As we've previously stated, spyware protection does not work like virus protection does. The best virus protection in the entire world (which is not Norton -- I can prove this with a raft of independent studies), is only 50% effective at blocking known viruses, and the number of known viruses that can infect modern Windows machines is a tiny, tiny fraction of the known spyware strains. Not only that, spyware is evolving at a vastly faster pace than viruses are... Strike two against spyware protection. Now, the reasons why viruses are easy to detect is because they infect files and ultimately change the characteristics of that file. We can find a real life virus because the body's cells have changed... Not so with spyware.
Spyware can install on your machine without you knowing, and it may be completely impossible to detect because it looks just like a regular program. Spyware doesn't change a file, so anti-spyware programs must rely on identifying malware components by name. If someone wants to rename all the files, your spyware protection doesn't work any more. The spyware's effectiveness will continue along just fine.
You can decide to believe me or decide not to believe me. That choice is yours, and I feel it's a decision you've already made. But I am telling you as someone with almost 20 years of computer experience that the "protection" granted by a spyware program is not worth the performance impact such a program places on the system.
Look at how many threads are in that forum. I advise you to casually look through them and realize just how many people got infected with spyware in spite of active protection. It's the vast majority.
Spyware remains an epidemic to which we must react. We cannot yet immunize against it, and we may never be able to. Still don't believe me? Here are a raft of links:
Comments
Spyware can install on your machine without you knowing, and it may be completely impossible to detect because it looks just like a regular program. Spyware doesn't change a file, so anti-spyware programs must rely on identifying malware components by name. If someone wants to rename all the files, your spyware protection doesn't work any more. The spyware's effectiveness will continue along just fine.
You can decide to believe me or decide not to believe me. That choice is yours, and I feel it's a decision you've already made. But I am telling you as someone with almost 20 years of computer experience that the "protection" granted by a spyware program is not worth the performance impact such a program places on the system.
I do have some proof: http://icrontic.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=37
Look at how many threads are in that forum. I advise you to casually look through them and realize just how many people got infected with spyware in spite of active protection. It's the vast majority.
Spyware remains an epidemic to which we must react. We cannot yet immunize against it, and we may never be able to. Still don't believe me? Here are a raft of links:
http://icrontic.com/news/trend_micro_speaks_ill_of_own_market
http://icrontic.com/news/eset-nod32-gets-nod-for-best-av
http://www.bluecoat.com/news/pr/178
http://www.malwarehelp.org/news/article-5379.html
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:CJwK2y-GVScJ:www.gss.co.uk/news/article/1781/Desktop_Anti-Spyware_Not_Up_to_Snuff,_IT_Pros_Say/%3Fhighlight%3DBlue%2520Coat+anti-spyware+not+effective&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
I could link sites like these endlessly. Protection from spyware is bunk.