hacked - Page 3

jambutty · 15-03-2007, 15:18

Yesterday I conducted a series of experiments with regard to which anti-spyware programme is the best.

My surfing activity is the same each and every day so whatever is out there sneaking onto my computer does so each day. I accept that some of the autosurfers that I subscribe to will have changes to the web sites being displayed so where one web site left me with some spyware yesterday if it is not displayed today it won’t. And the other way around.

I already have installed AdAware SE Personal and Spyware Doctor. Zone Alarm also chips in with searching for spyware. Although I don’t use Spybot anymore, for the sake of this experiment I installed it again. Everything got the latest updates.

I ran Spybot and it found some nasties.
I ran Spyware Doctor and it found some nasties.
I then ran AdAware and it too found some nasties.

I did the same in a different order and they all found nasties and did the same again in yet another different order and lo and behold they all found nasties.

When I ran AdAware first and cleared all the garbage it found, the other two didn’t find anything at all. However having done this experiment before I found that once in a while Spyware Doctor would find something that AdAware had missed and vice versa. The same could be said for Spybot but it was very, very rare that it happened.

Spybot found the fewest nasties and Adaware found the most. Having done this experiment months ago I got the same result and Spybot was removed because it wasn’t doing anything that the other two couldn’t handle.

In the main AdAware finds more nasties and does it quicker than any other programme that I have used and once in a while ZoneAlarm will find something the others don’t. And also vice versa.

I accept that my experiment is not absolutely conclusive but for me the bottom line is that the anti-spyware software is only as good as the latest update. There are days when AdAware has knowledge of spyware X when Spyware Doctor does not and vice versa. Which is why I use them both. I am reasonably confident that between them they will find what is going around and get rid of them for me apart from the ‘new one’ that no one knows about yet.

The same can be said for anti-virus programmes. Most are produced by commercial businesses and they do not give away information about a new virus right away to the central pool. I am led to believe that they do share information about ‘new’ viruses but the sharing is delayed.

Today AVG might be the best. Tomorrow it might be McAfee and the day after it might be Norton and the day after that some other programme. Which you choose is a personal choice. They are all as good as each other but that depends on the latest update and updates change.

I use AVG Pro and ZoneAlarm Pro and they have served me well for a number of years, as have AdAware and Spyware Doctor.

However I do give them all a helping hand by not downloading any spam emails, especially those with an attachment. With the aid of MailWasher they are interrogated and deleted from my ISP mailbox so none get a chance to get into my email client. If they can’t get to my computer then they cannot infect it.

accymel · 15-03-2007, 15:28

Trouble with mailwasher is that the free version is only for one account - no good for people with multiple accounts set up

jambutty · 15-03-2007, 15:38

True but the Pro version only costs $37 (about 20 quid) as a one off fee and all updates are free for life.

I don’t know about other ISP’s but with BT and previously with Freeserve (Wanadoo [Orange]) you could access your ISP mailbox via their web site and read all your emails waiting to be downloaded to your computer. And of course you could delete the unwanted ones.

entwisi · 15-03-2007, 15:42

you can of course just telnet in to your POP 3 accounts and do it all command line stylee. Of course its free as well

Just so you all know there is another way!

accymel · 15-03-2007, 15:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by entwisi

you can of course just telnet in to your POP 3 accounts and do it all command line stylee. Of course its free as well

Just so you all know there is another way!

Eh

I got spamfighter which works with outlook express [i like everything in one place

]

mrskitty · 15-03-2007, 20:34

questions-what are the chances of this hacker being caught?
Apparently ebay are responsible for the legal side of things,do they actually follow it up?(i phoned the police who told me this because i was worried about my credit card).Is there any way i can help them?-i still have all the emails etc.

entwisi · 15-03-2007, 20:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by accymel

Eh

I got spamfighter which works with outlook express [i like everything in one place

]

Sorry just wanted to enforce the belief that I am a totally sad techie who knows far too much about stuff like this

<techie mode on>

If you open a telnet session to the email server on port 110 to can actually talk to the email server(in its own language), ask what emails are waiting for you, delete them whilst on the server, etc in fact just what stuff like mailwasher does just without teh pretty gui interface

here is an article on how to do it

http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_san...pop3telnet.htm

</techie mode>

cashman · 15-03-2007, 23:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by misskitty

questions-what are the chances of this hacker being caught?
Apparently ebay are responsible for the legal side of things,do they actually follow it up?(i phoned the police who told me this because i was worried about my credit card).Is there any way i can help them?-i still have all the emails etc.

the chances misskitty are virtually Zilch,unfortunately, dont think they found the swine that hacked accyweb? some geek in belgium i believe. have heard many people say they will find the hacker who robbed em, but not 1 story that they did.

once read about a guy who hacked the NASA space lab,they sure caught him,cos thats important! you and me aint. see what i,m gettin at?