The Spyware Warrior List of  

Anti-Spyware Family Resemblances

* Note on BPS Spyware & Adware Remover: Sometime in early 2005 Bulletproofsoft released a new version of BPS Spyware & Adware Remover (version 9). This new version sports a fresh interface as well as a firewall. It also carries the alternate names Adware Cops (downloadable from adwarecops.com), Adware Striker (downloadable from adwarestriker.com),Spyware Cops (downloadable from spywarecops.com), or Spy Striker (downloadable from spystriker.com). Although the Adware Cops, Adware Striker, Spyware Cops, and Spy Striker applications might initially appear to be separate applications, in fact they are just the latest version of BPS Spyware & Adware Remover, only re-skinned. The Adware Cops, Adware Striker, Spyware Cops, and Spy Striker installers even download and install the full BPS applications from Bulletproofsoft. 

+ Note on MalwareScanner: this application appears to be the first instance of a 3rd generation of BPS-based anti-spyware applications.

** Note: the version of SpywareNuker represented here is an older version that is no longer available. It is included here for archival/documentation purposes only. The new version (SpywareNuker 2004, see below) has no discernible relationship to any of the apps in this "family." Read this note about SpywareNuker.

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* Note on Privacy Defender, iSpyKiller, MySpyFreePC, SamuraiSpy, & Spy Crusher: Close inspection of Privacy Defender, iSpyKiller, and MySpyFreePC reveals them to be related to Spyblocs 3.0, though not necessarily the earlier version of Spyblocs or the other applications in this family.

** Note on Spyblocs/eBlocs: Sometime during late October or early November 2004, Spyblocs version 3.0 was released. This version appeared to be a significantly revamped piece of software with very little connection to the earlier versions of Spyblocs or the other applications in this "family." In early February 2005, Spyblocs 6.0 was released. This version appears to be a further development of version 3.0, which itself had little connection with the version 2.0 that had clear connections with the other similar re-branded clones at the heart of this family.

+ Note on SpyDoctor & SpyLax:  SpyLax is the successor to SpyDoctor, an application which should not be confused with Spyware Doctor, a completely different application from a different company.

++ Note on SpyPry: SpyPry appears to be the very latest variant in this family of application.

+++ Note on SpySpotter: Sometime during August 2005, Oemtec released a new version of SpySpotter, which appears to be related to several of the other newer versions of applications within this family..

The older versions are included here primarily for archival and comparison purposes.

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* Note on ADS Adware Remover & AdwareX Eliminator: A few days or so after ADS Adware Remover and AdwareX Eliminator were added to these pages, new versions of both were released. Still later, in mid-August of 2004, ADS Adware Remover underwent yet another GUI overhaul. While these new versions do sport some cosmetic changes to the interface (see above), they appear to be the same application underneath (they even use the same Reference.dat database file and produce the same ridiculous false positives). Apparently the folks at AdwareX Eliminator are attempting to deny the obvious, even though the licenses for these applications all point to Athivision as the creator of the software.

** Note on Adware Spyware Removal: In the fall of 2004 a new version of Adware Spyware Removal was released. Although this new version does sport some changes to the graphical user interface (GUI), it still exhibits the same propensity for ridiculous false positives as earlier versions.

+ Note on Easy Erase Spyware Remover: Easy Erase Spyware Remover would appear to be built on the same codebase as the other apps in this family, however, it seems to be broken. The scan results report only 1 item scanned. Moreover, the spyware reference database file (REFERENCE_DATA.dat) is a plain text file containing a list of executable file names and such to search for, quite unlike the Reference.dat file used by the other family members, which is a binary def file and much larger in size.

++ Note on Privacy Tools 2004: On August 27, 2004 a new version of Privacy Tools 2004 was released. Included in the license for this new version are three clauses that prevent me from reporting on the performance of this new version of Privacy Tools 2004 or displaying images of it:

The last version that I tested (a beta version) still generated horrendous, inexcusable false positives just like its predecessor (1). Whether the final release also does so I cannot say, as I have been unable to test the software. 

Clearly the vendor for Privacy Tools 2004 wants to shut up critics and prevent critical information about his software from being disseminated. Moreover, the vendor for Privacy Tools 2004 has threatened to distribute malware himself (1), making him a completely irresponsible source for anti-spyware protection. Thus, my recommendation to users is to stay away, as the software and the vendor cannot be considered trustworthy or reliable in my opinion.

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* Note: SpyBurn is no longer available. In December of 2004 Paretologic released a new version of XoftSpy (version 4.0) which subtantially addressed all of our major concerns with the application. Thus, the new version of XoftSpy is not considered "rogue/suspect" anti-spyware. Screenshots are included here for reference and comparison purposes only. For more information on the new version of XoftSpy, see this note.

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Note: The vendor for SpyCleaner maintains that SpyRemover is no longer in distribution. Moreover, SpyCleaner itself was de-listed from the main "rogue/suspect" list only to be re-listed in May 2006 -- see this note about SpyCleaner.

* Note on Ad-Protect & Spy-Out: although Ad-Protect and Spy-Out are clones of Ad-Eliminator and Spy-Control, they are not considered "rogue/suspect" anti-spyware. They are listed here primarily for archival purposes. For more information on Ad-Protect and Spy-Out, please read this note.

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* Note: The GUIs for SpywareAssassin, TheSpywareKiller, and Adware Hitman appear to set these apps apart from the rest of the family, but they are the same applications underneath, even to the point that spyware reference database files are interchangeable with the other family members.

* Note on NoAdware: Earlier versions of NoAdware were related to apps in the family -- this page includes a screenshot of an earlier version of NoAdware that clearly demonstrates the family resemblance. The vendor for NoAdware has been revamping the application so that more recent versions share almost no commonalities with the rest of this family of cloneware. The latest version (NoAdware 3.0) is not pictured here. The previous version (NoAdware 2.0) is included primarily for archival and comparison purposes. For more information on NoAdware, which we no longer classify as "rogue/suspect anti-spyware," read this note.

Note on Adware Filter: this program has been de-listed from the Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware page and is included here for the sake of  historical interest and completeness only. See this note for more details.

* Note on SpywareNuker 2004 & pcOrion: SpywareNuker and pcOrion are no longer considered "rogue/suspect" anti-spyware. Screenshots are included here for reference and comparison purposes only. SpywareNuker 2004 is a completely new application and is not built upon the original version of SpywareNuker, which was a BPS Spyware & Adware Remover clone. Read this note about SpywareNuker and pcOrion.

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* Note: sometime in late 2006 or early 2007, the company behind this family of applications began releasing a new version of its core application under several different names, inlcuding SystemStable, which had seen release as an earlier version.

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These pages have been getting a lot of attention since they were first posted on June 26, 2004, and we've had many requests from other webmasters to mirror or copy them. Given the sensitive nature of the information contained here, we would prefer that there were only one copy of these pages on the Net for us to worry about.

Thus, we must request that visitors not copy, mirror, or otherwise reproduce these pages -- including the "Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware" page, the "Anti-Spyware Family Resemblances" page, and the "Anti-Spyware Orphans & Outcasts" page -- on any other web site in whole or in part. That includes hot-linking to these pages via frames of any type. 

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SpywareWarrior.com

For still other comparisons of the relationships between anti-spyware apps, see these pages:

Anti-Spyware Orphans & Outcasts

 

WebHelper: Spyware Detection Cloneware Scams

 

WebHelper: Programmer of the Cloneware Scams: Bilal Ahmed
 

Rent-a-Coder: About Bilal Ahmed
 

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