[Canary]

Hello,

I have followed the guidance of BlackOxide in the virus-removal forum, and I have now replaced AVG with Microsoft Secuirty Essentials.

But I have a couple of other software programs that I'd appreciate some advice with.



SpywareBlaster
I have had this installed for some time, but it never shows in the System Tray or in the list of prgrams that run on start-up. Is this normal?

Ccleaner
Is there a better program out there that cleans up old rubbish and frees up speace? (I already know not to use the registry-cleaning aspect of this program!)

SuperAntiSpyware
Now that I have Malwarebytes installed, is it still worth keeping SAS, or should I uninstall it?


Thanks in advance for any help.

Edited by Canary, 09 January 2011 - 08:25 AM.

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SpywareBlaster does not run natively. Therefore it's lack of presence in the system tray is normal. This is discussed in the program's documentation.

[Neil Jones]

SpywareBlaster does not run natively. Therefore it's lack of presence in the system tray is normal. This is discussed in the program's documentation.

[rshaffer61]

Ccleaner
Is there a better program out there that cleans up old rubbish and frees up speace? (I already know not to use the registry-cleaning aspect of this program!)

I understand the use you are getting from Ccleaner but if you are using it solely for temp, cache, browser history files you may want to consider using something like TFC or Temp File Cleaner created by one of our own here at GTG. Below is the canned speech on it. I myself do not like Ccleaner and especially we here at GTG do not advise the use of any Registry cleaner.


Download TFC by OldTimer to your desktop

• Please double-click TFC.exe to run it. (Note: If you are running on Vista, right-click on the file and choose Run As Administrator).
• It will close all programs when run, so make sure you have saved all your work before you begin.
• Click the Start button to begin the process. Depending on how often you clean temp files, execution time should be anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two. Let it run uninterrupted to completion.
• Once it's finished it should reboot your machine. If it does not, please manually reboot the machine yourself to ensure a complete clean.

[Tee*Cee]

rshaffer61 , curiosity, mostly, what is the difference between the ATF and TFC Cleaners? I ask, because of the OP. If he sees the ATF and TFC on the downloads page, may be a little confusing, as I was. I have ATF, but have my own personal issues with it. Just wondering, what is the diff. between the two? Hmmm, Maybe I might go with TFC, eventually.

[rshaffer61]

ATF is only for XP, Vista and Win 2000 and TFC will do all those and Win7.
IMHO TFC does a better job but there are some instances when it will not work correctly so we use ATF.
I like TFC and I honestly think it does a better job.

[Tee*Cee]

ATF is only for XP, Vista and Win 2000 and TFC will do all those and Win7.
IMHO TFC does a better job but there are some instances when it will not work correctly so we use ATF.
I like TFC and I honestly think it does a better job.

Thanks, I have used ATF the first two times, and clicked "all" and it did a fine job. Including removing all my PW and cookies, but today, when I did maintenance, I un-ticked those two and didn't lose my info, but I am using XP. Nice, that TFC will do all, that is good for helping people. I only have the one computer, and being XP, maybe I should just stay with it. I just don't like to have to lose my stored cookies, for some sites that are so darn secure.

Thanks for the clarification!!

[rshaffer61]

You are very welcome and I also wanted to say personally Thank you for assisting others here at GTG. Keep up the great work.

[Sudlo]

Hello,

I have followed the guidance of BlackOxide in the virus-removal forum, and I have now replaced AVG with Microsoft Secuirty Essentials.

But I have a couple of other software programs that I'd appreciate some advice with.



SpywareBlaster
I have had this installed for some time, but it never shows in the System Tray or in the list of prgrams that run on start-up. Is this normal?

Ccleaner
Is there a better program out there that cleans up old rubbish and frees up speace? (I already know not to use the registry-cleaning aspect of this program!)

SuperAntiSpyware
Now that I have Malwarebytes installed, is it still worth keeping SAS, or should I uninstall it?


Thanks in advance for any help.

As you have installed Malware bytes ( i think is a pretty darn software i have used it ) you can uninstall SAS..from your computer..

and coming down to ccleaner. i have tested many of them to name a few ( as follows Ad-Aware, CCleaner, Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool, Norman Malware Cleaner, Rootkit Buster, Spybot Search & Destroy, and Super Anti-Spyware and Advanced SystemCare Free 3)

but i prefer ccleaner compare to all of them..

advanced system care is free..

and the link is AD sys care

Regards

Sudlo

[Canary]

Thank you all for all your replies and help.

