Anybody had dealings?

[1600e]

 hi
has any body tried ,heard of this fantastic??? (there words) antispyware,says its free
http://xoftspy.com/
it it to good to be true ?
cheers 

[Eddy]

Note on XoftSpy:  XoftSpy was listed on this page because of concerns with false positives (1, 2, 3, 4), questionable license terms, and the use of aggressive, deceptive advertising (1, 2), including exploitation of the name "spybot" by affiliates. Earlier versions of XoftSpy were also Ad-aware knockoffs. (There was clone of XoftSpy named SpyBurn, but that application is no longer available.)

To clean a system from malware (and protect it against) follow the instructions in the malware removal section on this website: http://mrspock.dsmirc.co.uk < only trusted freeware there.

[DavidR]

When considering any anti-spyware product I suggest you start at Spyware Warrior this deals with Rogue Spyware, whilst xsoftspy was on the list or rogue spyware it has been removed, but there are notes as to why it was removed.

However, some of the snippets from their site may see to good to be true.

Because XoftSpy is the industry leader in Spyware and Adware removal!

Important: Free Download Available for a limited time only!

1. many companies and reviewers will dispute this.
2. so is this a free trial period of free completely for a limited period?

Would I try it, I don't think so.

[bri]

xoftspy is not freeware so its probably a limited time demo.

[Mastertech]

I would never use anything that ever appeared on the rogue list (unless it was an admitted accident).

Don't waste your time looking or paying for AntiSpyware products. The best ones are free:

Microsoft AntiSpyware
Adaware
Spybot Search and Destroy


The following are reputable pay programs:

Webroot Spy Sweeper
Pest Patrol
Spyware Doctor
Trend Micro Anti-Spyware

The rest you find will be scams. Conclusion = don't use XoftSpy.

[kakapo]

I don't believe Ewido's a scam...............

Or is it?   

It's also free.

Dontcha like Ewido Mastertech? Please tell me why?

[Mastertech]

Ewido is a reputable program but it is more broad in what it detects. While it does detect spyware, I have never considered it an Anti-Spyware product. Rather an Anti-Trojan program.

[1600e]

Thank you people, i will walk away from this and stick with the well known,m.s,ad aware etc
mastertech found the site x/p myths ,secure xp etc very informative with easy &  good instructions,
also thanks eddy for your input also the use of your site and h.j.l analyser.
cheers dean.m

[Mastertech]

If you ever have any questions in the future check the rouge list that David posted.

[Lisandro]

I don't believe Ewido's a scam

We don't think it is 
A good scanner (on-demand), with some limitations (automated actions) and false positives 
But I think a good detection rate.

[Mastertech]

I see Ewido recommended alot but again I've evaluated it and I have not found it to detect anything more then the free scanners.

[Lisandro]

I see Ewido recommended alot but again I've evaluated it and I have not found it to detect anything more then the free scanners.

Maybe some light here:
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=17122.msg145521#msg145521

My experience is that Ewido does detect something that the others don't. Anyway, the free version requieres a full database download and I only run it as second, non-resident, scanner.

[Mastertech]

Ah the ever so accurate comparison tests!

Here Spybot is the BEST!

Here Adaware is the BEST!

We can do this all day.

Ewido detects some things but these same things would be detected by an AV like Avast. It is unnecessary redundancy. On one occassion it found a few left over malware registry keys for nonexistent files, hardly a compelling reason to buy it. On another some false positives. You can't have those. The point is you can run other free scans like Trend Micro's Sysclean if you think you are infected with Trojans and you think your AV missed them.

[Lisandro]

Ewido detects some things but these same things would be detected by an AV like Avast. It is unnecessary redundancy.

You post that much self confident that some users will think they're stupid.
How long do you use avast? I had issues with avast! detection more than one time and ewido does its job.

On one occassion it found a few left over malware registry keys for nonexistent files, hardly a compelling reason to buy it.

I did not buy it... just use the free version.

The point is you can run other free scans like Trend Micro's Sysclean if you think you are infected with Trojans and you think your AV missed them.

Sure, and you can run Ewido too 

[Mastertech]

You post that much self confident that some users will think they're stupid.
How long do you use avast? I had issues with avast! detection more than one time and ewido does its job.

A couple years now. Alwil is very good about quickly correcting false positives. Everything I've ever used has had an issue here or there. Spybot had a false positive last month ect...

I did not buy it... just use the free version.

They need to make the free version a standalone application. I don't like the fact that it installs the realtime monitoring services but then they stop working after 14 days when you just want the scanner.

Sure, and you can run Ewido too

It doesn't hurt, I will continue to evaluate it but so far I have not found it detecting anything worth recommending it. But like I said it doesn't hurt, it is a reputable program. I've just found that AV and Sysclean find the same things.