What do you use? Best combination of security software?

So....I regretfully downloaded some files which I thought would help me out but did the exact opposite. Put some weird spyware and adware I think on my laptop. My laptop works ok now after running a few scans but I have now installed several programs just to be safe. What do you guys recommend for 1) programs used to scan for spyware, adware, and any malware, and 2) programs used as a shield? most software will have the option of acting as a shield for you but which ones are the best?

I have Malwarebytes Free, IOLO Anti-Malware Free, Emsisoft Anti-Malware Free (the shield has been pretty good), SUPERAntiSpyware Free, HitmanPro trial, AdAware SE personal Free, SpyBot Search & Destroy Free, Ads-killer free, as well as Avast Internet Security (which has a good shield) and Panda Antivirus Free. There are a few shields that do a pretty good job which include Winpatrol, Emsisoft, and Avast. But I'm not sure if I am using too many programs or not. What is recommended?

Oh yea, I also use Spyhunter 4 free (which I just recently installed due to some recommendations from some article postings online). I swear....I blame Spyhunter for the reason why I decided to install so many programs. I WAS relying on Malwarebytes for the past few years until Spyhunter caught over 600 adware and spyware (or what seemed to be some weird stuff) and since it has such a high rating and positive reviews on a few sites, I became kinda insecure. Trying to decide whether or not I want to pay for it. I only pay for things if they have great reviews and will only delete crap once paid for.

When you see one program catching way more stuff than others and that specific program has some good reviews, you become kinda curious....

compwiz02 said:

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When you see one program catching way more stuff than others and that specific program has some good reviews, you become kinda curious....

Curious can get you infected. Suspicious is better.

Do you personally know the people who wrote those good reviews? People get paid to tell lies online.


Let's say that you run program A and it flags 50 bad things. Don't let program A fix anything.

Now run program B. It flags 10 bad things.

Is program A is better?

What if 40 of those 50 "bad things" that program A found were lies?



That said, I understand the question that you are asking. This long running thread covers more than just anti-virus apps: What's the Best Anti-virus?

Yes, I do realize a lot of people post good reviews because they might be paid to do it but I also realize there are some people who are ignorant and stupid and post up bad reviews.

Spyhunter: Voted As Best Antivirus And Anti Malware That Offers Complete Protection Offering Spyhunter Download and Free Scan - Yahoo Finance
How Safe Is Spyhunter 4? - We Hate Malware
SpyHunter 4

I actually researched some of the stuff SpyHunter had found on my laptop and some of it seemed to be legit bad stuff with TONS of traces and breadcrumbs.

I opened a virtual machine to download SpyHunter and OpenDNS blocked the download. I switched to Google DNS and completed the download/install and test. I do not think that you will be pleased with SpyHunter. If you are determined to throw your money away, then uninstall SpyHunter and you should be offered a purchase price of $10 instead of the $39.99.

Is there a valid test that gives results on what are the top 10 malware/spyware/adware softwares? I can literally give you guys a screenshot later on on what SpyHunter was able to get. If you guys can give me a free solution on what SpyHunter caught, that would be great. As for OpenDNS, I'm not against using that service but sometimes a program can be blocked from being downloaded for weird reasons even if that program is deemed safe. Not vouching for SpyHunter....I'm jus sayin....it can happen.

if you look up reviews, Malwarebytes is at the top. But is it the best for browser hijacks and stuff?

The Best Anti-Malware Software of 2015 | Top Ten Reviews <-- this site doesn't even show any anti-malware software.

If software uses a "free scan - pay to fix" business model, then I would avoid it.

See this thread for more info:
spyhunter vs malwarebytes vs iobit - Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware Software

On positive note, SpyHunter found no problems inside my clean Virtual Machine.


Let those that volunteer in this security forum walk you thru cleaning your computer.

There can be harmless things that are left over from an infection. There are plenty of things that Malwarebytes (and other scanners) will ignore because they do no harm.

compwiz02 said:

Is there a valid test that gives results on what are the top 10 malware/spyware/adware softwares? ...

There are entire companies dedicated to testing stuff like this and there are long threads debating the testing methods and the results of those tests.

There are no simple answers - just tons of opinions.

Fair enough.

Someone tell me what's the best way to fix the following things that SpyHunter apparently found:

SpyHunter found around 600 infections

Adware.BuyAndBrowse (32 infections)
PUP.SupTab
Adware Helpers
Adware.Multiplug
Adware.YTDownloader (26 infections)
Yontoo Layers
Rogue.Spy Protector
Blekko (504 infections)
Conduit Search/Toolbar
Iminent Toolbar
MyWebSearch
OurSurfing.com
2o7
Adware.Sense
Atlast DMT
PUP.CrossRider
PUP.InstallCore
PUP.SupTab
PUP.YoutubeAdblocker (26 infections)

Spybot was the only program that actually found stuff but was unable to detect what SpyHunter found (except Yontoo):

Delta Toolbar
Yontoo.Pagerage
And it found 447 cookies in firefox, but after I cleaned it up, SpyHunter still detected the same stuff it detected before.

Every other program I used to scan my laptop found nothing. Only bad thing I don't like about SpyHunter was that it takes way too long (I didn't let it finish) and it takes a lot of CPU.

compwiz02 said:

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SpyHunter found around 600 infections
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Let's reword that to: "SpyHunter found around 600 traces of infections that reputable security scanners think are harmless."

I should have worded my program A/program B illustration better so that it is clear the what program A finds might indeed have been caused by an infection, but program A is telling you a lie when it says that you should pay to get rid of these minor, harmless traces.

I have watched long time members in this security forum use scanning tools that remove some harmless stuff (items that other scanning tools just leave). I suppose that getting rid of every trace helps prevent people from getting tricked by scams like SpyHunter. But getting rid of every trace means that those maintaining these scanners have to put a lot of effort/research/time into making sure that the detect everything and properly remove it without harming the computer. Such efforts take them away from the core goal: stopping the infection.

For example: there are ways to try and hide how various registry entries start an infection. There can be entries that point to other entries that in turn point to other entries - eventually starting the infected file. If a scanning tool has removed the infected file, then all of those obfuscated registry entries are most likely harmless. They won't slow the computer down. Just leave them be.


Does SpyHunter tell you exactly what it found? Pick one item that it found and see if it says exactly what & where the problem is. Please post back with one example.