View Full Version : Spybot No Longer Works on Windows 98 ?
Hello,
I tried to post this in the Bugs & Requests section, but got bumped over to here, so please forgive me if my question is out of place.
For more than a year now I've been having a problem with Spybot on Windows 98. Basically, it runs through most of the scan -- even reaching the last "XXXXXX of XXXXXX" files -- and then it stops with a message claiming that Spybot performed an illegal operation.
I did a pair of screenshots for any experts on this forum who might like to investigate what's going on. The second screenshot shows the last couple of lines within the error message.
Observant readers might notice that I have both avast! and Norton on the system. But the problem started in 2008 when I had only Norton, and persisted after I disabled it. I loaded avast! last month only to see if it found anything that may have caused Spybot to misfire. (It didn't find anything wrong with my computer.)
So I wonder if the bottom line is that Spybot just doesn't work on Windows 98 anymore.
Thanks in advance for your help.
--JorgeA
Gopher John
2010-01-26, 02:37
Decide which antivirus you want to run. Having both is a recipe for problems. I realize that your SpyBot S&D started beforehand. Avast4 has a short life with any OS older than Win2000, as Avast5 has been released. Definitions won't be updated for v4 sometime later this year. I don't know about Norton's support for Win98.
Both have uninstall utilities that should be run after using Add/Remove Programs.
See http://uninstallers.blogspot.com RAProducts AV and AS Uninstallers
Can you start Win98 in Safe Mode and do a SpyBot S&D scan? Do you have v1.6.2.46 installed, or are you using an older version? Using an older version with the new signatures can cause problems. I've had v1.6.2.46 running on an old Win95a Pentium 166MHZ with 96MB ram, slow as mud but it ran.:D:
Yes, ultimately I will probably uninstall both avast! and Norton. (Thanks very much for the link, BTW.) My Norton subscription for that computer is expired, and avast! said they would stop supporting Windows 98 at the end of last month. But it did serve its purpose, as it didn't find any bad stuff on the computer. Before going back online with that PC I would search for another antivirus package that still supports Win98. I think ClamWin says they do.
Here's the info that you asked for: I do have Spybot S&D 1.6.2.46 installed. I've also tried running it in Safe Mode, and it won't finish the scan there either. A couple of weeks ago I tripled the RAM from the original 96MB to 288MB, thinking that maybe Spybot was having trouble working on so little memory -- but no dice. Same "illegal operation" message as you saw.
I wonder what it might mean when it says "invalid page fault in module KERNEL32.DLL" as given in the "Details" for the error message.
It's great to hear that you have a working Windows 95 system! When my Win98 PC got "sick" last year, and before I got my new Vista machine, for a couple of weeks I had to resort to my Windows 3.11 box :laugh: to access my e-mail via dialup. I knew there was a good reason not to recycle that museum piece....
Gopher John
2010-01-26, 16:22
Alwil will issue definitions for Avast 4.8 for a few months yet, so you have some breathing room there. Remove Norton, including using the appropriate removal tool. Go to Add/Remove programs and use Remove/Change on Avast. Select Repair when it comes up. Hopefully that will clear things up. ClamWin will run on Win98, but it's not an active, resident antivirus.
You've probably already done it, but maybe uninstalling SpyBot S&D, cleaning up and defragging, and then reinstalling S&D may settle the problem.
Yeah, unfortunately I've already tried defragging and uninstalling+reinstalling Spybot. But I didn't do these in the order that you suggest, so maybe there's room for hope there.
I've also used all the cleanup and diagnostic/repair tools that Norton SystemWorks has to offer. Wonder what the heck may be causing Spybot to screech to a halt at the very end.
Thanks for the info about Avast 4.8 and ClamWin. I didn't realize that ClamWin isn't resident, but OTOH it's good to know that Avast will still be current for the time being.
I appreciate your help!
--JorgeA
TwistedMike
2010-01-28, 04:01
well as a last option you could always look into investing into a newer computer something like windows xp or higher.
TwistedMike,
As you can see in my second post in this thread, I already did get a Vista machine, which I bought soon after the Win98 system developed other serious problems and wouldn't get out of Safe Mode.
