Spywared.net

With the overwhelming majority of computers infested with spyware and adware, most people want a way to remove these pests without reformatting the computer so they turn to spyware removal programs. In fact, Microsoft themselves purchased and rebranded Giant Company’s AntiSpyware program and are now distributing the Microsoft Windows Defender program for users of Windows 2000, XP and later. There are currently so many spyware removal programs on the market, which ones really work?
Because many visitors come to my site for spyware and virus removal advice, I thought I’d test a handful of these popular spyware removal programs head to head. To do this, I setup a test machine with Windows XP (SP2) with all the current patches as of January 2007.
Then I installed the following common programs found on many computer systems today:
-My Web Search (Fun Web Products)
-Deluxe Communications (SurfSideKick)
-New.Net Domains
-Web Rebates
-StarWare
-Zango
My previous tech machine back in early 2005 included such popular programs as
Bargain Buddy (including Bullseye Network and Navisearch)
-Gator and GAIN related programs including Precision Time and Date Manager
-My Web Search (Fun Web Products software)
-N-Case AKA 180SearchAssistant
-Web Rebates/Top Rebates
-Websearch.com toolbar including WinTools
However, many of these programs have gone out of business, the company behind the program stopped producing it, or they merged with some other company.
I then created a Ghost image of the hard drive and backed it up to DVD-R disks. This provided me with a clean installation of Windows XP filled with misc programs, toolbars, adware and such to test each program thoroughly.

The efficient solution against the new generation of threats spreading over the internet. Secure your data and protect your privacy against sypware, adware, trojans, dialer, keylogger and worms. We offer you advanced scanning and detection methods and state-of-the-art technology behind an easy to use interface.
 

AVG Anti-Spyware Free 7.5.0.50 is a free anti-spyware protection tool developedby GRISOFT for home use. We invite you to join the millions ofsatisfied customers worldwide who have downloaded the software and nowenjoy the benefits of AVG Anti-Spyware Free.
This setup contains the free as well as the paid version of AVGAnti-Spyware Free. After the installation, a free 30-day trial versioncontaining all the extensions of the full version will be activated. Atthe end of the trial, these extensions will be deactivated and theprogram will turn into a feature-limited freeware version. Thepurchased license code can be entered at any time.

What is ContraVirus?
ContraVirus also known as ContraVirusPro is a fake spyware remover. Imitation spyware applications are labled as rogue anti-spyware. ContraVirus is usually installed into a victims computer by a Trojan or by penetrating through browser security glitches. ContraVirus will present imitation Windows warning messages in the effort to trick the user into buying the full version of ContraVirus. ContraVirus may cause system instability and may allow for additional malware to be installed.
Category Description:
These are usually anti-spyware or security software applications that use various forms of deception and/or unethical means or show a history of negligent false positives to goad the end user to make a purchase.
In some cases these applications maybe downloaded with some form of unwanted software at which point the rogue application is offered to the customer as a way to remove the unwanted software.
Comment:
This is a rogue anti-spyware. This application drops the very adware and Trojans that it detects to goad purchase.
  

Sun Microsystems has issued an update to plug a pair of security holes in its Java Runtime Environment software. JRE is a widely installed software bundle that Web sites use to serve visitors with multimedia, interactive content.
One of the security holes could be exploited to break into Windows machines by convincing a user to visit a corrupt Web site. It’s a popular problem because if you’re running Microsoft Windows, a version of this is installed on your machine. Ninety-eight percent of all visitors to washingtonpost.com had a version of JRE installed, according to numbers we pulled on Thursday, although the site’s statistics tool couldn’t break it down by installed version number.

The latest version of Sun’s JRE is not vulnerable, but Sun doesn’t make it easy for the average user to determine which version is installed on his machine. Additionally, each user probably has more than one version of Java per machine.
The majority of Windows users likely have either JRE 6 or JRE 5.0 installed. The latest patched versions are JRE 6 Update 1, or JRE 5.0 Update 11. To see which version you have installed, go to “Start,” “Control Panel,” then “Add/Remove Programs,” and scroll halfway down the list. If you find older versions of Java already installed, you should uninstall them.
The last time Security Fix wrote about Java updates, a reader asked whether any bad guys bothered to exploit Java vulnerabilities. I replied that criminals would be foolish to ignore it, given the massive installation base of this program. The SANS Internet Storm Center recently posted an alert about a malicious Web site capitalizing on a Java vulnerability that Sun patched in January to silently install a password-stealing program on machines whose users visited the site with outdated versions of Java.
Unless you have a very old version of Java installed, you should be able to update by clicking “Start,” “Control Panel,” and then double-clicking on the “Java” icon. In the box that pops up, click on the “Update,” tab, and then the “Update Now,” button. 

Apple yesterday pushed out an update to plug at least 17 separate security holes in its Mac OS X operating system and other software. Mac users can get the latest patch bundle from Apple Downloads or through the built-in Software Update feature in OS X.
In other patch news, Windows users may have noticed that little yellow shield icon popping up in the corner of their screen this week, indicating that new updates are available from Microsoft. The first is an update to the Microsoft Windows Installer that the company says resolves a problem some people were experiencing when trying to use Windows Update or Microsoft Update.
For people who have Microsoft Office 2003 installed, Microsoft is pushing out a tool called the Microsoft Office Isolated Conversion Environment (MOICE) feature, which is supposed to add new security features for opening and viewing potentially hostile Microsoft Office documents. Anyone who is interested can read up more on MOICE here.