Getting stubborn adware and spyware off your PC can be frustrating. However, there are steps you can take to make the process easier and more effective. First, make sure you have an up-to-date anti-spyware scanner. Do not rely on your antivirus program to do the job. (See Top Spyware Scanners). Before running a scan, shutdown all open browser windows and applications (including email) and then disconnect your PC from the Internet. If accessible, the easiest thing to do is just remove the phone line or cable connecting the PC to the modem.

Scan, reboot, repeat
Scan the system with the anti-spyware scanner and allow it to remove any adware/spyware it finds. Then reboot the PC, regardless of whether you were prompted to do so by the scanner.

After the reboot, and before reconnecting to the Internet, scan again. If the scanner still reports signs of infestation, allow it to remove any traces and reboot again. After the reboot, scan a third time. If the scanner still reports signs of spyware and adware, or you still feel there are traces not being detected by the scanner, the following tips will help.

Use Safe Mode
Spyware and adware vendors often use resuscitators, files that work to keep the adware/spyware infection active no matter how hard you - or the scanners - try to remove it. Booting into Safe Mode causes allows only the most essential processes to activate. While this won’t guarantee all adware/spyware resuscitators will be killed, it does ensure the vast majority will be. (See How to Boot Into Safe Mode). Once in Safe Mode, open your anti-spyware scanner and run a complete scan, allowing it to remove any traces of infection found.

Undo the Damage
After removing the active infection, you’ll need to make sure it won’t simply reintegrate itself when the system is reconnecting to the Internet.

• After the scan is complete, reset your browser start and home pages. (See Resetting Internet Explorer Settings).
• Next, ensure your HOSTS file hasn’t been hijacked. (See Protecting the HOSTS file)
• Make sure undesirable websites haven’t been added to your Trusted Sites Zone. (See How to Check Your Trusted Sites List)
• Check the Add/Remove Programs and uninstall any applications you recognize as being associated with the adware and/or spyware.

After following the tips above, reconnect the phone line or cable to the modem, reboot the PC normally, and access the Internet. If you still feel you are infected with adware or spyware, use HijackThis to capture a log of pertinent system areas. TomCoyote.org provides a tutorial on how to use HijackThis, as well as providing a direct download link for the program. Depending on your level of experience, you can either review the log looking for signs of infection or post the log to the TomCoyote forum for assistance.

• Antivirus for Gamers
• McAfee SiteAdvisor
• System Safety Monitor
• IDTheft Protection as an Adjunct to Antivirus
• Prevent Virus Attacks
• THE BEGINERS GUIDE TO TROJAN HACKING-VOLUME 1
• Beginers Guide to Trojan Attack-Volume 2
• Trojan Attack Tutorial -Vol 3
• Write your Own trojan!!!
• Storm Trojan Ravages YouTube

Most everyone realizes that antivirus and firewalls are must-have protection. But when protection interferes with online gaming, it can be sorely tempting to disable that protection in favor of uninterrupted play. These antivirus scanners tackle the unique problems of gamers so you can play without sacrificing performance or protection. In addition to being game friendly, each of the scanners below has demonstrated superior detection capabilities through certification bodies such as Virus Bulletin, ICSA Labs, and Checkmark, as well as independent testing from AV-Test.org and AV-Comparatives.org.

Avira Premium Security Suite

Avira Premium Security Suite has low impact on system performance but offers a full range of protection, from antivirus and spyware protection, to firewall, email scanning, phishing filter and rootkit detection. Beginning in August 2007, Avira Premium Security Suite also offers “Game Mode” - the ability to put the protection in auto-pilot so you’re not disturbed by warning dialogs while playing online. Plus, a proceed of each sale goes to the Auerbach Foundation, supporting various charitable and social organizations, so you can game better and feel better at the same time.