The computer has made a full recovery since then, but I'm still curious as to what may be causing Spybot to choke at the end of its scan on the Win98 PC. Check out the screenshots in the initial post and see if you can figure out anything useful.
--JorgeA
JorgeA,
FORGET the 2000, XP, Vista, 2003, 2008, and the "THE FINALLY FIXED IT BUT FORTY YEARS TOO LATE!" Windows7, KEEP the 9x, use AVZ from www.z-oleg.com, and download ClamWin, Sentinel and ClamSentinel, WinPatrol free, a good firewall (FREE), Anvir Taskmanager free version 5 or earlier (free), Spywareblaster Free and SSM free for Win 9x OR WinCleaner Free Antispyware. Enough of Microslushsoft.
Dave
JorgeA,
FORGET the 2000, XP, Vista, 2003, 2008, and the "THE FINALLY FIXED IT BUT FORTY YEARS TOO LATE!" Windows7, KEEP the 9x, use AVZ from www.z-oleg.com, and download ClamWin, Sentinel and ClamSentinel, WinPatrol free, a good firewall (FREE), Anvir Taskmanager free version 5 or earlier (free), Spywareblaster Free and SSM free for Win 9x OR WinCleaner Free Antispyware. Enough of Microslushsoft.
Dave
Dave,
Thanks very much for the info. I'll look into every one of the products you mention.
I'm looking especially for an up-to-date firewall and for a malware protector to complement Avast! antivirus.
I appreciate the tips!
--JorgeA
JorgeA,
FIREWALL FREE & VERY GOOD.
www.oldversion.com > Firewalls > SunBelt > version 2.1.5 is the Kerio Free.
Go to www.grc.com/default.htm and do Shields UP! That will plug any firewall holes you might have.
Keep the 9x. It's too old to allow most malware to run. I know. Also try a vey safe 9x browser such as Opera 8.54, 9.64 -- very safe on a 9x system, safer that the most recent releases using scripting. find them at arc.opera.com
get good hosts file, and drop it in the Windows folder. With this and some safe browsing, you'll be OK
Dave
JorgeA,
FIREWALL FREE & VERY GOOD.
www.oldversion.com > Firewalls > SunBelt > version 2.1.5 is the Kerio Free.
Go to www.grc.com/default.htm and do Shields UP! That will plug any firewall holes you might have.
Keep the 9x. It's too old to allow most malware to run. I know. Also try a vey safe 9x browser such as Opera 8.54, 9.64 -- very safe on a 9x system, safer that the most recent releases using scripting. find them at arc.opera.com
get good hosts file, and drop it in the Windows folder. With this and some safe browsing, you'll be OK
Dave
Thanks very much, Dave! It looks like I have some homework to do. I will look into these.
--JorgeA
noel-pr7
2010-06-23, 18:01
don't bother getting AVZ from www.z-oleg.com web site. not worth it [sorry dave or dw2108 or whomever].
as for Opera, best to use version 9.64. also consider using Firefox 2.0.0.20 (http://www.oldapps.com/firefox.php?old_firefox=7) and Seamonkey 1.1.19 (http://www.seamonkey-project.org/releases/1.1.19). These are the last releases of those browsers to work with Win98/ME.
Anvir Taskmanager free...forget Anvir Task manager. get Iarsn's TaskInfo program (shareware but far better than any freeware task managers and displays accurate cpu & ram usage).
...get Iarsn's TaskInfo program (shareware but far better than any freeware task managers and displays accurate cpu & ram usage).
noel-pr7,
Thanks very much for the link. TaskInfo looks very interesting. Could help me to monitor what's going on in the PC while Spybot is running a manual scan.
--JorgeA
noel-pr7
2010-07-02, 18:10
you're welcome, JorgeA. just remember that TaskInfo is not free but it's affordable and works on all Win9x and WinNT based OSes.
Almost forgot to mention, K-meleon (http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/download.php) is a lightweight web browser that uses Mozilla's gecko engine and loads fast. Version 1.54 works under Win9x/ME.
You may also want to use Dr. Web Cure It (http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/?lng=en) virus removal tool on your Win98 computer.
