Fake Antispyware Software - Tips to Identify and Avoid

The Internet has made our lives easier but it comes with a few curses too. While the Internet has changed the way we do business and share things, it has also led to online frauds and crimes. When you download or purchase a product online, you can never be 100% percent certain of its authenticity until you actually use the product or service yourself. This is because the Internet has become the new frontier for criminals who find it easier to cheat people and cause damage to them due to its sheer reach to millions of users. One unique way of gaining illegal access to your computer that is used by cyber criminals is to create fake antispyware or antivirus programs that are actually malicious software.

To prevent yourself from becoming a victim of these rogue antispyware tools, it is essential for you to learn how to differentiate between a fake antispyware and a real antispyware program. Here are some useful tips to help you identify a fake antispyware program.

Uses Scare Tactics

A fake antispyware software displays fake spyware alerts on your computer and frightens you into purchasing its full version. These alerts claim that the only way to get rid of spyware from your system is to perform a full system scan using a paid version of the recommended fake spyware tool. Such rogue tools, also known as scareware, never provide any protection against spyware. What they actually do is scam you out of money and install additional spyware onto your computer.

Uses Pressure Marketing

If scaring you is not enough, the promoters of these fake antispyware programs also bombard you with aggressive marketing campaigns to force you into buying their protection software. The most aggressive rogue antispyware programs will hijack your web browser and force you to their associated websites and make it impossible for you to access any other websites.

Looks Similar to Genuine Antispyware Programs

To make it difficult for an innocent computer user to identify them, fake antispyware programs have an interface that looks quite similar to popular, legitimate, and well-known antispyware programs. In addition, these fake antispyware programs illegally use official Windows logos to make themselves look more legit. If you don't know how to distinguish between the two, you can easily fall into the rogue antispyware's malicious trap and cause damage to your computer.

Performs Extremely Poor Scanning and Reporting

If you fall prey to the tactics used by these tools and end up buying a fake antispyware software, you can immediately identify it to be a fake when it automatically scans your PC and displays the final results. First, a legitimate antispyware tool will never scan your system without your permission. Next, you will notice that the displayed results are quite general and do not give out any specific information related to the detected infections. Finally, you may notice that the software conveniently skips several essential files and folders from the scanning process.

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Beware Of Free Antispyware Download

Though internet is a revolution in the present world, it has its own disadvantages. The security and privacy are at stake. The Internet is a dangerous place full of privacy invaders, scammers, and hackers availaing full advantage of your internet activities. You need to take certain preventive measures to avoid these threats. Spyware may get installed via certain shareware programs offered for download. Downloading programs only from reputable sources can provide some protection from this source of attack.

There are are plenty of things you can do to keep yourself safe. Antispyware, antivirus, firewalls or internet security suites are some of the software applications that can ensure your privacy. There are a number of good antispyware programs in the market today. At the same time, dozens of fake and rogue antispyware softwares are also prevailing in the market. They leave the traces of spyware and adware on your PC when scanned, thus creating a fear of threat and making yourself to buy that antispyware software. These rogue antispyware softwares are heavily marketed through e-mail campaigns and sometimes through some words like FREE ANTISPYWARE DOWNLOAD. Beware of them. Never run any free scan or free antispyware download unless you are aware of the software publishers.

If you find time, just go through the independent product reviews that are published by renowned computer magazines like PCWorld, PCMag, CNET. Spending some extra time on researching antispyware softwares can save you a lot of hassles in the long run. There are certainly some companies that specialize in delivering just good antispyware software programs and nothing else.

As a customer, everyone of us would be interested in evaluating the antispyware program. The four basic parameters which we look at the best antispyware software are price, features, ease of use, and performance. A growing number of antispyware tools are taking a new approach to fight the spyware. Rather than blocking each spyware and adware, they aim to limit malware's power to cause harm even if it gets in.

Research analysts test the products' ability to provide real-time defense on contact with threats, as well as their propensity to falsely identify harmless files. A real-time protection against rootkits and phishing sites is also one of the feature to test the accuracy of the antispyware software. Other user-friendly features like the ability to choose between a fast system scan and a slow system scan is a notable thing if you are run out of time.

Anti-phishing protection guards prevents access to known bad sites. Detecting malware is one thing; cleaning it thoroughly from your system is another. Some antispyware softwares claim that they have detected even the unnoticeable spyware and adware. But in reality one needs to have a thorough cleaning antispyware software application.

