Important: keep your system secure and safe.

[Inquisitor]

Theres a number of suspect services in XP as well as known ones that report back to Microsoft about what you do on your PC. First port of call is XP Antispy avaible from http://www.softpedia.com/ . This free program disables a lot of nonsence that you certinally dont benifit from via a tick list that you have full control over. Each option is fully explained & undoable. Next go through this HTML list of services (great list that the chap explains in english not microshaft confusing BS speak) and disable ones you dont need. At the least this will free up resources...... win win situation

Just visiting a website can place a spyware cookie on your PC which will gather up infomation about you and report back to who ever. Installing shoddy software like gator or kazza full, worsens the problem with other (usually nastier) spyware files. This isnt nice for 3 reasons:

1) mind your own business.
2) will eat your bandwidth that you pay for!
3) you dont know what info they are taking, could be websites you browse upto personal infomation stored on your HDD, Who knows what they take.

Solution: download SpyBot (much better than AdAware 6) from http://security.kolla.de/ . Another free program, this one searches for and kills spyware from cookies to .exe's.
The use of SpyBot and cleaning out your cookies\temp internet files\histroy regulary should keep you spyware free.

To control what cookies are allowed on your PC use CookieWall from http://www.analogx.com/. Will alert you if a cookie is about to be placed on your hard drive and ask you what you want to do with it. You can set a cookie to 'always delete' and it will do it automaticly every time by its self! Thanks to Halk for informing us about this one.

Use file sharing software?
Most people that use file sharing programs share illegal software, tis a fact. From .mp3's to gamez appz...........you get the idea. People have been prosicuited for sharing such files using programs like kazza etc... There are various agencies that can and do browse your shares, ranging from the FBI to music compinies. To stop this get PeerGuardian from http://www.methlabs.org/ . Yet another free piece of software this one blocks the IP's of known Piracy related enforcement groups/Snoops from gaining access to your share while you use your p2p software. Once you have it replace all the entries in the 'Guarding.P2P' file with the following entries to further your protection:

http://www.simply-click.org/uploadertest/pg2_plaintext.asp

[NorthViking]

Really nice and useful info there Brick.

Thanks :cool:

[Dr.MAD]

Thanks for this info. :)

(this thread is now a sticky thread :D)

[Demonic]

wow, some good info m8, I've been looking for somthing like anti-spy for a long time.

[eCK0]

The only problem is, I'm not German. So where am I supposed to click?

[Lidor_Ba]

The antispy site is german... D:
isnt there a english version of or somethin'?

and allmost every download is a dialer that says you have to be over 18 and its 1.58 pounds fer min!!!
i think i'll pass antispy...
but all the rest is great! thanx brick

[sdemon]

yeh, bin through the site. the xp anti spy is not free. u got to pay per min 1.50. ne way

heres the direct link to the Cookiewall. took me a while to find the program hehe!!! O mercy!!!

http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/cookie.htm

[monkeyboi]

Theres a number of suspect services in XP as well as known ones that report back to Microsoft about what you do on your PC. First port of call is XP Antispy avaible from http://www.xp-antispy.de/ . This free program disables a lot of nonsence that you certinally dont benifit from via a tick list that you have full control over. Each option is fully explained & undoable. Next go through this HTML list of services (great list that the chap explains in english not microshaft confusing BS speak) and disable ones you dont need. At the least this will free up resources...... win win situation

http://www.simply-click.org/uploadertest/pg2_plaintext.asp

Win win my ass. £1.50 per min... DONT THINK SO!!!!

[lian]

Win win my ass. £1.50 per min... DONT THINK SO!!!!
The adress of xp-antispy has changed. The one indicated has been "pirated" so the good one is
http://www.xp-antispy.org/
...and it's in english, too...
Excellent freeware.

[DeAgLe]

thanks 4 the info man but i have norton anitvirus 2004 its mad as it will detect that virus straught away

[Transworld]

Be careful when you use Spybot S&D. READ!. Read the little paragraphs by the check boxes before you delete anything. Sometimes it can mistake spyware for things you need to run your internet/computer. Usually it will say someplace "it may be need/required to run... whatever...".

Are you sure its better than Ad-Aware? Better at all around use right? I think they are about even when it comes to killing spyware/adware. Because I like to use Ad-Aware for spyware/adware and use Webroot's WindowWasher to clear my cookies/all Windows history.

[GamerFan35]

Why not just use a good firewall, and a antispy program?

[mahitto]

Well doesnt "Norton System Works" cover All these issues?

[Dr.MAD]

The firewall will eventually prevent the spyware to connect to the net, but they are still on your HDD... better to get rid completely.
May I add: if you have a browser hijacker (a programme, even more annoying than spyware, that modifies the internet options, and re-modifies it if you set them up correctly again), you should get HijackThis (http://download.com.com/3000-2144-10227352.html).
After scanning with it, you can delete all the programs with a dodgy name (be careful not to delete the wrong stuff tho)

You can easily recognize if you have a hijacker by the folowing symptoms:

1) When you get a page not found error, you'll see the error page, but a pop up will also appear.
2) A random pop up every time you start IE is mostly spyware, but it can be a hijacker as well.
3) If your homepage gets modified, even if you reset it each time

[Bulzy]

the link at the bottom of bricks first post seems to be broken the one for the updates has anyone else encountered that problem

[melolady]

thanks for the tips brick
i didn't know about the first link and it does sound like a good idea.

