Are there any free programs to eliminate spyware/adware?

[Bronco69]

I just ran a diagnostic test on my computer at PC Pitstop and it said I have spyware/adware on my computer. They offer a program to eliminate it, but it costs $40.00. Are there any free or less expensive programs that will do the same job?

[okieinpain]

1. spybot search and destroy, lavasoft adaware, cwshredder, all

can be found at PCworld.com. I would recommend you run all three. good luck.

[okieinpain]

3. I forgot install firefox internet explorer, and quit using microsoft IE

[slor]

13. I need to do that myself...

I have heard great things about Firefox.

[okieinpain]

15. I highly recommend the program, pop ups are almost gone.

also spybot and adaware have been reporting a lot less problems since I've been using it.

[Longgrain]

2. Spybot and Ad-aware

are two I know of, maybe someone else can find a link...

[Droopy]

4. Spybot and Ad-Aware

Just do a search and you will find them. They are both free. Spybot did a better job for me than Ad-Aware, but get them both and run them.

[derby378]

5. Also try HijackThis

And hunt down a freeware process killer - sometimes they can destroy spyware/malware programs that other programs cannot. Hardcore. Use with caution, though.

[Midlodemocrat]

6. download.com

www.download.com



and scroll down and click on Lavasoft Ad Aware personal version. It is just as good as the pro version and it is free.

[Bronco69]

7. Thanks everybody!

I'll go run them now. Thanks a lot! :-) :yourock:

[SHRED]

8. Links

Spybot search and destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html
Ad-Aware SE
http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware /
SpywareBlaster:
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

And virus protection:
AVG Free version
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2 /

[derby378]

9. AVG may clash with Windows XP Professional

Just an FYI

[DeepGreen]

10. Here is a link to Spybot

http://www.spybot.info/en/index.html

I use Ad-Aware mostly. It usually gets everything and
more that Spybot. But, there has been occasions where
I have run Ad-Aware and immediately follow with Spybot
and Spybot would catch one or two that Ad-Aware didn't.

[Eurobabe]

11. If you got VX2 on your machine, there is NOTHING

that will wipe that bastard spy-rus. It evades everything because somehow the spyware programs don't recognize it as it reproduces itself within IE. It gets in your .dll files, and everytime you reboot it clusterfucks the whole machine. I got it on Xmas day, my hubby is an IT architect, and he tried for 2 friggin days to delete it. No avail....deep breath, settled on F11.

We finally had to back-up all my files (of course it happened on my laptop that has all my business files and emails on it!!!) then he wiped my hard drive, luckily I have an IBM that is capable of doing full recovery (it reinstalls Win2000) But what a major pain in the ass that was. We are going to Linux by the end of January and running WinDoze on VMWare (a virtual operating system thingy? my hubby and best geeky friend are getting that in order)

WinDoze sucks! Get yourself on FireFox now...

[meganmonkey]

12. I like my Lavasoft Ad Aware SE

Free, safe and effective :P

[Bozita]

14. Terminating Spyware With Extreme Prejudice -- NYT

I found this interesting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/30/technology/circuits/30hard.html?oref=login


December 30, 2004

Terminating Spyware With Extreme Prejudice
By RACHEL DODES

THE end of the year is a time when people sit down, rethink their priorities and sometimes change their ways. Some quit smoking. Others join a gym. I chose to erase my hard drive and reinstall my operating system.

Sure, it was a drastic move, but my two-year-old I.B.M. ThinkPad - equipped with a 1,000-megahertz Pentium III processor, a high-speed Internet connection and 256 megabytes of memory - was running about as fast as the Apple IIE I used in the mid-80's.

After six months engaged in mortal combat with spyware - parasitic software that tracks your browsing habits, sends out pop-up ads and can even send your private information to an organized crime ring in Guam - I had two options: shell out $1,200 for a new ThinkPad, or wipe my hard drive and start from scratch - a huge production with potentially cataclysmic results.

Since I enjoy new challenges (and more important, since I lack the funds to buy a new laptop), I decided to shoot for the moon and delete, delete, delete.

It did not have to be this way. I can trace the decline of my computer's performance to an ill-advised download over the summer. In a pop-music-induced frenzy, I am embarrassed to admit, I went to www.kazaa.com, downloaded and installed the free file-sharing service, then proceeded to download (a k a steal) Britney Spears's and Madonna's collaborative effort, "Me Against the Music."

I was about to get my karmic retribution.

more...

[melnjones]

16. I like ETD

It has a free two month trial...found it on download.com.