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Anti-Spyware Software In 2011- Top 5

Stopping spyware (“malware”) is more than a one-time inoculation, folks. This is about a weekly habit of cleaning "nasty dust bunnies" from your personal computer. In much the same way you clean your home with your favorite broom and your favorite cleaning solvents, you will also need good tools to clean spyware out of your PC.

Accessing the Internet without having proper protection poses a great threat to your information and data security. Of late, it has been noticed that spyware is the most serious threat to the online identity of the user. This tiny program is downloaded often without the knowledge of the user and they collect information about sites the user visits.

1. Being the popular and venerable antispyware program from the house of Lavasoft, Ad-aware SE 1.06 is an ideal choice for keeping spyware and adware under control on your computer. This program has been intended to safeguard your computer from known Data-mining, selected traditional Trojans, aggressive advertising, Parasites, Scumware, Dialers as well as Malware, Browser hijackers, and tracking components. This new programs comes with all new Code Sequence Identification (CSI) technology that not only protects your computer from known content, but also safeguard the system against many of their unknown variants.

2. ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware 6 is another excellent choice. Released by Zone Labs, renowned free firewall software ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware 6 offers a deep level of protection to the PC users. Installation and setup of this program is very straightforward. Apart from monitoring network traffic for spyware, this anti-spyware program also quarantines suspicious e-mail attachments as well as block outbound messages that may have potential malware.

3. PC tools Spyware Doctor 2011 is one of the most popular choice in 2011. Featuring a unique user interface this program is very easy to use. Typically, it is a must to have an active internet connection to update the programs for the best performance. But Spware Doctor doesn't depend upon the definition database. So those who dint have an internet connection they also won't face any difficulties with this program. There should be 2GB RAM to run the smoothly.

4. Webroot SpySweeper 2011 performs excellently to detect of spywares. The latest version comes with some new features such as online backup. This allows the users to access their files from anywhere. The scanning speed might be a bit on the slower side than its counterparts but the detection techniques of this program is the best. To run the program, there should be 1 GHz processor and minimum 1GB RAM.

5. Ad-Aware Pro 8.3 is notable anti-spyware software. The program might be simple and lightweight but it is very much effective to protect your computer against spyware.

Get Rid of XP Antispyware

XP Antispyware (aka XP Antispyware 2009) is a malicious program that is dangerous contrary to the legitimate security image it projects. It secretly installs on your computer through Trojans such as Zlob and makes its way to system folders and the registry. It downloads additional parasites that hijack your web browser and bombard you with false notifications of threats it claims are on your computer. Remove this fake program and protect your computer from malicious activity.

Instructions


Print these directions before proceeding because you will later need to restart your computer. Close all running programs.


Click the Windows "Start" button and select "All Programs." Scroll up and select "Accessories." Select "System Tools" and click "System Restore." The backup utility launches.


Click "Create a new restore point" on the utility. Type a name for the backup and click "Create" to back up your computer system.


Press "Ctrl," "Alt," and "Delete" together to open the task manager. Click the "Processes" tab. Scroll down and click "XPAntispyware2009.exe." Click "End Process." Perform the same procedure to the following remaining processes:
as2008xp.exe, setup_100527_3_.exe, setup.exe, antispyware-2009.exe, XP_AntiSpyware.exe, antispyware-2009.exe. Exit the task manager.


Restart your computer and press "F8" repeatedly to launch the Windows Advanced Options Menu. Select "Safe Mode" and press "Enter" to log into Windows Safe Mode.


Click the Windows "Start" button and click "Run." Type "cmd" (without quotes) and press "Enter" to open the command prompt.


Type "regsvr32 /u + dll file" and press "Enter." A message pops up saying the dll file has been unregistered. For example, to unregister mall.dll, type "regsvr32 /u mall.dll" and press "Enter." Unregister the following dll files: ntdll64.dll, pthreadvc2.dll, msvcr80.dll, msvcp80.dll, htmlayout.dll, msvcm80.dll and avengn.dll. Close the command prompt.


Click the Windows "Start" button and click "Run." Type "regedit" (without quotes) and press "OK" to open the registry.


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Fake Antispyware Software - Tips to Identify and Avoid

The Internet has made our lives easier but it comes with a few curses too. While the Internet has changed the way we do business and share things, it has also led to online frauds and crimes. When you download or purchase a product online, you can never be 100% percent certain of its authenticity until you actually use the product or service yourself. This is because the Internet has become the new frontier for criminals who find it easier to cheat people and cause damage to them due to its sheer reach to millions of users. One unique way of gaining illegal access to your computer that is used by cyber criminals is to create fake antispyware or antivirus programs that are actually malicious software.