Vendor’s Site

ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite

ZoneAlarm Internet Security doesn’t have quite the low impact footprint of Avira or Nod32, but it does offer Game Mode. Like Avira, a simple right click option on the system tray icon will put ZoneAlarm in ‘auto pilot’ so it will silently make most decisions and you can play uninterrupted. The small trade-off in performance is a bit of extra protection. In addition to the standard fare of antivirus, firewall, and spyware protection, ZoneAlarm Internet Security also includes specific IM protection, parental controls, privacy, and wireless protection. Plus it includes specific protection and policy control for IM communications.

Eset NOD32 Antivirus

Eset’s NOD32 antivirus software features a tiny system footprint and extremely fast scanning throughput, ideal for hard core gamers who want to squeeze every bit of performance they can out of their systems. However, it’s a standalone virus scanner which still needs to be boosted by a firewall.

• How to remove adware & spyware
• McAfee SiteAdvisor
• System Safety Monitor
• IDTheft Protection as an Adjunct to Antivirus
• Prevent Virus Attacks
• THE BEGINERS GUIDE TO TROJAN HACKING-VOLUME 1
• Beginers Guide to Trojan Attack-Volume 2
• Trojan Attack Tutorial -Vol 3
• Write your Own trojan!!!
• Storm Trojan Ravages YouTube

The Bottom Line

McAfee SiteAdvisor is the virtual equivalent of the school crossing guard, helping to ensure safe navigation of the web.

Vendor’s Site

Pros

• Helps protect against spyware and adware
• Alerts on potentially malicious web sites
• Provides safety ratings for search results
• Helps filter safe web sites from not so safe web sites
• Helps to identify nefarious phishing scam sites

Cons

• Toolbar safety button should be more prominent

Description

• Helps guard against exposure to sites hosting potentially intrusive programs, malware, and online scams
• Colored icons next to individual search results help you quickly identify potentially risky sites
• Automatically updates to provide guidance for newly discovered sites

Guide Review - McAfee SiteAdvisor

McAfee SiteAdvisor is a free online safety service that provides safety rankings for sites you visit or sites that appear in search engine results.McAfee SiteAdvisor seamlessly integrates into both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox browsers. The installed safety button changes colors depending on the safety level of the site you are visiting. Green means go, it’s safe. Yellow means proceed with caution, and Red means don’t go there, ever. A question mark means the site is not yet rated. These same safety levels are provided alongside individual Internet search results. If you do a search in Google, MSN, Yahoo, AOL, or Ask.com, SiteAdvisor adds an icon next to each resulting link so you can tell at a glance whether it leads to a good site, suspect site, or downright bad one.

A paid version of McAfee SiteAdvisor takes the protection a step further, helping identify links in email that may point to nefarious web sites. The paid version also blocks attempts to visit malicious web sites - the free version is alert only. The paid version retails at $19.99 for an individual user, or $39.99 for a family pack that supports three users.

Download and installation is quite small with no discernible system impact after installation - unlike some toolbars and add-ons that do negatively impact browsing speed or browser response. McAfee SiteAdvisor delivers exactly what is promised - web site safety rankings - with no unwanted trade offs in performance. This toolbar add-on should play nicely with even the most stubborn dial-up connection.

McAfee SiteAdvisor supports Internet Explorer 5.5-6.0 (6.0 recommended) running under Windows 98/ME/2000/XP (XP recommended), or Mozilla Firefox 1.0.7 and 1.5 (1.5 recommended) running under Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, Linux and Mac OS X.

• How to remove adware & spyware
• Top 6 Standalone Spyware Scanners
• Antivirus for Gamers
• System Safety Monitor
• IDTheft Protection as an Adjunct to Antivirus
• Prevent Virus Attacks
• THE BEGINERS GUIDE TO TROJAN HACKING-VOLUME 1
• Beginers Guide to Trojan Attack-Volume 2
• Trojan Attack Tutorial -Vol 3
• Write your Own trojan!!!

The Bottom Line

System Safety Monitor from System Safety adds a much needed extra layer of defense against today’s malware attacks. The behavior and rules based controls provide critical insight into the otherwise invisible workings that - left undetected - can too often allow infection to occur. Learning mode can help clean systems stay clean and comprehensive reporting can help ferret out and block malware on already infected systems.

