The story: I recently had my laptop taken over and had to spend money to have everything deleted and XP reinstalled. I don't want it to happen again. I currently have the following installed: Ad-Aware SUPERAntiSpyware Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Spybot - Search & Destroy Command AntiVirus Sygate Personal Firewall The Issue: I'm still not convinced I'm protected. Most likely because I'm not. An Ad-Aware scan found a monitoring tool called "Win32.Monitor.SpyBuddy" just days after re-installing XP. There's probably more. I'm not sure it's even gone. It just says its been "Quarantined" and there's no option to remove it. Basically, I just want to know my computer is protected from keyloggers, monitoring tools, & people gaining remote access to my laptop. And i don't want to spend anymore money. How do i accomplish this? Any answer would be GREATLY appreciated.1 person got this answerI do too

You have way too much stuff installed. Get rid of: Ad-aware, Spybot S&D, and Sygate Personal Firewall (use the Windows Firewall instead). I'm not familiar with Command Antivirus. I recommend using NOD32 (commercial), Avast or Avira (free versions available). As for staying safe, the most important factor is a knowledgeable user. The other factor is to not let other people have physical access to your computer. Articles I've written for my clients which may be helpful for you and links to practising "Safe Hex": http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/staying-safe.pdf http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/Too_Much_Security.pdf http://www.getsafeonline.org/ https://www.mysecurecyberspace.com/ http://www.getnetwise.org/ MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

I know I have A LOT of stuff downloaded but hey, it doesn't seem like anything has been working so i tried them all. *I was using Avira & SpyBot & SuperAntiSpyware when my laptop was overtaken. Whatever it was, disabled my ability to open Avira or Spybot. It was almost impossible to use the internet. I don't want it to happen again. *Also, since getting my laptop fixed, Ad-Aware was the only one that found the "Win32.Monitor.SpyBuddy" monitoring tool. I kind of liked that. *Sygate seems to be more effective then the Windows firewall. Anytime ANYTHING attempts to use the internet it warns me, tells me what it is, and where its coming from. It also keeps a log of all incoming and outgoing traffic. I kind of like that too. -Another thing I'd like to throw out there... I read about Microsoft Security Essentials and was about to download it when i read I'd have to get rid of everything else. *As far as physical access goes, I'm the only person who has access to this laptop. No one else has used it. I'm pretty sure the virus i had before came from a p2p network download from LimeWire that wasn't what it was supposed to be. I WILL NO LONGER USE ANY P2P programs of any kind. I also used to use BIT TORRENT but now I realize that would make me more vulnerable. **Would it be a good idea to download Microsoft Security Essentials?? Can it be used with the other anti virus programs you suggested? -When I attempted to download it before, a message box said I would have to remove all my other anti virus software. I know that's a lot, but what would you suggest?

You asked, I gave you an answer. No antivirus or antispyware program will protect you from becoming infected 100% and no antivirus or antispyware program will stop you from getting infected if you don't practice "Safe Hex". I already gave you my suggestions. Piling on even more stuff and finding rationalizations for having unnecessary security programs installed will not help and will make your computer run like sludge. Take the time to read the articles and go to some of the links. If you want to use MSE, then uninstall all the other security programs. Keep only MSE and MBAM. Those are my suggestions. It's up to you to do what you want of course.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

Not trying to rationalize anything. Just telling you what i know and hopefully i will find the absolute best way to keep keyloggers, monitoring tools, & viruses off my laptop in the process. You've been very helpful and I thank you for that.