Step 7 - Get software to stop malicious programs.
Step 7 - Get software to stop malicious programs.



   This section deals with programs that will find and eliminate most kinds of spyware, adware, viruses, trojans, etc. Most of these programs are free, but some you may have to pay for, and some offer a "trial period" before you can either buy them or they stop working. I'll recommend the "must haves" first, and they're free. I recommend using ONLY the anti-spyware/virus/trojan stuff presented here. You should run these about once a week.

SpyBot Search & Destroy is the best spyware-remover available, and it's free. I recommend also using Ad-Aware, as both SpyBot and Ad-Aware can find and remove things the other can't. I still recommend using the firewall and DNSKong to prevent future infections. SpyBot has a built-in update feature which is safe to use and you should check for updates from time to time. Due to overwhelming popularity, there is a second, "mirror" site set up here. This is a must-have.

Lavasoft's Ad-Aware is another good, free spyware-removal tool. This is also a must-have. Like everything else recommended here, it's free.

Merijn Bellekom's CWShredder is currently the only software in existence that can eradicate all known variants of the ultra-nasty CWShredder series of trojans. Like just about everything else here, it's free.

Javacool's Spywareblaster is also a good anti-spyware tool. Javacool makes a lot of neat anti-spyware and anti-tracking tools. like ID Blaster, FileChecker and other nifty tools.

   As you can see, these three programs are key to preventing the most common privacy and security violation in existence: spyware. All three are free, but I recommend sending donations to the authors. They really work hard, and believe me, they have prevented millions of people a lot of grief. Maybe more.
   The other set of programs are anti-virus programs. If you already have one, good. If not, let me fill you in on something first: anti-virus programs tend to only be good at finding viruses and email worms. They cannot find most kinds of spyware or trojans. That means, for one, don't expect them to replace SpyBot, Ad-Aware, your firewall, or any other security features you installed in these steps. Even SpyBot and Ad-Aware are far from bulletproof, which is why you use the firewall and part of the reason why you use DNSKong. That means you will have to have run virus scans and spyware scans separately. You might be asking yourself, "why doesn't somebody make a program that does all of them?" Well, there are one or two manufacturers that claim to. Now, I'm not going to name names -- to cover my own behind -- but two of them are reported to come with their own spyware (one installs itself through spyware. Oddly enough, it can find and alert you to competing spyware products on your system, but not the one that installs it...hmmm, that must be a just little oversight, right?) This is why I recommend sticking to what's recommended here.

McAfee's is a good product and, like Norton's, buying it will entitle you to a 1-year subscription to updates. Also, it may come bundled with a firewall and other stuff. The firewall is awful (almost as bad as Norton's firewall), but the other stuff is okay. It's usually around the same price.

F-Prot is a decent anti-virus program that, depending on the version, can be free or paid. The free version is a DOS version and I don't think it is very good at removing viruses. If you're very computer-savvy that probably won't be a problem as long as you know it's there. I have no personal experience with the paid versions but they are reportedly pretty good. I think they give you a 1-year subscription also.

Kaspersky's is a top-rated one that I have experience with. I believe you can try it for 30 days before buying it and you get a year's subscriptions to updates.

AVG by Grisoft is free for personal use. I would only rate it as so-so but since some people aren't willing to buy software I included it here. It's better to have something than nothing.

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