I've given up using Spybot 1.62 on my old, slow XP computers as it takes too long to load due to the fact that the spybot definition files have gotten much bigger. I may return to using Spybot when Spybot 2.0 gets released. Now using Microsoft Security Essentials and later this July I'll be using the upcoming Lavasoft's Ad-aware Free Internet Security suite, which will have some antivirus features.
you're welcome, JorgeA. just remember that TaskInfo is not free but it's affordable and works on all Win9x and WinNT based OSes.
Almost forgot to mention, K-meleon (http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/download.php) is a lightweight web browser that uses Mozilla's gecko engine and loads fast. Version 1.54 works under Win9x/ME.
You may also want to use Dr. Web Cure It (http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/?lng=en) virus removal tool on your Win98 computer.
I've given up using Spybot 1.62 on my old, slow XP computers as it takes too long to load due to the fact that the spybot definition files have gotten much bigger. I may return to using Spybot when Spybot 2.0 gets released. Now using Microsoft Security Essentials and later this July I'll be using the upcoming Lavasoft's Ad-aware Free Internet Security suite, which will have some antivirus features.
noel-pr7,
Thanks very much for these links. They're all definitely interesting, but Dr. Web looks especially appealing, as it seems to be fairly well rated in lab tests -- and it still works on Windows 98!
So far I've had good experience with Avast! 4.8 (although Win98 support is said to be ending next year) and SuperAntiSpyware. I'm keeping Spybot 1.6.2 for the resident protection, and to scan individual files (and even floppy disks), but full hard-disk manual scans are out of the question. I, too, can't wait for version 2.0 and see if it works again on my Win98.
--JorgeA
as for Opera, best to use version 9.64. also consider using Firefox 2.0.0.20 (http://www.oldapps.com/firefox.php?old_firefox=7) and Seamonkey 1.1.19 (http://www.seamonkey-project.org/releases/1.1.19). These are the last releases of those browsers to work with Win98/ME.I heard Opera 10 is kinda able to work in versions of Windows older than 2000, but if you want to be sure (or if you want to try Firefox 3 or later, or other NT-only programs), consider installing KernelEx: http://sourceforge.net/projects/kernelex/
noel-pr7
2011-05-12, 21:38
I, too, can't wait for version 2.0 and see if it works again on my Win98.
--JorgeA
sorry to disappoint you, JorgeA, but Spybot S&D 2.0 beta, which came out on May 11, 2011, does not install nor run under Win98 and not even under win2000 :sad:
i'm not sure if the final release of spybot 2.0 will even support Windows versions less than XP.
It doesn't? Strange, alpha versions did worked... :confused:
Red Cell 6
2011-05-13, 00:38
well as a last option you could always look into investing into a newer computer something like windows xp or higher.
Agreed, oh great Twisted one.
Or at least (if your almost certainly fossilized Antikythera mechanism can accept it) upgrade to a more recent platform of Windows.
spybotsandra
2011-05-13, 11:13
Hello,
Please see this post (http://forums.spybot.info/showpost.php?p=404227&postcount=7) from Patrick today regarding Spybot-S&D 2.0 and old Windows versions.
Best regards
Sandra
Team Spybot
sorry to disappoint you, JorgeA, but Spybot S&D 2.0 beta, which came out on May 11, 2011, does not install nor run under Win98 and not even under win2000 :sad:
i'm not sure if the final release of spybot 2.0 will even support Windows versions less than XP.
Well, that's too bad. I'll keep downloading new definitions files each week till the SS&D folks stop providing them for the current version of Spybot.
BTW, I did eventually get Spybot to do a complete scan on the Win98 machine. The system became sluggish to the point of unusability and I finally decided to do a clean install on the additional hard disk drive I'd bought with that possibility in mind. Next time I ran Spybot, it worked wonderfully.
--JorgeA
Well, that's too bad. I'll keep downloading new definitions files each week till the SS&D folks stop providing them for the current version of Spybot.
BTW, I did eventually get Spybot to do a complete scan on the Win98 machine. The system became sluggish to the point of unusability and I finally decided to do a clean install on the additional hard disk drive I'd bought with that possibility in mind. Next time I ran Spybot, it worked wonderfully.
