need free spyware software

does anyone know of free software the i can download to
check for spy ware and remove it for free. most are free
to scan but must purchase to remove

2 likns - all free

Spybot - Search & Destroy
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/spybot.html
Lavasoft
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

-----Original Message-----
does anyone know of free software the i can download to
check for spy ware and remove it for free. most are free
to scan but must purchase to remove
.

The below includes everything I think is necessary, no more, and =
certainly no less. Yes, there are valid differences of opinion regarding =
which antivirus software to use, but the rest of my suggestions have =
fairly unanimous support among the cognoscenti. The initial suggestions =
go hand in hand with maintaining a clean and secure system.

See my article, "Clean Boot--What it is and why you need it"
http://www.google.com/groups?selm=3D...NGP11.phx. g=
bl

Because some of the more recent known invaders are capable of =
interfering
with the suggestions contained in the above, I suggest you also consider
first doing the following, though it may be necessary to set up a clean
boot, and even then manually kill a malicious process or two before you =
can
even get these accomplished. Many invaders are built to first detect and
disable protections that are in place, so that you might, for instance, =
have
to obtain and employ a DOS-boot antivirus like F-Prot. Repeated running =
of
scanners, booting back and forth from Safe Mode to Normal, or into DOS
Mode--a lot of gymnastics are often required to get to an error-free and
nasties-free condition. Once there, however, some user sanity and =
education,
plus regular "wetware" updating, will *keep* your system healthy.

Update your Antivirus, run a full scan. Then, if you haven't already,
obtain, update, and run any or all of the following
Trojan/Parasite/Adware/Spyware cleaners. I recommend getting and running
*all* of them. They each target slightly different things. Again, be =
sure
you update the definitions they are using to identify crap before =
running
them, each time you run them--which, depending on your surfing habits,
should be anything from once a month, to once a week, to once a day, to =
once
an hour if you're really into junkware sites (aka "Free goodies", game
sites, fun-places-to-be, etc.)

Tradition had it that Firewalls were generally not needed when using =
simple
dial-up modem connections. Alas, this is no longer the case. *Everyone*
needs a firewall! Also, I make no bones about it--Norton, McAfee and
Trend-Micro products (and probably a few others) are ABOMINATIONS!,
particularly when it comes to Win9x systems. They are massive suites =
that
intrude into basic functions where they simply do not need to go. For
freeware solutions, I suggest AVG or AVAST (based upon the =
recommendations
of others, though each has it's minor drawbacks) and ZoneAlarm Firewall. =
But
for really good, inexpensive, and trustworthy protection, you simply =
can't
beat eTrust Armor. Antivirus and Firewall combined, very non-intrusive =
upon
the system itself (I've *never* seen a crash caused by EZ Antivirus, and
there's hardly any impact whatsoever on Resources, etc.) eTrust is from
Computer Associates Inc.--the antivirus is a version of their corporate
product usually known as Inoculan, and they got smart recently and =
switched
to using a version of ZoneAlarm for their firewall.

You can get a one-year free trial of eTrust EZ Armor at
http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft/. This offer was initially slated to =
end
this June, but has been extended through February 2005. The trial offer =
is
also included in at least some versions (not sure about all languages) =
of
Microsoft's Windows Security Update CD, an item *everyone* should own.
(However, do *not* just run the Update CD on your system without a =
proper
analysis of where your system stands with regard to Updates. Might do =
more
harm than good.) EZ Armor would normally cost $50 for the first year (a =
deal
in itself), and yearly renewal subscriptions only cost $25--an absolute
steal when compared with other offerings. Order the Windows Security =
Update
CD directly from MS, totally free, including S&H, at
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp

In addition to Antivirus and Firewall protection, I consider the =
following
items to be indispensable protection and clean-up utilities. My judgment =
is
based upon their being free, good, accurate, and safe, if handled =
correctly.
See, also, suggestions from MVP Mike Burgess on his site,
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/, particularly the general Windows/IE
Security page, http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/security.htm. More =
current
discussions of Security issues can be found at the Windows Support =
Center
(provided by MVP Jim Eshelman, a true Saint!) at http://www.aumha.org

(SpyBot S&D =3D "SpyBot Search & Destroy")

