Table 2                              Spyware Protectors 

Program / Version

Category (A - I) & Function 

URL 

Notes  

F.  Warns when an entry to the Windows Registry is about to be made. It is a real-time registry monitor and protector. It monitors  important locations and keys in the Registry, and will alert whenever a key is added or changed, and then give you the option of accepting the key change, reverting to the original key setting, or deleting the key. Runs in the background.

RegistryProt's most useful attribute is that it will detect most  Trojans at the exact moment that they  try to install themselves on to your system. 

B.  Finds and removes Trojan-style proglets that scan your system and return data to their originators (‘spyware’)

Only works for software it knows about, so frequent updating is necessary

A.  Access to an on-line database that lists known spyware, so you can fid out if a particular title is safe or not.

2.4   SpyBot  S&D 1.3

B.  Searches your hard disk for different kinds of internet threats - including spy- and adware, key loggers and your usage tracks (for example your browsers page history), and removes them.  It can also fix some system problems.

Maintains its own signature files on your system so updating is necessary. Sets its own Restore Points for use in case things go wrong.   

J.  IE-SpyAd uses a mergeable registry file (IE-Ads.reg) that adds a long list of known advertisers, marketers, and  pushers to the Restricted Zone of Internet Explorer. Once it is  merged, they will not be able to utilise  cookies, scripts, popups, etc. in order to monitor and track your surfing behaviour. 

K.  Allows you to fix certain settings in  Internet Explorer and stops them being changed.  Many of these settings are commonly abused by invasive web sites, that for example change your home page settings, modify the toolbar, or open pages in full-screen mode. 

You can also disable the registry editor, page source viewing and other settings. 

         BHO Demon 2.0.0.17

I.  Both these let you control the Internet Explorer Browser Helper Objects (BHOs) that are installed on your system. They enable you to see what BHOs are installed and  to deactivate them. BHO  Demon monitors their status from the SysTray.

I.  Protects your system from browser hijackers and spyware that alters your Internet Explorer settings. It runs in the system tray and silently monitors the settings for IE Homepage, IE Default Page, IE Search Page, and BHOs (Browser Helper Objects). If any of these settings are changed, it will intercept and warn you, giving you the option to undo the changes.

E.  WinPatrol gives you  control over what permission you give for programs  to run on your machine. It can be set  to display information about Start-up programs, and lets you approve  programs set to Auto Run. An alert pops up when new cookies are added to your system, and you can see what information is being stored there

C. Prevents spyware from  being installed. It targets items used by spyware and browser hijackers to embed themselves into your system. Detects changes and additions and alerts them. Provides a list of changed/added items - so the user has full control. Will also disable, or prevent the loading of Macromedia Flash controls, which advertisers have begun to exploit.

Has an XP-like feature in that it can take a 'snapshot' of your system settings, and should you be infected by spyware, you can restore important browser and system settings to their previous states. A really useful  and essential donation ware (ie. basically  free)  application. 

D.  An anti-virus program scans files before you open them and prevents execution if a virus is detected - Spyware Guard does the same thing  for spyware.  It prevents spyware from being downloaded and stops Browser Hijacking - both in real-time.

Stops those nuisance changes to your browser (such as Home Page or toolbar hijacking)  and scans downloads - all in real-time. An excellent '2nd layer'  protection when used with Spyware Blaster.

E.  ScrubXP is a one-click cleanup tool, that runs in your system tray. As soon as you click it, it will delete and clean the following items: IE History, IE Temporary Files, IE Cookies, Recent Documents List, Recycle Bin,  and Auto-complete Entries (which it also turns off. It also cleans the Recent File Lists for Run, Common Dialogs, Recent Documents, Search Assistant, Typed URLs, Paint, Find Computer, Printer Ports, Find Files, Media Player, Previous Tasks, and Real Player. The program runs automatically on boot up. Session cleanups can be performed by double-clicking the tray icon. 

 There is no configuration, the program cleans all of the listed MRUs every time it is run.

E.  Detects and cleans MRU (most recently used) lists on your computer. These  lists contain information such as the names and/or locations of the last files you have accessed. They are located all over your registry, and for almost any file type. By examining them,  someone could determine what files you opened, saved or looked at, and what their file names were. In many cases, the lists are automatically displayed in drop-down menus.  

Plug-ins are included that can be set to clear Temporary Internet Files and Cookies  -  both fully configurable. Very useful. Includes the option to empty the 'Run' (Open) typed command list.

