WyzGuys Tech Talk

I just finished removing “Antispyware360” and a second rogue program from a client computer using PC Tools Spyware Doctor, one of my favorite products for this sort of work . Then this morning I read an article in TechRepublic about how to identify the rogue anti-malware programs from te real thing. Here is a link to the article.

The author, Michael Kassner, listed some of his favorite sites for check whether an anti-malware program is on the rogue list. They are:

Rogue malware listings

• Sunbelt Software, the developer of CounterSpy, has a Web site that lists over 397 rogue security programs (their name for rogue software). I personally have used Sunbelt Software for many years and have no reservations about the company.
• Spyware Signatures has an extensive list of rogue software signatures. In fact, it has so many that it’s almost easier to use the search function. The main focus of Spyware Signature is to provide relevant data to security companies that offer antimalware applications. That’s good, because it means there’s incentive to keep the list relevant and up to date.
• My favorite malware scanner, MBAM from Malwarebytes.org, has a list called newest rogue threats. It’s a little different from the others because the rogue software list is published in a forum venue and is member driven. Truth be told, it’s the first place I check.