In summary, based on what I've read here, I'm going to uninstall Ccleaner and SuperAntiSpyware and use TFC or ATF cleaners and Malwarebytes instead.

I just have two further quick questions, though:

1) I have tried both TFC and ATF cleaners - both worked fine, but when I immediately then ran Ccleaner again, it found more stuff that TFC and ATF hadn't cleaned. Does that mean that Ccleaner is more thorough than the other two?

SpywareBlaster does not run natively. Therefore it's lack of presence in the system tray is normal. This is discussed in the program's documentation.

2) Neil - thanks for your reply, but I don't 100pc understand what you mean by not running "natively". For a thicko like me, does that mean that as long as I have SpywareBlaster installed, I don't need to worry?

[Sudlo]

Thank you all for all your replies and help.

In summary, based on what I've read here, I'm going to uninstall Ccleaner and SuperAntiSpyware and use TFC or ATF cleaners and Malwarebytes instead.

I just have two further quick questions, though:

1) I have tried both TFC and ATF cleaners - both worked fine, but when I immediately then ran Ccleaner again, it found more stuff that TFC and ATF hadn't cleaned. Does that mean that Ccleaner is more thorough than the other two?

SpywareBlaster does not run natively. Therefore it's lack of presence in the system tray is normal. This is discussed in the program's documentation.

2) Neil - thanks for your reply, but I don't 100pc understand what you mean by not running "natively". For a thicko like me, does that mean that as long as I have SpywareBlaster installed, I don't need to worry?

i will answer the first part of the question..

ccleaner is a better software than both of them..


and coming down to spywareblaster... to be very frank i dont like that software... here is the top 10 anti-spyware software

"10. Spyware Bomber brought to us by the same folks behind Enternet Media, the spyware company shut down recently by the FTC.

9. SlimShield tied with Winhound Spyware Remover for hijacking and stealth installation.

8. WinAntiVirus and its companion WinAntiSpyware 2005 for hijacking, aggressive advertising and inappropriate collection of personally identifying information.

7. SpywareNo and its clone SpyDemolisher for stealth installation and deceptive aggressive advertising.

6. Razespyware for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

5. Spy Trooper for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

4. WorldAntiSpy for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

3. PSGuard for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

2. SpySheriff for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

1. SpyAxe for desktop hijacks, stealth installs and deceptive, aggressive advertising."

btw.. when you have Malwarebytest installed in your computer why do you need another software..

hope i have answered your questions

[Neil Jones]

SpywareBlaster does not run natively. Therefore it's lack of presence in the system tray is normal. This is discussed in the program's documentation.

2) Neil - thanks for your reply, but I don't 100pc understand what you mean by not running "natively". For a thicko like me, does that mean that as long as I have SpywareBlaster installed, I don't need to worry?

In other words, it doesn't run in the background. It doesn't need to run in the background. All it basically does is add a few thousand entries to the Restricted Sites list in Internet Explorer (and appropriate entries for other browsers), which will basically tell the browsers not to have anything to do with those entries.

From the website:

SpywareBlaster is passive protection. It plugs the holes that spyware and other potentially unwanted software use to get in to your system. As such, there is no running process - and no CPU and memory usage either. All you have to do is remember to update SpywareBlaster once a week, and enable the latest protection.

[sari]

Thank you all for all your replies and help.

In summary, based on what I've read here, I'm going to uninstall Ccleaner and SuperAntiSpyware and use TFC or ATF cleaners and Malwarebytes instead.

I just have two further quick questions, though:

1) I have tried both TFC and ATF cleaners - both worked fine, but when I immediately then ran Ccleaner again, it found more stuff that TFC and ATF hadn't cleaned. Does that mean that Ccleaner is more thorough than the other two?

SpywareBlaster does not run natively. Therefore it's lack of presence in the system tray is normal. This is discussed in the program's documentation.

2) Neil - thanks for your reply, but I don't 100pc understand what you mean by not running "natively". For a thicko like me, does that mean that as long as I have SpywareBlaster installed, I don't need to worry?

i will answer the first part of the question..

ccleaner is a better software than both of them..


and coming down to spywareblaster... to be very frank i dont like that software... here is the top 10 anti-spyware software

"10. Spyware Bomber brought to us by the same folks behind Enternet Media, the spyware company shut down recently by the FTC.

9. SlimShield tied with Winhound Spyware Remover for hijacking and stealth installation.

8. WinAntiVirus and its companion WinAntiSpyware 2005 for hijacking, aggressive advertising and inappropriate collection of personally identifying information.