Manufacturer’s Site

Pros

• Comprehensive reporting and controls
• Learning mode simplifies use on clean systems
• Provides insight into rogue DLLs and code injection attacks
• Parent/child relationships ensure greater integrity of loaded apps

Cons

• Not suitable for less experienced users
• Interface can be cumbersome to navigate

• Description

  • Controls low level disk and keyboard access - ideal for preventing keyloggers;
  • Tracks and blocks changes to the registry and other critical system components;
  • View DLLs loaded by an application and control whether DLL/code injection is allowed

  Guide Review - System Safety Monitor

  System Safety Monitor is host intrusion prevention software (HIPS) that monitors and reports on system events. Prominent alerts allow users to make choices as to what types of behavior should or shouldn’t be allowed. As with any behavior or policy-based protection, the product is best suited to a more experienced level of user. Wrong choices could prevent normal system operation or allow a malware infection to occur. Used properly, System Safety Monitor provides much needed insight into system events and processes, providing the means to disallow behavior that might otherwise be harmful.System Safety Monitor goes beyond many typical permission-based systems. For example, parent/child process relationships are exposed, information that can be invaluable to making the proper decision. Typically, when Internet Explorer is legitimately launched by the user, the parent process would be Explorer.exe (Windows Explorer). If a different parent process is indicated in the alert, this might be indication of DLL injection or some other symptom of infection.

  Given the challenges of today’s fast evolving, increasingly sophisticated, and typically rootkit-enabled malware, System Safety Monitor offers much needed adjunct protection. Pricing and purchase information is available at syssafety.com.

• How to remove adware & spyware
• Antivirus for Gamers
• McAfee SiteAdvisor
• IDTheft Protection as an Adjunct to Antivirus
• Prevent Virus Attacks
• THE BEGINERS GUIDE TO TROJAN HACKING-VOLUME 1
• Beginers Guide to Trojan Attack-Volume 2
• Trojan Attack Tutorial -Vol 3
• Write your Own trojan!!!
• Storm Trojan Ravages YouTube

Chris Keall of PC World NZ writes, “My personal theory is that any major security software, if kept up-to-date, is going to stop any virus or malware outbreak, since all the companies share fixes within hours.”

If true, this would be great. The reality, however, is far less rosy. With ten thousand or so new malware requiring processing each day, no amount of sharing will speed things up. Further, with threats moving to the web, discovering which malware needs immediate attention is becoming increasingly problematic for vendors which often do not have good visibility in this area. Brian Krebs of the Washington Post writes about this challenge in “Anti-Virus Firms Scrambling to Keep Up“.

Certainly, however, antivirus vendors are still quite good at their core competency: detecting known viruses.And for this reason alone, antivirus software remains the most viable detection technology available to the average consumer. But it’s the unknown threat, the ten thousand or so new samples per day, that create the biggest headache, given that today’s malware is often focused on identity theft. Even a single infector bypassing antivirus software can cause a lifetime of harm to its victim.

In light of this, perhaps one of the most important adjuncts to antivirus software is to take measures to protect your identity.

Identity Theft Protection
Various companies offer monitoring and fraud protection services. Three of the best known are LifeLock, LoudSiren, and TrustedID. The plans vary, but the gist of each is to place fraud alerts on your credit profile, remove your name from prepaid credit card offers, and notify you personally if anyone tries to establish credit in your name. Costs of the service can range from $10 to $25 USD per month.

• How to remove adware & spyware
• Antivirus for Gamers
• McAfee SiteAdvisor
• System Safety Monitor
• Prevent Virus Attacks
• THE BEGINERS GUIDE TO TROJAN HACKING-VOLUME 1
• Beginers Guide to Trojan Attack-Volume 2
• Trojan Attack Tutorial -Vol 3
• Write your Own trojan!!!
• Storm Trojan Ravages YouTube