Spyferret is a Spybot rip-off. They first created a program and then copied the program library file from Spybot and renamed it. They also copied the threat database. Spybot makers purposely put phony threats in their database and, guess what, they showed up in the Spyferret database. The Spybot program is free with only a donation requested and it is far superior to any rip-off.

A lot of the "detections" that anti-spyware products come up with are tracking cookies. All browsers accept cookies by default and that includes Apple computers. These cookies are not always bad. FAOL places tracking cookies on your computer. For one thing, you would not be able to have the little flags to show you what posts are new since your last visit without them. FAOL also tracks how many of you look at the sponsor links.

All browsers, including Apple's Safari, have security settings that allow you to control cookies. If you do use these to completely, block cookies your browsing experience will suffer. On some sites you will have problems viewing the pages.

I use a combination of software and settings that will block the bad the sites that place spyware and bad cookies. To do this you should have and KEEP UPDATED!:

1.) anti-virus -- (only 1 !) example: AVG
2.) firewall -- (only - 1 !) examples: Kerio, Zone Alarm, Black Ice
3.) anti-spy -- Adaware and Spybot (use both)
4.) browser helper -- Spywareblaster

The first three are probably familiar to you. The forth, the browser helper, blocks sites from installing harmful ActiveX software and also block sites that are spyware infections.

You can also use a custom host file -- you may download a good one here: [url=http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.zip:79844]http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.zip[/url:79844]

A host file allows you to resolve a web site name to your own computer instead of the actual web site. This is very useful if the web site is one that would install spyware on your computer. Your browser will not go to that site even if told to by a trojan and you will not get the bad software installed. The host file, which is simply a list of these bad sites, needs to be extracted from the zip download and placed in the proper directory on your computer:

Windows XP = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC
Windows 2000 = C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC
Windows 98 = C:\WINDOWS
Windows ME = C:\WINDOWS

Note: the hosts file name has no extension, it is simply named hosts

There are other steps and software that are good but require a little more knowledge or you can get in trouble. These are usually only necessary if you have badly neglected to use the preventative steps above.

I have no problems with spyware or tracking cookies because I keep all my preventive software up to date. I can not emphasize how important it is to keep everything UP TO DATE! That means having your software check for updates DAILY!

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Joe




[This message has been edited by flyfisherjoe (edited 06 June 2005).]