Page 2: Spybot Testing
<B>Spybot</B>:
Upon starting up the test PC, I had to first figure out a way to get Spybot installed without the computer crashing or otherwise freezing from all the spyware that was now on it. I went to http://www.safer-networking.org to download Spybot, but it was down. Thankfully, the site provided a direct link to Download.com for the software needed. The less time I spent on the internet, the better. Once I installed Spybot, I updated it to the latest tools and definitions using its integrated update feature. I then proceeded to scan the computer.
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Once the scan was completed, I was greeted with a message that Spybot was fixing my network drivers. In my past experiences, I have seen spyware take over computers so much that they disable their host computer's internet connection by messing up the network drivers. It's nice to see that Spybot fixes such problems.
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I then rebooted the machine and allowed Spybot to run on startup to clear out the resident programs that were left on the computer. All in all, there were a total of 264 "problems" found. Unfortunately, we cannot simply go by how many pieces of spyware are detected, as Spybot considers multiple parts of the same program as one. (FYI: Spybot's latest definitions can detect nearly 13,000 components.)
When Spybot was done scanning and cleaning, I proceeded to check all the spyware that Spybot took care of. Unfortunately, I was greeted by this...
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One thing that disappointed me was the bar on the bottom, above the taskbar. In addition, Weatherbug is technically NOT spyware, nor is that Flashtalk thing that I installed. Memory usage was down from 220MB from the start to a much better 115MB. Think about that next time you are browsing the internet and installing all of this garbage!
There were still bits and pieces of spyware-laden programs around. Spybot didn't remove Golden Casino, but it DID cause it to no longer function - Ditto for the popular Kazaa program. Most other things were taken care of. Let's see how the browser looks.
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I opened up Internet Explorer and found two of the browser toolbars still there (in Spybot's defense, Adaware also left those two there). Again, I was disappointed that I still had two popup ads from visiting my own website. I NEVER have popups on my website: not now, not ever.
<B>Spybot mini conclusion</B>:
Spybot alone just doesn't do the job well enough. Leaving the bar above the taskbar and still having popups while browsing is unacceptable. I'll hold complete judgement until we can compare these results to Adaware's.
Upon starting up the test PC, I had to first figure out a way to get Spybot installed without the computer crashing or otherwise freezing from all the spyware that was now on it. I went to http://www.safer-networking.org to download Spybot, but it was down. Thankfully, the site provided a direct link to Download.com for the software needed. The less time I spent on the internet, the better. Once I installed Spybot, I updated it to the latest tools and definitions using its integrated update feature. I then proceeded to scan the computer.
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</center>Once the scan was completed, I was greeted with a message that Spybot was fixing my network drivers. In my past experiences, I have seen spyware take over computers so much that they disable their host computer's internet connection by messing up the network drivers. It's nice to see that Spybot fixes such problems.
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</center>I then rebooted the machine and allowed Spybot to run on startup to clear out the resident programs that were left on the computer. All in all, there were a total of 264 "problems" found. Unfortunately, we cannot simply go by how many pieces of spyware are detected, as Spybot considers multiple parts of the same program as one. (FYI: Spybot's latest definitions can detect nearly 13,000 components.)
When Spybot was done scanning and cleaning, I proceeded to check all the spyware that Spybot took care of. Unfortunately, I was greeted by this...
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</center>One thing that disappointed me was the bar on the bottom, above the taskbar. In addition, Weatherbug is technically NOT spyware, nor is that Flashtalk thing that I installed. Memory usage was down from 220MB from the start to a much better 115MB. Think about that next time you are browsing the internet and installing all of this garbage!
There were still bits and pieces of spyware-laden programs around. Spybot didn't remove Golden Casino, but it DID cause it to no longer function - Ditto for the popular Kazaa program. Most other things were taken care of. Let's see how the browser looks.
<center>
</center>I opened up Internet Explorer and found two of the browser toolbars still there (in Spybot's defense, Adaware also left those two there). Again, I was disappointed that I still had two popup ads from visiting my own website. I NEVER have popups on my website: not now, not ever.
<B>Spybot mini conclusion</B>:
Spybot alone just doesn't do the job well enough. Leaving the bar above the taskbar and still having popups while browsing is unacceptable. I'll hold complete judgement until we can compare these results to Adaware's.