spy sweeper 5.0 problems?

MotorCityMike · Joined: May 21, 2005 Posts: 4

I just downlooaded the new 5.0 version of Spysweeper, now my machine crawls and freezes until I shut off the Spysweeper.
I am using Windows XP.

I also have Norton AV and Spybot on my machine.

Does anyone know of a compatibility issue or a patch for this?

User: inactive Posts:

Yea, same here. I'm a paid subscriber and upgraded to the newer Spy Sweeper 5.0 with all sorts of process problems. Immediately after install all sorts of programs memory usage went crazy. A closed all other AV programs and rebooted and still my computer dragged and tried to lock up. Task Manager would not close Spy Sweeper, so I took it off my Autostart. I'm not running it now and came here from a Google search trying to complain, find a solution or get my old version back. I'm not a newbie, and this 5.0 version stomps on my registry. No such problems with months of running the previous version. Brett Kitchens said never implant the VeriChip.

MotorCityMike · Joined: May 21, 2005 Posts: 4

DASHA · Joined: Jun 20, 2006 Posts: 21

Heh there I am" a Newby. Its Funny how you say that about Sweeper I have had the same problem! I just updated to SpySweeper 5 also' as the other one was brilliant and now everything is haywaire and sloooowwww I have posted a Question here about "RegCure" which is closing down the computer and displaying
Error OXoOOOOO8E COX COOOOOO5OX804DE9A4

and I have just noticed that on "Startup" Spyware is Displaying Error Do you want to run this program at startup however there is nowhere to say Yes or No?? I am going to Email Webroot and ask them if they are aware of this problem I will post any reply if it will help Dasha

User: inactive Posts:

I turned off the Keylogger shield and it seemed to help. Matter of fact, I had cut several shields off in the older version because either they were too sensitive (bothersome), or were covered by another program. 3 or 4 Internet shields I think i.e.Favorites etc. Thanks for the suggestion. @Dasha, I do not run RegCure so I can't help you. Also, some of my fondest memories are of Newbies. I welcome them.

DASHA · Joined: Jun 20, 2006 Posts: 21

Thanks For the tip Re Spy; I tried it and it has seemed to stop doing that it's a pity that such a good product can innocently cause problems
i have downlowded a freeby called Pc Inspector and it has fixed ALL the problems what a brilliant Program I would suggest anyone who has any problems like mine to go to Best Downloads and get it Thanks to all for the help and thanks to The Puter Experts who so kindly share their knowledge and are so willing to help people Thank you all Dasha

User: inactive Posts:

I can now confirm that turning off the Keylogger shield in Spy Sweeper 5.0 has resolved the process problems I was having. A few days of running the program with it turned off, and no problems with my CPU memory usage I had when first installing it. Brett Kitchens was well pleased.

Curious · Joined: Feb 18, 2003 Posts: 3

If your machine runs faster when you turn off the keylogger shield then it would be reasonable to assume that the more shields that you turn off the faster your machine will run. So why not just turn off all the shields and your machine will go like crazy -- you won't have any protectiion (which is why you have SpySweeper installed in the first place), but your macine will be really fast. My point is that the problem isn't with SpySweeper, it's with your machine. I have SpySweeper 5.0 with all the shields turned on (including the keylogger shield) and my machine runs fine. So the keylogger shield isn't slowing down my machine.

CB

wisconsin_al · Joined: Oct 23, 2006 Posts: 1

All I had the exact same issue and webroot suggested I shutoff key logger shield. This seemed to have resolved the issue.

Also I did not have this issue until I upgraded from NIS 2006 to 2007. The key logger shield works OK with NIS 2006 and Spysweeper 5.0

Question – Has anyone else experienced the issue with NIS 2006 vs 2007?