7. SpywareNo and its clone SpyDemolisher for stealth installation and deceptive aggressive advertising.

6. Razespyware for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

5. Spy Trooper for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

4. WorldAntiSpy for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

3. PSGuard for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

2. SpySheriff for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

1. SpyAxe for desktop hijacks, stealth installs and deceptive, aggressive advertising."

btw.. when you have Malwarebytest installed in your computer why do you need another software..

hope i have answered your questions

First, I and any of the other experts here would disagree that CCleaner is the best temp file cleaner out there. I would stick with TFC. It's updated constantly to clean new hiding places, and the developer is available here to answer questions about it. There is also absolutely no chance whatsoever to clean the registry with this program, which is a plus.

The second part of your answer makes no sense. You've listed those as the top 10 antispyware programs, yet all of them are known for hijacking, stealth installs, and other malicious practices. Why would you recommend them? I would not recommend a single one of those programs.

Canary,

Malwarebytes is a very good on-demand scanner. If you want real-time protection, then you need to purchase the full version. Spywareblaster will act in real-time to protect your PC, and can be run in conjunction with Malwarebytes free version.

[Sudlo]

Thank you all for all your replies and help.

In summary, based on what I've read here, I'm going to uninstall Ccleaner and SuperAntiSpyware and use TFC or ATF cleaners and Malwarebytes instead.

I just have two further quick questions, though:

1) I have tried both TFC and ATF cleaners - both worked fine, but when I immediately then ran Ccleaner again, it found more stuff that TFC and ATF hadn't cleaned. Does that mean that Ccleaner is more thorough than the other two?

SpywareBlaster does not run natively. Therefore it's lack of presence in the system tray is normal. This is discussed in the program's documentation.

2) Neil - thanks for your reply, but I don't 100pc understand what you mean by not running "natively". For a thicko like me, does that mean that as long as I have SpywareBlaster installed, I don't need to worry?

i will answer the first part of the question..

ccleaner is a better software than both of them..


and coming down to spywareblaster... to be very frank i dont like that software... here is the top 10 anti-spyware software

"10. Spyware Bomber brought to us by the same folks behind Enternet Media, the spyware company shut down recently by the FTC.

9. SlimShield tied with Winhound Spyware Remover for hijacking and stealth installation.

8. WinAntiVirus and its companion WinAntiSpyware 2005 for hijacking, aggressive advertising and inappropriate collection of personally identifying information.

7. SpywareNo and its clone SpyDemolisher for stealth installation and deceptive aggressive advertising.

6. Razespyware for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

5. Spy Trooper for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

4. WorldAntiSpy for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

3. PSGuard for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

2. SpySheriff for stealth installs, desktop hijacks and aggressive advertising.

1. SpyAxe for desktop hijacks, stealth installs and deceptive, aggressive advertising."

btw.. when you have Malwarebytest installed in your computer why do you need another software..

hope i have answered your questions

First, I and any of the other experts here would disagree that CCleaner is the best temp file cleaner out there. I would stick with TFC. It's updated constantly to clean new hiding places, and the developer is available here to answer questions about it. There is also absolutely no chance whatsoever to clean the registry with this program, which is a plus.

The second part of your answer makes no sense. You've listed those as the top 10 antispyware programs, yet all of them are known for hijacking, stealth installs, and other malicious practices. Why would you recommend them? I would not recommend a single one of those programs.

Canary,

Malwarebytes is a very good on-demand scanner. If you want real-time protection, then you need to purchase the full version. Spywareblaster will act in real-time to protect your PC, and can be run in conjunction with Malwarebytes free version.

SARi regarding the second.. i have not recommended those please read it carefully .... i have just mentioned it... ... and second part i have mentioned malwarebytes is much better.. and regarding ccleaner i have been using it from quite some time.. i agree to the fact that i have not usre temp file cleaner........

[sari]

Sudlo,

I suggest you be very careful about your wording in your posts. You specifically state "here is the top 10 anti-spyware software". Anybody reading the term "top 10" would think that those were recommended programs. In fact, none of them are; quite the opposite, in fact, as they are rogue products. That list has no place in a discussion about the best protection programs.

[Canary]

Thanks again for your help.

At the risk of labouring the point, can I just ask again why it is that Ccleaner finds junk to clear out even after I have run TFC or ATF cleaners?

I haven't got a problem with that - Im just curious!