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Antispyware Shootout
An anonymous reader writes "ZDNet has published a review of 8 antispyware products from Computer Associates, Lavasoft, McAfee, Microsoft, PC Tools, Symantec, Trend Micro and Webroot. Check out the Editor's Choice. Interesting winner ...." I've used quite a number of these scanners on and on & off basis, and I think the reality is that you if you are truly to clean a machine out, you're going to need to use like three - five of these. Each of them captures a certain area, but none are the One Ring or anything.
or the shootout ended up killing everyone, including the article.
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
I wonder whether there will remain enough CPU power to run the applications once I will install three to four ofthose scanners.
Maybe some major fix in the operating system (as well as in the users' brain) could help a little bit.
Maybe Computers will never be as intelligent as Humans.
For sure they won't ever become so stupid. [VR-1988]
This might be a little out of date, but it's still my favorite review site. It talked me into paying for Giant right before MS bought it, which is too bad, because it was the best one I'd ever used.
Note that the test was for enterprise versions of the products, meant for support of a 150 or so user network. Your mileage may vary if a test is done for single computer home use.
It's nice that they acknowledge the existence of free solutions ("freeware" anti-spyware programs), such as (my personal fave) Spybot Search & Destroy. I would feel a whole lot better about this article if it would actually compare these expensive commercial programs to the whole playing field of contenders. Leaving out the least expensive solutions (free ones) leaves this article wanting.
For those of you who are too lazy or otherwise unable to reach the article (which in a matter of minutes should be just about EVERYONE), here's the summary:
Scenario 1: This larger (over 150 users) company is seeking dedicated anti-spyware. It needs a solution that can detect and clean up a range of malware on its machines.
Winner 1: Computer Associates eTrust Pest Patrol and Symantec Client Security. Once a network goes above 150 nodes the case for centralised management command and control capabilities becomes more important. CA wins here for its performance and ease of management, and Symantec for its accuracy.
Scenario 2: This smaller (less than 150 users) company is seeking dedicated anti-spyware. It is seeking a solution that can detect and clean up a range of malware on its machines.
Winner 2: PC Tools Spyware Doctor 3.0 for its ease of use, accuracy, and performance.
Editor's Choice: Symantec Client Security 3.0
It was neck and neck for the Editor's Choice Award between CA and Symantec. Had CA or even PC Tools detected more (they were both above average), they could have won, however, Symantec blitzed the field in detection which is really what you want. Note that this is at a trade-off to performance, and bear in mind that Symantec also includes antivirus, so your decision may come down to what virus scanning policy and system your business is already using.
SIG: TAKE OFF EVERY 'CAPTAIN'!!
Did any of them find the Sony rootkit?
To answer your topic question, it's necessary because Windows users usually run with administrator rights and don't care much for what an installer may do. Think doing the same but in Linux as root.
And then few OS'es out there will help if the user choose to install a spyware infested program and click "Yes" to install the whole thing. I mean, once a user run executable code with admin rights, what can the OS do?
One solution is of course to run in a more protected user mode where you're requested of admin rights when it has to do something to the system, and the upcoming version of Windows will do exactly this, and what *nix desktop managers have had for years.
However, when the user see "This application requires administrator rights", will he/she still just blindly fill in the requested info, click "yes", and get the spyware?
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
From the test results page:
Clean machine accuracy and performance testing
* Accuracy: Only Lavasoft and Spybot Search & Destroy picked up anything when instructed to scan a newly installed and patched version of Microsoft's Windows 2000 Professional. Both reported Alexa (adware) related items. The other seven applications in this test correctly reported no items.
Sorry, but in my opinion, Alexa IS spyware (or can be if you use IE) and spyware detectors should find and at the very least warn you of its presence. From there it's up to the user to decide to keep it or junk it. Just because you have a fresh install from Microsoft doesn't mean it is clean. Microsoft is just as capable as anyone else of bundling crap with their software.
Hogwash. In Linux or Mac, you can accomplish all daily tasks as a user with limited privileges. This is often impossible in Windows. In Linux, you can easily choose to install software only from trusted sources (e.g. your distro's package repositories.) It comes with all needed apps. This is not true in Windows.
Need more proof? See this from the Register.
It's completely ignorant to say that Linux and Mac would be just as bad if they had more marketshare.
Penny - plain text accounting
You misspelled "spyware."
Click the "Print Article" button on the first page and it will present the entire article to you in one long HTML page.