Which version of adaware should I buy?

I noticed there was Pro, Enterprise, etc. I don't mind shelling out the cash if there is an advantage to buying the better version?

Thanks...

 

Shell out the cash for the most expensive version.
And consider it a contribution for a good cause.

Although, for a single stand-alone machine, you do not need Enterprise.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, CrunchDude.
Bill

 

Bill,

I detect sarcasm in every response to my posts. Why is that? Do I do something to you? Offend you in one of my posts?

Crunch

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you, CrunchDude.
Bill

Is sarcasm?

I love you CrunchDude, be assured of that.

Best,
Bill

 

Crunchdude Ad-Aware Plus is a pretty good registry monitor, at times poerhaps a bit to powerful.

It can be configured precisely as you want it. It's pop up blocker is nice and all controls are fairly easy to use.

I used it for years. No real need now tho on my primary machine tho, I never go anywhere dubious on it.

I don't think they have a trial version tho, which would be nice. Spybot is free and has TeaTimer which is also very good and easy to use. Oh, and it's free too!!

And why is Lavasofts bottom line a good cause...do you own some stock?

 

It was CrunchDude with the wad (see the original post).

My charitable instinct was driven not by my stock holdings. It was a backhanded thank you to the freeware version that Lavasoft has offered for years. This is a genuine gift to computerdom.

(which you darn well know TeMerc!)

 

Ad-Aware is no doubt and has always been one of the best. It was the first anti-spyware I ever DLed, excluding av apps of course. But that's another ball of wax, tho both are very similar these days.

 

Not close enough in my mind.

Part of it is that I can no longer recommend Norton or McAfee, both of which have offered impressive anti-spyware and anti-trojan products to their list of features.

It is just the whole mess that Norton and McAfee create when installed. The user really loses control of the machine once these programs are used.

I prefer, at the moment, to recommend less ambitous AV programs that just do AV. (Kaspersky and NOD32 come to mind). I am happy with the free Windows Defender as an anti-spyware tool. For anti-trojan, I very much like the Ewido/Now AVG product, and I used to give SpySweeper a hard time for its odd interaction with XP at times, but have been impressed by the newer releases. (Similarly, I grew sour on Pest Patrol, but now like it enough to recommend it).

To bolster these programs, everyone should have Lavasoft Ad-Aware free Version, keep it updated, and do a regular scan. Similarly, everybody should have the freeware SpyBot Search and Destroyer, keep it updated, and use it to scan on a regular basis.

If you do all of that, TeMerc will have nothing to do in his little Forum.
(Just kidding)

 

Alas, Bill I was not implying that Ad-Aware would be enough, merely it was one of my first anti-spyware DLs way back when, before I even was into the security thing as I am now. I've been doing the malware thing for almost 3 years, but was online for another 3 before that, wasting my time in chat rooms.

I also am of the same opinion about these new fangled 'system suites'. None of them have ever performed well in all categories, more just adequate at best. Users need stand alone applications which do not bloat the system with 5-7 services and umpteen processes.

Norton and McAfee seem to be the leaders in that respect. Unless you're running some serious RAM, stay away from both. Altho I had Norton on my system for many years, older versions, '03.

And boy I sure wouldn't mind having more time on my hands to spend perhaps at some of the more popular social networking sites. But somehow I don't think that will happen any time soon.

And the scary part is that it's so simple to stay clean.

Go figure.

 

Bill,

Sorry for my misinterpretation. I didn't know that you owned stock in the company. lol...Thanks for your wishes and I had a killer Thanksgiving. I hope you did as well.

Does Adaware, which I have loved ever since I came across it work on Vista RTM? I installed it one time on RC2, and while it installed fine and scanned well, I was unable to remove the items it found.

I am also with you on the McAfee and Norton AV products. I've been running KAV6 on my XP install for a while and it finds more things than any other AV product I've tried, and I've tried most of them. Have you attempted to run KAV6 on Vista? If so, I'd like to hear your insight. Also, CNET likes ZoneAlarm Internet Security suite better than KAV6, and while the firewall may be excellent, I found their anti-virus as well as anti-spyware add-ons to be disappointing. It found literally nothing, while KAV6 found several Trojans and other threats and promptly removed them. I am not sure how powerful KAV6's firewall is, however. I am contemplating running only the anti-virus portion of KAV6 and maybe ZoneAlarm's stand-alone firewall. What do you think?

P.S.: The CrunchDude circle of love was born on another forum, which deals mostly with cellular technology. I have excellent connections at Cingular, so I call in favors for "members" who have problems with Cingular or just need bonus minutes, ETF waivers, or retention plans. If you happen to have Cingular, I would be happy to do this for you as well, as you always give excellent advice for forum members here. It's a very exclusive club. Just ask DRC72. He's the Senior Member. lol...

Take care,

Crunch

 

Interesting. Running stand-alone versions for anti-virus scanning, anti-spyware, and a firewall is what I am thinking of doing. What do you, or anyone else who'd like to chime in, think is the best combination for both XP and Vista? Is the Vista firewall really that "vastly improved" to make it a candidate?

Crunch

 

These types of questions will usually produce a different answer for each reply. I'm currently going thru a trial period of several firewall:

• Norton '06--best so far
• Kerio- too basic
• Webroot-pretty good
• Outpost--wouldn't run on my system at all, BSOD twice
• ZA Pro--not bad

I'll likely try a few more before deciding.
I don't run any anti-spyware really, just WinPatrol, hosts file, IE-Spyads and SiteAdvisor. And av of course.

 

Crunchdude,

Your a/v program (Kaspersky) seems to be doing the job for you... so keep it. I have used NOD32 for a couple of years and it is also very good. For spyware take a look at Webroot's SpySweeper, very highly rated. Also AVG bought ewido (anti-trojan/malware software) and is now offering it as AVG Antispyware... see it HERE. You will find either of these programs to be very good.
Adaware and Spybot are both getting a little 'long in the tooth'. Until they get a major update, their protection and scanning capabilities are just not as good as they could be. (still good as 'supplemental' scanners)
Lavasoft (makers of Adaware) have recently released a firewall, and so far it seems to be getting favorable reviews. (I have not tried this firewall yet).
HTH

B