Dudes this thread comes with a warning. i was dumb enough to open an attachment to an email in my hotmail address that hotmail scanned as being ok that was purporting to be from Microsoft about spyware. dumb as i am i opened the thing and immediately got popups etc saying your computers infected and windows (or at least thats what i thought it was)was indicating for me to remove the "spyware infection" with this SpySherriff program...ultimate defender...It led you straight to their really professional looking website. of course as soon as i paid for the software my PC then actually became infected and cutting a bit of a long story short I was left with a PC that was buggered to the point of having to get a technician to reinstall all my programs from scratch. anyone else know anything about this SpySherriff mob? i'm currently disputing with my bank over their $50.00 charge on my credit card. don't be caught out.
I have lots of money in Nigeria, and as soon as I get it, I promise to buy you all the Spyware protection that you desire.
ahhh guys, it really was alot more deceptive than the normal bollocks. google spysherriff on the net for yourselves.
I googled it and top results are "How to remove SpySheriff" and a wikipedia article about the "SpySheriff" illicit program disguised as spyware removal. In any case, my question is...why would you install something a web advertisement told you to install (regardless of how professional-looking their website is)?
The biggest thing to worry about is you just gave your information to a spyware company. I'd even consider canceling my card if I was you.
Let that be a lesson to you - Our friend from down under. Not many things piss me off to the point of pure anger like popups/spyware. It's a big scam and those involved need to be burned alive and video-taped for public enjoyment. That sounds similar to the one I got. I ended up re-installing everything too. I usually don't give in easy and take pride in fixing things, but these things are just plain nasty. Mine started as some windows looking dialog that I tried to brush off without reading. I'm not making that mistake again. Why can't these people port their creative efforts into a way to improve society? I guess they will, when they get their license and move out of the basement.
Some lessons; 1. Never, ever click an advertisement or any pop-up claiming "your PC is infected with ad/spyware" or "your registry needs to be repaired" or anything related. 2. A normal antivirus program such as McAfee or Norton would keep your computer completely safe as long as you update the protection files regularly 3. Software like Zone Alarm, and Spy Sweeper are completely unneccessary. They eat up too much RAM which makes the average computer snail. And you get constant annoying warnings about the most basic program trying to access certain things. (ex. Yahoo messenger wants to connect to the internet)
I agree with 1 and 2, but having a firewall, whether it is software or hardware based, is essential for blocking incoming threats (worms, hackers, etc.) and outgoing threats (including nasty spybots). AV will not do that. Also, spyware apps are a must have these days and should be run weekly. AV programs will not remove all spyware. Adaware and Spybot are a decent 1-2 punch along with MS Antispy.
Windows has a decent built in firewall and many times newer stuff like Symantec really cause more problems than they solve. Plus sometimes they will absolutely obliterate your registry. A router, windows firewall, and some awareness as to what you are clicking and downloading is all you need. Adaware, Spybot Search & Destroy, Spyware Blaster, MS Antispyware (windows defender or whatever they call it now), all work pretty well, along with whatever antivirus program you are running.
A Firefox pop-up blocker and self-resistance to p*rn sites is my spyware protection. Symantec AV Corp. Edition handles the viruses. If I want p*rn I use 360share and choose wisely(limewire looks similar, but I don't have it). Also, if you feel like you're a victim of spyware, go to the processes tab of the Task Manager(ctrl+alt+del) and look for any suspicious application running.
