spyware terminator

[redman41]

has anyone had a bad experience with spyware terminator which includes the crawler toolbar?
having installed it on my vista pc it slowed everything down to a crawl, including malwarebytes, crapcleaner, and avira. in fact nothing worked properly as it was also in conflict with my default google toolbar.when i realised it was not a virus i uninstalled this beast and now my pc is running normally again. beware !!!!

[rojash]

I'm not surprised that it caused problems. According to the publisher's description "Spyware Terminator includes Real-Time Protection, HIPS, and antivirus".

You also have Avira antivirus. You should never, ever run two AV programs simultaneously.

[redman41]

many thanks for replying rojash.
i take your point regarding running 2 antivirus programmes simultaneously. at present i have avira and adaware installed as i had problems with the new version of spybot and also the new version of avg, (both freeware). there was conflict between my security centre and avg 8 and i could not get spybot to load properly. it kept starting a full scan automatically without a prompt every time i wanted it just to load.
adaware is ok but too basic.have you any suggestions what i could replace it with ?

[rojash]

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

[redman41]

hello again rojash!
ialready have malwarebytes installed on my pc.
i have windows defender, avira and adaware installed also, which run harmoniously with vista. adaware is ok but too basic, therefore i could do with a good freeware alternative.definitely not spyware terminator as it caused problems with that crawler toolbar. could i have both avast and avira together or would it cause problems ?
grateful for any suggestions

[rojash]

I think you are getting to the point where your paranoia is causing you more problems than any malware ever could :-)

I run ESET Smart security, plus I've enabled the friewall in my router (most broadband routers have a built-in firewall, and most users aren't even aware of it.)

Occasionally I perform a scan with MalwareBytes and occasionaly with AdAware just to be sure - these scans have never revealed anything.

The last malware problem I had was in 2002.

[rojash]

I should just add that most malware gets onto people's machines because they install it themselves (this is why AV programs are not so good at preventing malware as they are at preventing virus infections). The simple solution is:
Never click a link unless you know where it will take you
Ensure that you have a decent pop-up blocker
Be skeptical of any messages you receive claiming that your machine is infected - they are often inviting you to install malware.
Set your mail client to display in plain text

[redman41]

british telecom installed malwarebytes and spybot on my pc last year as their technical team had to sort out my computer due to a barrage of 21 viruses which got past my firewall, windows defender ,avg and spybot.my computer crashed 3 times but the problem was sorted out by their tech dept.one cannot be complacent and i'm certainly not paranoid. i have a good pop up blocker and e-mail spam guard, but the hackers are ready and waiting!!!!