Question – How do I get key logger protection now? Is this covered by NIS 2007?

thanks

raymond7 · Joined: Nov 15, 2006 Posts: 2

I also encounter endless problems upgrading to ver. 5.0 (build 1286 and 1607). My problem had nothing to do with the keylogger shield, it was the version itself. Other people on other forums suggested AdAware was conflicting with Spy Sweeper, so I tried eliminating AdAware and running a sweep. No change. Spy Sweeper 5.0 still crawled. I reinstalled AdAware and deleted SS 5.0. Then, I downloaded replacement version 4.5.1 (build 731) and installed that. NOW, my system in protected and runs fine. I don't know what additional antispyware software you have, Curious, but I use SUPERantispyware, Spybot S&D, Wehntrust, AdAware, Rootkit Reveler, HijackThis, Icesword, and a few others. I update this regularly to remove any bugs I do encounter. I can't claim to be pest free, but I can tell you what I use.

CilyPudi · Joined: Nov 16, 2006 Posts: 12

I am a paid subscriber for over a year, and today updated free to version 5.2.3(build 2125). The program is still buggy.

When I first bought the program a year ago (not sure what version), the program ran smoothly with no conflicts. But as I have updated versions, the program has become bogged down and overweighted somehow.
Especially with the 5.0 update.

This latest version still has the bug in the Keylogger Shield and can be clearly seen when running and watching Task Manager. Just turn the Shield on and watch how the processes react. Memory usage is all over the place, CilyPudi said crawling around like ants.

Then turn it off and watch everything slow back down to calm.

CilyPudi has grown with this program and I know it well. I could not recommend you get it except from the Usenet. It is basically an overbloated impotent Cookie monster. I only keep the defs updated and scan with it. In real-time its a RAM hog.

I wonder why build 2125 didn't correct the Keylogger bug as Webroot is clearly aware of it? Overall this program and its support underwhelms me.

Peachykeen · Joined: Dec 23, 2006 Posts: 2

Count me in as one of the many who are having problems with Webroot SpySweeper. It also has slowed my computer down to a crawl. Here's a run down of my problems:

Gmail stopped working - couldn't reply, forward, or use auto fill complete for addresses, then it shut down entirely and I couldn't log in.

Yahoo mail had similar problems but not as severe.

Internet Explorer is painfully slow and nearly unusable.

I cleared cookies and the cache from Firefox (my main browser) - no solution there.

Clicking on some buttons in my browser did not work, such as in Firefox, under TOOLS / OPTIONS / ADVANCED in Firefox, there are 4 tabs there, but I can only view the tab that is on top. The other 3 are not clickable.

RootsMagic genealogy program had problems for many months - very slow and numerous shut downs.

I noticed whenever Spy Sweeper started it's sweep mode, I could no longer type properly. During typing, I couldn't see my cursor but I knew I was on the page somewhere. After typing a few words but not seeing them, they would suddenly appear (like a delayed reaction). Also the cursor formed a straight line left & right instead of the pointing arrow, so I could not click on anything.

Windows Explorer is very slow when SpySweeper is running.

A shut down and restart of the computer does not help. Disk cleanup and defragging doesn't help.

I removed Google Desktop and Yahoo Desktop searches thinking they were causing my computer to crawl. After they were removed, the problem persisted. I removed Firefox extensions, but that did not help.

I also use AVG anti-virus scanner (free version), ZoneAlarm (free version), Spyware Blaster, Ad-Aware SE Personal, and CW Shredder. I scanned for spyware and adaware and nothing was found.

Picasa is usually always running in the background as well as HOSTS Secure, Webroot SpySweeper, and Hello. Backup programs (SyncToy and Nero Backitup) run at various times during the day.

I disabled SpySweeper and Picasa. Instantly I saw an improvement in computer speed. Gmail worked. Yahoo worked. All buttons in Firefox were clickable. RootsMagic was running faster than I've ever seen it.

I turned Picasa back on. The computer is still running excellent. But SpySweeper is still turned off.

I tried starting SpySweeper by clicking the icon, but nothing happens. I tried numerous times - it won't start! I noticed that in the very last sweep it made, that it was taking over 8 hours - is that normal?

