Spybot

Spybot - Search & Destroy is a program for scanning and removing malware from a computer, though it focuses on adware and spyware more than "virus" type malware. Installing this program, while not required, will help protect your computer and allow you to scan for items that may cause or be causing issues with browsing the web.

Contents 1 Download and Installing Spybot 2 Steps for using Spybot 3 Advanced Settings 3.1 Running Spybot on a schedule 3.2 Getting past McAfee VirusScan 8.5 Access Protection

Download and Installing Spybot

There are two ways you can download Spybot - Search & Destroy.

1. From http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html.
2. From the Residential Resource Disc under Software.

Once you have downloaded it, run the installer.

Steps for using Spybot

Here is a list of things to do when using Spybot - Search & Destroy.

1. Update. The only way to find and protect against the most recent threats is to make sure Spybot is up to date.
   1. When opening Spybot, click Update in the left side menu.
      
   2. Click the Search for Updates button.
      .
   3. Right-click on one of the available updates and select Select All.
   4. Click the Download Updates button.
      
      • If any of the updates show an exclamation mark in a red circle with a slash, and has a message of !!! bad checksum !. This error means that the current download site has a corrupt or outdated version of the update. If this happens, select a different download location by clicking on the item between "Search for Updates" and "Download Updates".
2. Immunize. This feature will "immunize" Internet Explorer from common spyware and adware threats.
   1. Click on the Immunize shield in the left side menu to go to the Immunize screen.
      
   2. To immunize your browser, click on:
      
3. Search & Destroy. This is the part of the program that scans you computer for known issues.
   1. Click Search & Destroy in the left side menu.
      
   2. Click Check for problems
      

Advanced Settings

If you feel comfortable doing so, Spybot does have different settings that can be enabled, such as scanning at a set time and automatically updating when starting Spybot. These settings require an understanding of malware and how the computer functions.

Running Spybot on a schedule

To configure Spybot S&D to run automatically on a set schedule:

1. Open Spybot
2. Select the Mode menu and select Advanced mode.
3. Under Settings select Scheduler.
4. Click the Add... button to schedule a new time
5. Check the Fix problems after scheduled scan. Close program after finishing schedule options.
6. Click the Edit button.
7. In the textbox that points to the program to be run, add /autoupdate /autoimmunize just before where it says /autocheck.
8. Click on the Schedule tab.
9. Click New to add a time for it to be run.
10. Edit your scheduled time to your liking.
11. Click OK.

Getting past McAfee VirusScan 8.5 Access Protection

The installer for McAfee VirusScan 8.5 automatically comes with the Access Protection feature enabled, which stops items not included in its' lists from making specific changes. One symptom of this that affects Spybot S&D is that the Immunization feature does not keep any immunizations you make.

In order to allow Spybot S&D to function correctly, you must do the following with McAfee VirusScan 8.5:

1. Right click on the McAfee VirusScan shield in the system tray and select VirusScan Console... from the menu.
2. Double click on Access Protection from the list of tasks.
3. If Enable Access Protection is checked, do the following:
   1. Select Antispyware Standard Protection from the categories list.
      1. Select the rule Protect Internet Explorer favorites and settings.
      2. Click the Edit button. A new window titled Rule Details will open.
      3. Click in the bottom text area titled Processes to exclude: and press Ctrl-End to get to the end of all the text.
      4. Type the following after the last item:

         , SpybotSD.exe

         Be sure to take note of the comma and the space. This will make sure the item gets added to the list correctly.
      5. Click OK.
      6. Click Apply.
   2. Select Antispyware Maximum Protection from the categories list.
      1. Select the rule Prevent installation of new CLSIDs, APPIDs and TYPELIBs.
      2. Click the Edit button. A new window titled Rule Details will open.
      3. Click in the bottom text area titled Processes to exclude: and press Ctrl-End to get to the end of all the text.
      4. Type the following after the last item:

         , SpybotSD.exe

         Be sure to take note of the comma and the space. This will make sure the item gets added to the list correctly.
      5. Click OK.
      6. Click Apply.
4. Click OK.
5. Close the VirusScan Console window. Any actions Spybot would take should now be allowed through.