To prevent yourself from becoming a victim of these rogue antispyware tools, it is essential for you to learn how to differentiate between a fake antispyware and a real antispyware program. Here are some useful tips to help you identify a fake antispyware program.

Uses Scare Tactics

A fake antispyware software displays fake spyware alerts on your computer and frightens you into purchasing its full version. These alerts claim that the only way to get rid of spyware from your system is to perform a full system scan using a paid version of the recommended fake spyware tool. Such rogue tools, also known as scareware, never provide any protection against spyware. What they actually do is scam you out of money and install additional spyware onto your computer.

Uses Pressure Marketing

If scaring you is not enough, the promoters of these fake antispyware programs also bombard you with aggressive marketing campaigns to force you into buying their protection software. The most aggressive rogue antispyware programs will hijack your web browser and force you to their associated websites and make it impossible for you to access any other websites.

Looks Similar to Genuine Antispyware Programs

To make it difficult for an innocent computer user to identify them, fake antispyware programs have an interface that looks quite similar to popular, legitimate, and well-known antispyware programs. In addition, these fake antispyware programs illegally use official Windows logos to make themselves look more legit. If you don't know how to distinguish between the two, you can easily fall into the rogue antispyware's malicious trap and cause damage to your computer.

Performs Extremely Poor Scanning and Reporting

If you fall prey to the tactics used by these tools and end up buying a fake antispyware software, you can immediately identify it to be a fake when it automatically scans your PC and displays the final results. First, a legitimate antispyware tool will never scan your system without your permission. Next, you will notice that the displayed results are quite general and do not give out any specific information related to the detected infections. Finally, you may notice that the software conveniently skips several essential files and folders from the scanning process.

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Top Anti Spyware Programs and Software

While many users seek out of free anti-spyware online, most people prefer the accountability inherent with paid security software. The belief that money spent equates to performance and support is not always proven true, so software reviews often influence the eventual purchase. PC Magazine, TopTenREVIEWS and CNET Reviews are trusted sources of product reviews and as such routinely offer their picks for the top retail security software.

Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus

The editors of PCMag.com rated Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 4.5 out of 5 with the website's readership rating the software 4 out of 5. The software underwent a battery of tests during review and was declared excellent in identifying and removing spyware, rootkits and scareware. The software's weak area was in detecting keylogger programs where it only found 90 percent during testing. There was an issue where the software upset the computer's network settings, but the problem was easily fixed. In the end, the software earned a "very good" rating from editors and readers.

Spy Sweeper

Spy Sweeper by publisher Webroot was ranked in first place among the anti-spyware reviewed by TopTenREVIEWS. The software was praised for its thorough definitions database, frequent updates and free technical support. However, the software was found to conflict with other security software installed on the computer. Overall, TopTenREVIEWS declared that the scanning software and extensive database were more than enough to put Spy Sweeper at number one.

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The Best Way to Get Rid of Adware and Spyware

Adware" and "spyware" are terms that refer to programs that can cause damage to your computer. These programs can download and install on your computer without your knowledge, and make changes to your web browser's homepage, cause advertisement pop-ups to appear and spy on your computer activities. It's important to use an effective way of getting rid of these programs every so often, or they can seriously slow down and corrupt your computer's health.

1.Download Antispyware Software

2.The best way to get rid of adware and spyware is to first download and install antispyware programs that can deal with these problems (see Resources). This is the best option not only for those who don't have a lot of computer savvy, but also in general, since some of the best antispyware programs are free and are generally effective. Buying such a program from an online ad can be dangerous, as a lot of these are scams. The ones you can download for free, such as Spybot and Ad-Aware, are oftentimes just as good as store-bought programs.

3. Updating.

The first thing to do after installing is make sure your antispyware program has the most recent updates. There is usually a button marked "Update" that will let you download what you need. It's a good idea to stay away from programs that don't offer frequent updates, because spyware and adware are constantly changing and becoming more numerous. If your antispyware program doesn't have information on the latest spyware and adware, it could miss something on your computer.

4. Scan and Delete

After you've updated, it's a good idea to scan for spyware immediately. Turn off other programs while the scan is completing to make it more effective. Also, if you have a particularly hard-to-get-rid-of spyware program, it's a good idea to restart your computer in safe mode before doing a scan. After the scan completes, the threats should be listed, and there should be a button for removal. It's a good idea to do scans frequently, as you never know when a malicious program may install itself on your computer.