E.  iiSystem Wiper is a highly configurable system cleaner that enables you to erase internet tracks, as well as temporary files, recent document list, cookies, browser cache and so on. It also offers support for popular P2P file sharing programs (Morpheus, Gnucleus etc.) as well as Windows Media Player, Netscape, MS Office, and Plug-ins.

E.  Automatically cleans up all traces of your Internet activity when the last window of Internet Explorer is closed. You can select to clean the URL history, typed URLs, Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, Recent Documents, Auto-complete history, Windows Temporary files and the Recycle bin. IE Privacy Keeper can perform the cleanup automatically, or manually from the Tools menu in Internet Explorer

G.  Notifies and logs modifications to  files you have specified.  It runs in the background and can be minimized to the system tray.

Has configurable pop-up notification options  -  you can choose to have pop ups for all detected changes, just for checksums, just for file deletions, or any combination. 

2.17 Cookie Jar 1.0.1

H.  Some of the Cookies (small text files) are for sites you've logged into and visit regularly. These you'd want to Allow. Others are Tracking Cookies which hold information - such as last page visited - that you do not want kept. These would be Banned. Some you might keep as Undecided. Cookie Jar gives you simple control over this procedure. 

A firewall like Zone Alarm has Privacy settings which allow you to decide what type of Cookies, Ads and code you want to run. Unfortunately, aggressive settings usually mean that websites will not wholly load or will be missing features. (eg. the blinking buttons on this site). A workaround  is to allow all Cookies and manually separate those you can trust from those you can't.  

                             Click the buttons for  Spyware Protection Forums and lists of known parasites. Mouse over for info. 

                                           Don't  let them near you

            Table 3                              Spam Blockers

Program / Version

Function

 URL

Notes  

Sends a fake bounce message back to the spam mailers, making their targeted mailing list manager think your address was invalid. The program works (sometimes) even when you can't get to the real sender of the message. 

Although this program still works, it is no longer supported by the vendor. Take note...

Many server-finding tools, such as nslookup, whois, and traceroute, were run from the command line. Sam Spade lets you use these tools from a user-friendly  interface. Information found with one tool can be queried using another. HTTP packets are sent  to your ISP's Web server every minute or so, to keep a dial-up link active. A web-browser is included.

Its SMTP Verify tool helps you check on the validity of an email address, which is good for finding out if mail is being sent from that address or forwarded from another. An abuse.net query will identify the email addresses listed at a database maintained by abuse.net. 

Spam Buster includes filters more than 15,000 known spammers. It runs from your system tray and queries your email server every few minutes to check new messages against a blacklist of known spammers and subject lines. If it finds a match, it deletes the email before the message ever gets to your in-box, though you can opt to preview intercepted files before deleting them. Configurable to filter up to 12 mailboxes. If a spammer gets through, you can report the event. 

Requires a POP3 email account, such as one provided by a local ISP. Does not support AOL, MSN, Juno, or Web-based mail accounts, such as Yahoo Mail or Hotmail.

The main screen carries banner ads. These  do not communicate with any outside agency or third-party ad server. If you want to get rid of them, you can register the program for a fee.

Microsoft Outlook  has a Rules Wizard that helps you filter junk and adult-content emails. You can add  me@dodgysite.com  to your spam list, but you could  then get a similar email from them@dodgysite.com. Junk URL helps you overcome this limitation by blocking all emails from a domain. Once set up, you can forget it.

The downside : some Outlook 2002 users have reported problems. 

Outlook XP is not supported at all. Take note...

 SpamPal sits between your email client and your mailbox, checking your mail as you retrieve it. Any  messages that SpamPal considers to be spam will be tagged. You configure your email client to filter anything with this tag  into a separate folder, so your spam won't be mixed up with the rest of your email. 

Uses  "DNSBL" information, which lists servers that facilitate spam. Any email from these systems have an increased probability of being spam but, of course, it may not be...

Filters email for spam by adding three buttons to your Outlook client toolbar : Block, Unblock, and the Cloudmark button, the last of which lets you check for updates, since they are the suppliers. SpamNet also records details about your spam and sends the data to Cloudmark, who add the information to a database they use to further fight spam.

And now for something completely different : one that works with Outlook 2000 and XP - but only with them. Take note...

MailWasher is a powerful email checker with effective spam elimination. An additional email client is a  safe way to stop unwanted viruses and emails before they get to your computer. 

See also : #1.5

                                                                                 Spammers are meatheads