Phishing Filter

[internet,trusted,restricted]
download signed-PROMPT
auto-prompt-DISABLE
binary & script-ENABLE
download UNsigned-DISABLE
download UNsafe-DISABLE
run active x-ENABLE
download SAFE -ENABLE

Spy Sites

Stop Web Sites from installing Spyware, Sleazeware and Cookies on your PC

SpySites includes a database of over 4,600
known Spy/Sleaze sites and guides you
through the simple process of including them in
Internet Explorer's Restricted Zone and setting policies
to prevent them from performing intrusive acts on your PC.
By setting the policies for the Restricted
sites zone to a very high level of security,
you can be assured that any web sites added
to the Restricted sites zone cannot do
certain things which could compromise your privacy
and security such as installing and/or running:
Spysites
http://camtech2000.net/pages/spysites_pr...

Pre-Fetch File Cleaning

pre-fetch files are "cached" or stored copies of files/websites you visit each session
after a period of time,these files hog up a LOT of disk space
for this reason,i advocate the deletion weekly of those space hogs
some claim that windows will automatically remove files older than 7 days
I have found MY pc does NOT perform this task so I do it manually
what happens is,when you go to a website,your pc looks into your pre-fetch file/folder
to see if that website is "cached",stored there FIRST
this gives you a faster website load,BUT,you get the "cached" version and NOT the NEWEST version
unless you have "check for newest version" checked in internet options
it may take that website 1/2 a second longer to load
but,you'll get the newest version loading each time

as added security,spyware removers often miss these files,so delete them manually.

My Computer,disk drive [c],windows,pre-fetch,view,select... all,select delete

same situation with Temp files:
Temp File Folder

i use Disk Clean to clean up extraneous files i no longer need
however,every time i use Disk Clean,it DOESN'T clean out Temp Files!
solution?
My Computer,local disk drive [c],windows,temp
you can safely delete each temp file there.
i leave the most current [that day] alone.
also,do not delete any FOLDER there
folders have a folder icon,leave alone
[ Vista,it's Computer ]

Firefox Web Browser:
tools
options
content
check block pop ups

load images automatically:
exceptions:
enter those websites addresses that show up on pop ups that appear AFTER you close a browser window
also add those same urls to
Privacy
Cookies
Exceptions

there are a number of kewl Security add on firefox extensions i use and they are:
CallingID link advisor
Dr. Web [ link checker ]
Finjan Secure Web Browsing
No Script
SafeDownload
http://browseraddons.friendpages.com...

IF you follow all the above suggestions,you'll not have the Fort Knox of computers,but Dammed close !

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

Do NOT download and install any more anti-virus programs unless you completely un-install any current anti-virus program.

The use of 2 anti-virus programs at the same time can cause major conflicts. The 2 scanning engines will fight each other to scan every file that you read, write or execute which can cause a slowdown. For the same reason, using 2 A-Vs can cause you to have less protection from the various malware, not more.

(Using an anti-spyware with an anti-virus is good, however and is recommended)

A much better solution, right now when your computer is severely infected, is the use of on-line scanners.

Run both of these on-line scans. Both are free and excellent at detecting and removing malware free of charge. There is no need to un-install your current protections before using these.

1. Scan for virus, worms, dialers, etc. and remove (free online scan, no downloaded program) with BitDefender's Online Scanner
http://www.bitdefender.com/

2. Scan for trojans, adware, cookies, and spyware and remove (free online scan, no downloaded program) with Ewido Online Scanner ( now known as AVG Anti-Spyware). This is NOT the same as AVG Anti-Virus.
http://www.ewido.net/en/

These scans will take quite a bit of time. The time is necessary to clean-up an infected computer.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Firstly update and run your anti-virus product. You can also run a free online scan as well as some malware can actually corrupt or disable your resident security products. Here are a few online scans you can run:
Trend - http://housecall.trendmicro.com/...
Panda - http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/ac...
Norton - http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/defau...

Second download, update and run scans using the following products:
SuperAntispyware
http://superantispyware.com/
Spybot S&D (free version requires manual updating)
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/downl...
AVG AntiSpyware
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/20/lng/us/tp...
Adaware from Lavasoft (free version requires automatic updating)
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-a...

(These programs can be run in Safe Mode after downloading and updating)

Third, after cleaning your system, disable System Restore, reboot and re-enable System Restore when you log back on. This will clear the malware that may still be lurking in System Restore, which could be reinstalled should you need to rollback at some point. Additionally, a reboot may be required to complete the malware removal process.

Lastly, you may also want to install the following tool. It is free and requires you to check for and enable updates manually once a week or so. It uses no system resources.
SpywareBlaster (inoculates, not a spyware removal tool)
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareb...
==============================...
If you cannot get it removed after the above, you may want to join a tech group that specializes in providing manual instructions on malware eradication.

Free technical help forums

AumHa Forums
http://aumha.net/index.php
Bleeping Computers
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/...
Spybot S&D Forums
http://forums.spybot.info/
Lavasoft Forums
http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/...
Spyware Info Forums
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?...
GeekstoGo
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/forums.ht...

Answer 5

Sure, the most popular ones are Spybot S&D and Adaware.
There is also spyware blaster to help keep bad stuff from getting on your pc in the first place.
Spyware Terminator is a resident program that helps kill off spyware (like Windows defender but works much better)
AVG anti-virus is a great anti-virus which is completely free I use it in conjunction with the Trend Micro Housecall online scan which freely detects and kills off viruses and trojans.

All the free tools I mentioned are on:

http://www.snapfiles.com/Freeware/security/fwantispy.html

Trend Micro is on:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

You can google AVG free to install AVG, they also have a free rootkit detector.

Answer 6

Lavasoft AdAware SE Personal is free.
Spybot S&D is free.
They both detect and clean, but do not prevent.
You can have more than one anti-spyware on your system, but only ONE antivirus program to be effective.
Be sure you always get definition updates.
I find Norton antivirus to be a resource hog. I use lighter products like Avast, AVG or F-Prot for antivirus.

Answer 7

Some good legit program are Adaware and Spybot Search & Destroy. They are both free and really nice software, they should be able to take care of your spyware program.

Answer 8

Make sure Norton is up to date, it should get most things. A lot of people run with expired software and expect it to keep them safe.

Download and run both Ad-Aware and Spybot. They are free:

http://www.lavasoft.com

http://www.safer-networking.org/

Answer 9

Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, SE version is free

Spybot S&D, always been free

Answer 10

Spybot Search and Destroy and Lava Soft Ad Aware. I use both and they are great! (and free)