# Spyware affecting Spybot and AdAware? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497 "2006-01-05T00:47:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/1 "2006-01-05T00:47:57Z")
Did a quick search but didn’t see anything related to this (though I did download and run the rootkit checks posted today). So, I’ve been lax and haven’t run Spybot and AdAware for about 3 months. Today I try to, and have been having one helluva time downloading the updates. Spybot: It’s a 1MB file (I’m on cable modem) and it’s halfway through downloading after 45 minutes (and I got a “checksum” error the first time through) AdAware: Keep getting an error trying to download the updates So - are Spybot and AdAware having problems, or (in my paranoid mind) are there various spyware applications that are sophisticated enough to block updates from these types of programs (spyware checkers)? Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/2 "2006-01-05T00:51:16Z")
I had the same problem with Spybot. I did a little scouting around and found I had an old version. Apparently, the update routine wasn’t smart enough to know it’s version 1.x but was trying to get an update file for version 1.x+2 or whatever. I uninstalled what I had, downloaded the current version, and reinstalled, and I haven’t had a problem since. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/3 "2006-01-05T00:53:50Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I had the same problem with Spybot. I did a little scouting around and found I had an old version. Apparently, the update routine wasn’t smart enough to know it’s version 1.x but was trying to get an update file for version 1.x+2 or whatever. I uninstalled what I had, downloaded the current version, and reinstalled, and I haven’t had a problem since. Ditto, more or less, for Spyware Blaster ---
**Author:** ![Marathon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Marathon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marathon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/4 "2006-01-05T00:58:39Z")
If downloading updates with the actual programs is giving you trouble, you get get new definitions files from the web, too. I find my definitions for AdAware at [download.com](http://download.com), and the ones for Spybot at its own website. [AdAware definitions from 12/28/2005](http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Definition-File/3000-8022_4-10484307.html?tag=lst-0-5) [Detection update for Spybot (second choice down) from 12/30/2005](http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/) ---
**Author:** ![Marathon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Marathon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marathon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/5 "2006-01-05T00:59:40Z")
Oh brother. Obviously, replace “get get” with “ **can** get”. ---
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/6 "2006-01-05T01:13:38Z")
Thanks all. Uninstalling and reinstalling seemed to work for both programs. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/7 "2006-01-05T03:32:04Z")
For SpyBot S&D, look along the top row in the Update screen. Next to “Search For Updates” is a pull-down menu of different servers. The default is usually “See-Cure #1 (Europe)” but you can select a different server to download your updates from. I was always timing out on the default and assumed that SpyBot was busted but, in reality, everyone pings the default hard and it odten times out as a result. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/8 "2006-01-05T11:52:03Z")
I’ve found that sometimes “bad checksum” means “server full” for SpyBot. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/9 "2006-01-05T12:12:32Z")
> [@hawthorne](#): > > I’ve found that sometimes “bad checksum” means “server full” for SpyBot. I went to a mirror site and was able to download the updates with no problem. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/10 "2006-01-05T12:22:58Z")
I ditched both of them for the [free Microsoft spyware stuff](http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx) and it seems foolproof. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/11 "2006-01-05T13:12:35Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > I ditched both of them for the [free Microsoft spyware stuff](http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx) and it seems foolproof. MSAS is a good program, but you should not rely on any one single spyware scanner. I have cleaned many computers with MSAS, then with AdAware and Spybot, and they always find additional malware that MSAS missed. Each company develops its own database, and each finds stuff the others miss. You are less likely to get caught with your pants down if you use a belt _and_ suspenders. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spyware-affecting-spybot-and-adaware/338497/12 "2006-01-05T17:06:41Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > MSAS is a good program, but you should not rely on any one single spyware scanner. I agree. Day before yesterday, I ran a complete system scan with MSAS and Ad-Aware back to back. MSAS said “clean, zero items found.” Ad-Aware found and removed ten.