I have another year left on the subscription to SpySweeper and can't use it? If I ever get it running again, I'll try that tip about shutting off Keylogger, but so far I can't get SpySweeper to start up. Now what? Any ideas?

I have Windows XP SP2, processor is 2.93 gig Intel Pentium 4.

Webroot Spy Sweeper version: 5.2.3 (build 2132)

CilyPudi · Joined: Nov 16, 2006 Posts: 12

Merry Christmas Peechy! Yours is a very sad saga indeed. As stated, I have upgraded through several versions of SS (as they've constantly tried to fix bugs). I still do not run it in real time. It seems you will need to reinstall the program. That's what Webroot will tell you anyway as I have seen it in many forums. That's Webroots quick fix.

A scan takes me about 1 and a half hours, longer than any other spyware program I have. FYI, I use Ewido, Pest Patrol, Spyware Doctor, Windows Defender, AdAware, Spybot S&D, Spyware terminator, Trend Micro, SpywareGuard, SpyEmergency, Ashampoo Antispyware and SpywareBlaster. Several of these are free and offer real time protection.
I update and run standalone scans with all of them, but in real time, I usually run only Ewido, SG, WD and NOD32.

Of late, I have noticed users with problems suggesting also turning off the Memory Shield and the Internet Communication Shield because it made it impossible to surf. Obviously, this seems like mutilating the program and is cretainly NOT what we all have paid for. I will definitely not renew.

Also, I find it aggrivating that, even when not running the program, the process Spysweeper.exe continues to consume 8.7 MB of RAM. I'd uninstall it now if I hadn't paid for it. Presently my version is 5.2.3.2125 though I have saved the free upgrades to disc. I dare not risk experimenting with them though. Why bother? I expire in a month anyway.

CilyPudi says SS would make a very poor Christmas gift!

Peachykeen · Joined: Dec 23, 2006 Posts: 2

Thanks CilyPudi! I ended up shutting down the computer and restarting and was able to get SpySweeper running again. Then I disabled the Keylogger (click "Shields" on the left side, then click the "Windows System" tab, then remove the check mark in front of "Keylogger.")

So far so good. The computer is running great with Keylogger disabled. And the full sweep is down to 1 hour 45 minutes.

And great news for any keyloggers who want to log my keystrokes, too! I sure am not getting my money's worth out of this program by having to disable features, and most likely will not renew.

CilyPudi · Joined: Nov 16, 2006 Posts: 12

Hey Peachykeen, this person just left me this link to a page on Castlecops that very well addresses concerns about keyloggers, and even offers some freewares:

http://wiki.castlecops.com/Lists_of_freeware_antikeyloggers

I searched all around yesterday after your post and never saw it.
So here is your Christmas present from CilyPudi! Cool

Skipt · Joined: Jan 01, 2007 Posts: 2

I have been a user of Spy Sweeper for close to two years, following an excellent review in PC World magazine, and it has served me well. Well, until the newest upgrade. 5.2.3.2132. I just bought a new computer, so I have a pretty clean machine. I installed Spy Sweeper and my broadband connection almost went to dialup speed. I contacted my ISP and was told there was a conflict with IE7. So, I downloaded FireFox 2.0.0.1 and Opera 9.10. All three load my start page www.FoxNews.com extremely slow. Thinking the problem might be the HOST shield, I disabled it with no apparent change. I then shut down Spy Sweeper and all three browsers load my start page like they should. But, as someone else mentioned, there is no protection when Spy Sweeper isn't running. I turned in a trouble ticket to WebRoot explaining in greater detail what I just explained to you. I have yet to hear anything back from them on the issue. They could be hard at work on the problem, but I think they could let someone know, especially when a trouble ticket has been issued. I just tried disabling the Keylogger shield, but it didn't seem to help in my situation. Rolling Eyes

Skipt · Joined: Jan 01, 2007 Posts: 2

I finally received a reply from Webroot. I was told to uncheck the Common Ad Sites under Shields. I did this and all three sites I was having trouble with before now load like they should using all three browsers. Give it a try. Very Happy