spyware blocking

[dat240z71]

Does anyone knows how I can block spyware on my computer. The reason I ask is I have spyware protection from AOL. and every time I run it find the same spyware and I have the program block it . But when I surf the web and scan for spyware the same five or so spyware is found again, I cant seam to block it for good.

[Virto]

You might not be seeing spyware, but just some tracking cookies that the websites you visit are leaving on your computer. If you keep seeing the same exact things, this is a good possibility.

In my experience, the AOL spyware/adware/virus scan/blocking software is pretty poor. Here is what I would do in your position:

1) Install Lavasoft's Ad-Aware. Just search Google for adaware. It's free for personal use, is updated frequently and can catch a lot of things AOL misses.

2) Check your PC for active viri. Using AOL or Internet Explorer, do a Google search for Panda ActiveScan. It's a free on-line virus detection/removal program that runs in Active-X, so you need to use Internet Explorer.

3) If you log in via AOL, but do most of your browsing via Internet Explorer, you might want to consider installing Mozilla Firefox. It's based on Netscape and is arguably more secure than Internet Explorer. I've used it for a considerable amount of time and can vouch for it's ability to stop pop-ups as well as reduce the overall amounts of spyware that get installed, since the vast majority of spyware is written to get in via Internet Explorer, as it's the most used web browser. You can get Firefox at www.mozilla.org.

Hope this helps.

[boostedz]

Here are two that are very good for either IE or Firefox/Mozilla browsers

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

[xray]

Here's a nice review from PCWorld.com. They seem to like Webroot's product, and I was somewhat surprised how poorly AdAware and Spybot performed...

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,119572,00.asp

[texasz]

Your first mistake is using AOL anything! Ditch them and get a new ISP, a cheaper one for that matter (and use the savings for Z parts!).

[=Enigma=]

AOL is a malcontent's paradise. It's nice that AOL is providing all these new tool to help thwart spammers, hijackers, and malicious content, unfortunately most of the ppl on AOL don't know what to do when the tools alert them or when something is actually a false positive. The only way to resolve this is to edumacate yourself on how malware works, how it propogates itself, and how to get rid of it. Start by looking at the help files and tutors provided with the tools themselves. Beyond that here's a good place to start:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764575910/qid=1136063324/sr=8-14/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i14_xgl14/104-4979063-7608758?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

[dat240z71]

Wow thanks guys I just installed Spybot and ran it found 45 spyware and the five recurring ones I had problems with using AOL. removed them and my computer is lighting fast again

Thanks

[MikeW]

For years I have used a free personal proxy server for windows call Proxomitron:

http://www.proxomitron.info/

Not only will this prevent a lot of bad stuff from getting on your machine it also makes web surfing a much better experience. It can automatically kill popups and can strip out embedded ads from within web pages. Because it's a proxy server it examines the HTML content that arrives from web servers and manipulates it before it even reaches your browser. Don't like flash multimedia? Kill it. Don't like animated GIF files? Freeze them. Don't like images that are loaded from a different domain? Remove them. It's highly configurable and very easy to use. Since it's a proxy server it will work with any web browser.

[RatMonger]

Anti-Spyware from microsoft is like buying batteries from Enron.

AdAware had a good start but has fallen behind the curve.

Here's the magic and it's free to the home user:

http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

[Mr Camouflage]

I use a comblination of free programs.

For Virus detection:

Avast anti virus as mentioned above. Its free for home use (Free registration required).

For Spyware:

Spybot search and destroy (think thats been mentioned too).

For a firewall:

Zone Labs Zone Alarm. also free for home use.

This will pretty much block everything bad form getting to your computer.

[Gav240z]

Does anyone knows how I can block spyware on my computer. The reason I ask is I have spyware protection from AOL. and every time I run it find the same spyware and I have the program block it . But when I surf the web and scan for spyware the same five or so spyware is found again, I cant seam to block it for good.

Your own website is giving you spyware. I just went to visit it then and noticed alot of popups for winfixer which is a spyware program itself. I suspect these people are advertising through your hosting service which is freehomepages.com and this is where the source of your problem lies. Places like geocities offer free hosting with advertising but don't include spyware.

Best of luck!

[7240z]

This is probably the best setup I ever had. Haven't had a problem since I installed these softwares. # Zone Alarm (anti virus) Xoftspy (spyware removal tool) Registry Mechanic (speaks for itself) (Firefox Web Browser) Try this setup and let me know! I used to reformat my pc every 2 weeks but after this setup, never again!

Does anyone knows how I can block spyware on my computer. The reason I ask is I have spyware protection from AOL. and every time I run it find the same spyware and I have the program block it . But when I surf the web and scan for spyware the same five or so spyware is found again, I cant seam to block it for good.