Spyware and Able2Know

I'll wait for the other folks to answer

Re: Spyware and Able2Know
What kind of spyware removal system are you running?

Some software likes to label all advertising cookies as "spyware".

The "tracking" usually consists of the cookie logging an ad view to avoid showing the same ad to you each time.

Spyware software often try to one-up each other by flagging more "spyware".

An easy way to do this is to simply operate with a more inclusive definition than to actually identify more stuff. Cookies are always an easy way to inflate the definition counts.

If the alerts bother you, but you still want the software, then just block all third party cookies.

IE > Tools > Privacy > Advanced > Block third party cookies

But do note, that what they are flagging is NOT spyware under any definition of the term.

Heck, it's not even "ware" (as in software).

The program I'm using is "Spyware Doctor". On this subject I see consumer reports has reviewed some of these programs this month. Well I can't say what the guilty cookies were or even if they were guilty but my internet operation was bogging down really bad to the point of being almost unusable then when I installed a spyware program bingo! operation returned to normal.

Cookies will never bog you down. Spyware, however will.

Don't waste your money on "Spyware Doctor".

Thus far, the best anti-spyware programs have all been free.

You can get recommendations on the puter forum.

I'm using a trial version so haven't paid a cent. If what you say is true then the fact that my internet operation returned to normal immediatly after Spyware Doctor cleaned out accumulated cookies is a remarkable coincidence.

It's likely that it cleaned more than just cookies if it is responsible for any speed improvement.

Must have...in any case I can't say I didn't get my money's worth.

Relatively new to the scene (V 2.1 has a release date of July 30, 2004), pctools' Spyware Doctor appears to be legitimate app. The developer, Simon Clausen, has been fielding questions on a few privacy/security forums and news groups, and seems sincere. Major reported flaws with the program appear to be concentrated in the area of false positives, somethin Clausen says they're working on. My own test of the app confirmed, to my satisfaction, that false positives are a real problem. I tried it out on a known clean machine, and on another intentionally infected with several spyware and adware critters. It didn't screw anything up, it scanned rapidly, and pretty much, apart from the aforementioned false positives, did what it claims it will do, though it was unable to successfully deal with a particularly nasty VX2 variant - it found it, but couldn't effectively clean it.

All in all, I suppose its OK if you like it, but as far as I could tell it offers no advantage over Spybot S&D, SpyWare Blaster, AdAware Personal, and IE Spyad, all free. Dunno as I see much point in payin' for something that doesn't perform better than free alternatives, but then, maybe that's just me.

Consumer Reports favorites are:

1. Lavasoft Ad-aware 6 Standard (free)
2. PestPatrol ($40)
3. Spybot-Search & Destroy (free)

My Spy Doctor didn't merit a mention.

Tell ya anything? :wink:

To be fair to pctools, Spyware Doctor is new, without any track record to speak of. Still, on the security/privacy boards and newsgroups, its been gettin' some attentention ... its just been gettin' mostly "ho-hum" reviews and comments though.