Ad-Aware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
SpyBot S&D http://www.safer-networking.org/inde...age=3Ddownload
HijackThis http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/HijackThis.exe
CWShredder http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/cwshredder.zip
Spyware Blaster http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

PLEASE! Before doing any of these, see also,
http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm for suggestions and =
cautionary
information about internet surfing, and some important hints about using =
the
above. ESPECIALLY, be aware that HijackThis scans result in a LOT of =
stuff
that you *don't* want to delete. The admonishment to save a log and show =
it
to an expert is critically good advice. Not following that advice can =
really
do some damage to your system. SpyBot S&D, too, is capable of similar
problems, especially if you change default scan settings, or "Immunize".

An additional tool that is very helpful in protecting your machine is a
HOSTS file. Microsoft MVP Mike Burgess maintain a frequently updated =
list of
bad sites. They may be sites that provide most of the junky =
advertisements
you see in other places, or sites that install spyware/adware, or that, =
for
whatever reason, you shouldn't allow into your system. Using the HOSTS
file, you can redirect such addresses to a site that's guaranteed will =
fail
to load on most machines--your own computer.
HOSTS Overview -- http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

After using it for some time, now, I also consider MVP George Geyde's =
HOSTS File Manager an indispensable tool. I've been amazed at how well =
this one tool stopped most of the crap from getting in in the first =
place. You can find it at the bottom of this page:
http://www.mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/Software.htm

--=20
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP for Win9x
=20
"frs" wrote in message =
...
does anyone know of free software the i can download to=20
check for spy ware and remove it for free. most are free=20
to scan but must purchase to remove

All following information has been gathered from various MVP (MOST VALUABLE
PERSON) websites and Microsoft public newsgroups manned by MVP's. {These
people know their stuff.}

If you are having parasite woes try all the following procedures.

1. Go to Windows update and download/install all "Critical Updates".

2. Download/update all of the following (they are all free, you can make a
contribution if you choose):

Spybot Search and Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.net/

Lavasoft AdAware
http://www.lavasoft.de

CWSShredder
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

SpywareBlaster
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
(SpywareBlaster is not a spyware remover; it prevents spyware from being
installed in the first place)

3. If you don't have antivirus protection get a free one he
Grisoft AntiVirus:
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php

4. If you need a firewall get a free one he
http://www.download.com/3000-2092-10...e&tag=butto n


5. Now, log off the Internet. If you are running Windows ME or XP, disable
system restore. Instructions he
http://www.pchell.com/virus/systemrestore.shtml

6. Then run AdAwa
Open AdAware click start click next (when scan is complete) click next
put checks in all left most boxes click next click OK.

7. Open Spybot click "check for problems" (when scan is complete) put
checks in all RED entries click "Fix selected problems"

8. Open CWSShredder click "fix".

The free versions of AdAware, Spybot and CWSShredder do not run
automatically on your comp. You must manually update/run them once a week or
so. SpywareBlaster runs automatically but must be manually updated.

9. Go to one (or more ) of these sites and run the virus scans, if you are
on dial up these scans could take 20- 30 minutes each.

Online scans:

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

http://www.pandasoftware.com/actives..._principal.htm

http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/h...OBWYSHSFVIGMKI

http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/default.asp?cid=9913

If you still have parasite woes download HijackThis:
http://tomcoyote.com/hjt/ Caution: Be very careful with HijackThis. Read the
entire page before downloading and running HijackThis.

Please' post your Hijack This Logs, in any of the following "Expert Forums"
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/
http://computercops.biz/forums.html
http://boards.cexx.org/
http://www.techsupportforums.com/
http://forums.techguy.org/
http://forums.net-integration.net/index.php

This should rid your comp. of most parasites. Remember NO ONE PROGRAM IS
EVER GOING TO CATCH ALL PARASITES. All the above are needed.

For further advice see: http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm



--
Stan
"If it ain't broke don't fix it"
"frs" wrote in message
...
does anyone know of free software the i can download to
check for spy ware and remove it for free. most are free
to scan but must purchase to remove

Try AdAware from Lavasoft.

"frs" wrote in message
...
does anyone know of free software the i can download to
check for spy ware and remove it for free. most are free
to scan but must purchase to remove