[Don_Hahn]

nice links, but: i wanna download all this illegal stuff (warez, mp3s...) :D

he he

[ComRandom]

Mahitto: No, Norton does not cover "all these issues". I can run a complete scan and it'll find nothing, then run AdAware and it'll find spyware objects (files, folders, registry keys, etc).

[NorthViking]

Right.
Norton Systemworks doesn't remove any spyware.
It has defragger, antivirus scan, reg fix etc.

[BONZ]

I use SpySweeper, Ad-Aware SE Pro, Spy-Bot S&D as well as MRUblaster, CWShredder, and Spywareblaster as my anti-spyware team. Some pickup where the others leave off. I've used Ad-Aware and picked up mru's when SpyBot completely missed them. The same with SpySweeper. I would recommend the other applications mentioned as well. They're all good but I'd have more then one. It makes it kind of fun to see which one will pick up stuff the others miss! Have a great day.



http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1524248,00.asp

[pjdigital]

everyone would do well to read that b4 just jumping on the net thinking they know it all well done dude :)

[drunken_tiger]

i clicked on a link in crack spider and my anti virus popped up with this Mhtml.exploit virus, i downloaded a patch for my outlookexpress, and have spybot software to kill it, but my internet is still slow than b4??

[Archon]

Norton AntiVirus not only does not pick up most spyware, it also uses a lot of system resources and slows down your PC. Of course, that won't matter much to someone with a 3.4 GHz H/t processor with SATA drives and 2GB RAM, but the lag is noticable in average computers. A better anti-virus program would be Nod 32 or AVG. Nod is expensive, but it is said to be the best in the world. As for spyware, prevention remains safest - get Spyware Blaster ( http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload.html ) - it stops a lot of spyware from being downloaded. Also, it is a good idea to stay off of the dodgy sites.
__________

:fett: Archon :fett:
:asmd:

[fdjc4]

THe MS beta antispyware aint too bad..........coming from Microsoft i mean, its pretty good like, takes a lot of system resources at times tho and i not ahve top end pc :(
but i would recommend it to all windows users

More here on MS beta antispyware (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx)

[Grim]

THe MS beta antispyware aint too bad..........coming from Microsoft i mean, its pretty good like, takes a lot of system resources at times tho and i not ahve top end pc :(
but i would recommend it to all windows users

More here on MS beta antispyware (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx)

I have spy-bot search and destroy and ad-aware they both get the job done, and are easy to use.

[Mastertch]

All the info you need is in these free Guides:

Optimize XP - A Windows XP Optimization Guide (http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/OptimizeXP.html)

"Clean Spyware and Viruses + Optimize Windows XP to improve home, work and gaming performance safely. Windows XP's default configuration is far from optimized. This Free guide will help you improve your overall system performance without having to manually edit the Registry."

This also includes a detailed XP-AntiSpy guide and complete Spyware and Virus Cleaning. Finally this is the most complete optimization guide on the internet.


Diagnose XP - A Windows XP Diagnostic Guide (http://mywebpages.comcast.net/SupportCD/DiagnoseXP.html)

"The following Free guide will help you troubleshoot the most common causes of system problems.

Diagnosing System problems can be very complicated and time consuming. There are no simple solutions. Windows XP systems should never Lock-up (freeze), display Blue Screen Stop Errors or Randomly Reboot. These are all warning signs something is wrong or misconfigured with your system."

[amb3r_017]

its very nice info , but no one isn rating my thrad KEEP UR PC SAFE , and its very usefould !?

[Random]

If you look at the date of this thread its almost 2 years old, its taken two years for this thread to get just over 2 pages of comments, your thread has been up for less than a day! Give it time!

[Corinayid]

In regards to services, if you want to shut off uneeded services to save Ram resources, checkout www.blackviper.com This guy knows his stuff and keeps a list for all Windows operating systems including XP service pack 2.

[JSledge]

One easy solution to a lot of these problems...QUIT USING IE!!! Get firefox from http://www.getfirefox.com

I use System Mechanic PRO for everything..works really well. Includes Kaspersky AV and Firewall. No problems with spyware/popups/viruses since I started using it.

[STi FlyBy]

One easy solution to a lot of these problems...QUIT USING IE!!!

Unfortunately, that's not always a feasible solution, as some websites require the use of IE ;)

[JSledge]

Unfortunately, that's not always a feasible solution, as some websites require the use of IE ;)

True..but for general browsing firefox works and protects you from active-x hacks.

[fdjc4]

so does using spywareblaster..

[STi FlyBy]

Another good practice would be to steer clear of adult and serial number websites, both of which have a reputation of giving you all types of malware ;)

[JSledge]

What would be the fun in avoiding "adult" websites??:nervous:

[pentatonic184]

The first link for antispy is broken, it goes to a german porn site or something.

[Inquisitor]

The first link for antispy is broken, it goes to a german porn site or something.


Updated :)