Hi to all! I noticed everytime I use LIMEWIRE PRO and do a spyware scan (aol spyware scan) I always pick up WINFX which is a Malware and it says that it has an elevated threat, the other one is ADWARE. I always block it and delete it but I feel like Im just going in a vicious circle here as I always use LIMEWIRE. I have Lavasoft's AD-AWARE Professional with all the ad-watch and stuff and I always do a full scan but still nothing's happening. Is there any way I can get rid of these Malware and Adware stuff for good?? Or do I just have to put up with it as I enjoy using LIMEWIRE? THANK YOU ALL!!!
I would recommend trying Webroots SpySweeper. It's a pretty powerful app that takes care of adware,spyware and browser hijackers. I used Ad-Aware and Avast virus today for a scan. Then after installing SpySweeper afterwords it found a trojan that the others didn't catch. You can get a 2 week free trial at this link. Hope it helps. http://www.webroot.com/consumer/products/spysweeper/
I have Spy Sweeper retail and Ad-Aware plus. I also spy scan once a week with SpySweeper, Spyware Doctor, Spybot S&D, and Ad-aware. The only app I have ever used that picks up LW pro as mal-ware is Yahoo Anti-Spy, which is just pest patrol. That leads me to believe that Yahoo anti spy is reporting a false positive. I did some search on CNET, and found out that indeed Pest Patrol reports a lot of false positives, so don't worry about it, if nothing else reports it as spyware.
Whenever i use that scan it gives me an elevated threat level for limewire as well. To get rid of the surveillance software, go to Start->Run and type in RegEdit . Next go to the top and go to find and search for "magnet" (no quotes of course). When it finds it, delete its key and then go to find again and when it finds it again, delete that magnet key as well. Run the aol scan again, problem should be gone. Enjoy!
Yeah AOL Spy Zapper is awful anyway. I've cleaned out computers with SpySweeper that picked up around 200 instances of spyware, that had been declared clean by AOL Spy Zapper. So if you're counting on AOL to keep you Spyware and Virus free, then you're counting on the likes of this guy:
Thank you for the quick replies!! Im glad to hear Limewire is safe. But Im starting to feel like Ad-Aware Professional and aol spyware scan are not enough for my protection. Do I have to buy a better spyware or can I get away with just free downloadable ones?
I really thought Iam well protected with AOL. I even bought their premium virus scan online by mcafee... If only I knew afterdawn.com long ago I shouldnt have been like this. Thanks guys!!
Webroot Spy Sweeper is the best single spy app. hands down. It has a huge data base of malware and several shields that block all the critical areas of your computer from getting infected in the first place. The only drawback is it's $30 or so. Javacool spyware blaster is a good piece of freeware to prevent malware from downloading via Active X controls (Flash movies, or the back button on your browser). Spyware doctor is also an excellent piece of freeware that has a huge spy database. Go to download.com for more info on these, or google.
Webroot is decent but i would buy Spython (part of System Mechanic) or download the free Microsoft AntiSpyware (the best out yet). Spyware Blaster is excellent. good luck!
Yeah I don't know about Spython, it does occasionally pick up stuff. Microsoft bought Sunbelt Software (Counterspy) and it works well too. Each person is gonna have their own preferences here, and of course no single app picks up everything anyway.
so does this mean Limewire is spyware free although I read from one of the discussions here that Limewire has a software that steals from website companies?
I agree with DVDBack23. Everyone has their own personal preferance but I use Ad-Aware Se, Spybot search & Destroy along with SpywareBlaster. If you look a little deeper you'll find spysweeper is not what its all cracked up to be. Backdoor erroneous spyware files are interesting. Why does it seem like the free stuff always works better ? hmmm Well it's just my 10 cent opinion.
Why isn't Spysweeper all it's cracked up to be? I've used a ton of Anti Spy apps, and it's hands down the best single one I've used. No single app picks up everything. And there are so many rogue anti spy and imitators that Joe Sixpack doesn't know about, there are only a handful of good anti spy apps. Spysweeper, Ad-aware, Spybot S&D, Spyware doctor, Microsoft Anti-Spy, CounterSpy, Mcafee is okay. Spyware Xterminator is okay, avoid Aluria products (Spyware killer), they partnered with an adware company a couple month's ago and have sold out.
Well I was stating my own personal preferance. If Spy Sweeper works good for you then I would keep it too. Alot of these spy remover programs search for specific types of files, and yes they dont always pick up everything. I used Weebroots Spy Sweeper in the past and I would run a scan, find several spyware files and delete them, then reeboot. Walk away from my computer for a while "without doing anything" come back and run another spy scan and it would find most of the spyware files that I deleted the first time so that was enough for me. This may be just a rumor but I talked with a very repitable source in the computer world. He stated that Spy Sweeper has a backdoor in which they reload you up with spyware files. Sounds like a great way to keep a program around for a long time.
Interesting hadn't heard that before. Might've been true with earlier versions. There are several rogue anti spy products that are packaged with malware and won't detect their own malware. Or they detect there own malware. remove it, then it regenrates as soon as you connect to the internet.