--JorgeA
JorgeA, don't flip out buddy! We DOS/9x/ME/NT/2000 relics have to stick together. OK, ProAntivirus -- NOT ROGUE -- has a free 1 yr. on demand scanner. AVZ is worth the trouble because it WORKS. The older SpyBot SHALL serve you VERY well. Get WinSonar 2010, System Safety Monitor Free for Win 9x, PeerGuardian with the blocklists For win 9x, WinPatrol 17.0.2010.0, Kerio 2.1.5 Firewall, a very, very good hosts file, and F-PROT for DOS from forum.f-prot.com. Get ClamWin 0.95 and update it with three files incrementally to 0.97. Get ClamSentinenel. Get ScripTrap or ScriptSentry, preferably the latter. Use Opera 10.54 or better with the Dr. Web link checker. You'll be fine online without realtime AVs. I know, I test systems for a very large company that writes "poor" operating systems, although my expertise is mathematics, physics and theoretical and applied computing science. You're MUCH safer with win 9x than people can believe: these OSs are provable subrecurvive and at a very low level -- meaning, WinSonar is overkill as long as you DO NOT allow rundll.exe and rundll32.exe to appear in its safe list. There are tricks to lock com and bat files as well. One day SpyBot shall be forced to drop us, but 9x OS are provably capable of protecting themselves. I'll post more on how to secure DOS/9x/ME if you like and if I'm not locked out of the forum again by someone again.
Yrs,
Dave HAL
Princeton
JorgeA, don't flip out buddy! We DOS/9x/ME/NT/2000 relics have to stick together. OK, ProAntivirus -- NOT ROGUE -- has a free 1 yr. on demand scanner. AVZ is worth the trouble because it WORKS. The older SpyBot SHALL serve you VERY well. Get WinSonar 2010, System Safety Monitor Free for Win 9x, PeerGuardian with the blocklists For win 9x, WinPatrol 17.0.2010.0, Kerio 2.1.5 Firewall, a very, very good hosts file, and F-PROT for DOS from forum.f-prot.com. Get ClamWin 0.95 and update it with three files incrementally to 0.97. Get ClamSentinenel. Get ScripTrap or ScriptSentry, preferably the latter. Use Opera 10.54 or better with the Dr. Web link checker. You'll be fine online without realtime AVs. I know, I test systems for a very large company that writes "poor" operating systems, although my expertise is mathematics, physics and theoretical and applied computing science. You're MUCH safer with win 9x than people can believe: these OSs are provable subrecurvive and at a very low level -- meaning, WinSonar is overkill as long as you DO NOT allow rundll.exe and rundll32.exe to appear in its safe list. There are tricks to lock com and bat files as well. One day SpyBot shall be forced to drop us, but 9x OS are provably capable of protecting themselves. I'll post more on how to secure DOS/9x/ME if you like and if I'm not locked out of the forum again by someone again.
Yrs,
Dave HAL
Princeton
Hi Dave,
Wow, you really have done your homework! You Win98 security measures are even more comprehensive than mine (see post #3 in http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=61843). Several of the programs you mention I hadn't even heard of before.
Regarding the hosts file, I've been relying on the one included with Spybot.
I'm sure interested in learning more about securing DOS/9x/ME.
--JorgeA
darenhoff
2011-05-15, 17:13
This is SD forum guys. Keep your fight of browser or other non SD figts out.
Think of SD only else the thread is becoming a mess.
Sorry for the intervention.
This is SD forum guys. Keep your fight of browser or other non SD figts out.
Think of SD only else the thread is becoming a mess.
Sorry for the intervention.
darenhoff,
I'm not sure who's fighting in this thread. :confused: We're discussing the eventual end of support for Spybot on older Windows versions and what we can do about it when the time comes.
The thread has been mostly pretty friendly or at least businesslike. Just checked recent posts (from 2011) in the thread, and there's really only one that's "off-key." And that one is already a couple of days old and nobody replied to it.
--JorgeA
Hello dw2108,
and if I'm not locked out of the forum again by someone again.
:scratch: