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The "Not Quite Amiga but still computer related category" => Alternative Operating Systems => Topic started by: PGit on May 15, 2005, 12:38:04 PM

Title: Adaware
Post by: PGit on May 15, 2005, 12:38:04 PM

Recently installed a demo version of Adware alert. Its scan reported 72 cases of spyware. However neither Spybot nor Adaware Personal SE found any of them. Is this usual?

Title: Re: Adaware
Post by: Etho on May 15, 2005, 12:48:20 PM

@ PGit

It's possible that the version you installed had up-to-date definition files. Had spybot and SE been updated?

Title: Re: Adaware
Post by: Lemonty on May 15, 2005, 01:11:40 PM

Also be sure to install Spywareblaster. Keeps most spyware out.

Title: Re: Adaware
Post by: adolescent on May 15, 2005, 04:58:53 PM

Try MS AntiSpyware Beta.  It's free and so far it's kept even my mothers computer spyware and adware free.  (Previously her Windows XP winsock was destroyed by spyware and I had to reinstall Windows.  I have 16 year old twin sisters, so they get into a lot of questionable sites).  

Title: Re: Adaware
Post by: Waccoon on May 15, 2005, 07:50:53 PM

Were they cookies or something else?  Most spam killers are really, really fussy with cookies, even harmless ones.

Title: Re: Adaware
Post by: PGit on May 15, 2005, 08:08:06 PM

I have installed spyware blaster. As far as i can tell though it doesn't remove spyware already on the system.

MS antispyware doesn't seem to work on Windows ME.

Adware Se and Spybot are fully updated and still can't detect them.

Most of them are things like bonzi buddy (how that got on the system I don't know).

When I look in the registry in the locations they are said to be in, I can't find them. The program that has detected these 72 cases is one of those that requires registration to remove them. However as neither Adware Se or Spybot can find them, nor can I find them in the registry are they really there or has the program made an error?

Thanks for your help.

Title: Re: Adaware
Post by: zipper on May 15, 2005, 08:48:46 PM

One possibility: Get Spyware Doctor, it's quite efficient.

Title: Re: Adaware
Post by: PGit on May 17, 2005, 01:33:20 PM

According to SpywareWarrior.com AdwareAlert (the one that reported the 72 cases of spyware that 4 other programs didn't find) " false positives work as goad to purchase;  inadequate info about company & app, no privacy policy." They have put it on their list of dodgy spyware programs.

Therefore it seems most likely that the results are false positives.

Thanks to everyone who replied and may I say that you are among the most helpful people I have come across.