General SpyCop Questions
Q. What are the system requirements for
SpyCop?
A. SpyCop will run on any relatively
recent Windows machine:
- SpyCop requires any system running
Windows, Win95, Win98(all versions), WinME, WinNT 4(w/SP4 or higher)
Win2000 or WinXP(all versions). We recommend a 400MHz or
faster processor for optimal performance however an older processor
will run the software at a lower speed.
- All versions of Windows must have Internet
Explorer 4.0 or higher installed; it does have to be your
default browser. Macintosh, Linux, FreeBSD, etc are currently
not supported. Please do not inquire about the availability
of products for these platforms.
- If SpyCop reports that it needs a
newer version of OLEAUT32.DLL on Win9x, download and install this patch
(for both Win95 and Win98).
Q. What's new in the latest SpyCop Version?
A. SpyCop v5.2c includes:
-Fix for the autoscan screensaver where it would
not run properly on some windows versions.
-Fixed certain dialogs which could cause the software to become
unresponsive.
SpyCop v5.3 includes:
-New and Extremely powerful Rename function
gets spy files that are in use without safe mode!
-Updated possibly confusing dialogs.
-Added user's guide to help menu.
NOTE: 5.3's second release changes
the main.exe to a new filename to prevent being crashed by certain
unethical spy programs. The program is identical to 5.3's
first release.
SpyCop v5.4 includes:
-Ability to scan VXD files
UPGRADING: It is recommended SpyCop
is uninstalled before upgrading. Be sure to take note of your
license data available under Help, About so that you can activate
the new version with ease. Upgrades are free for life, you
do not have to re-register! Simply download the new version from
this site.
Q. How many spy programs can SpyCop detect?
A.SpyCop can currently detect
over different COMMERCIAL COMPUTER MONITORING spy programs!
That's many more than ANY competing product can even come close
to! That count does NOT include multiple versions of the same
product making the detectable programs a very conservative
number. Lastly, that count is not inflated with viruses, trojans
or other programs already taken care of by antivirus packages.
Unlike many competitors, SpyCop does not attempt to be a
jack of all trades (and master of none). We focus on the detection
of commercial computer monitoring spy programs and do it better
than anyone else!
Q. Can I remove the SpyCop icon from
my desktop?
A. Yes. Simply drag it to the
recycle bin and the software will remain installed. You can
then directly access the program file through explorer for increased
security. The program file can be determined by navigating
to where you installed the software and looking for the .exe file
with binoculars as an icon. During installation, you are presented
the option not to install icons.
Q. How do I find "undetectable" hardware
keyloggers on my system?
A. Finding hardware keyloggers is really
easy when you know what you are looking for. Click here to see our page with
pictures and instructions for finding and removing these keyloggers.
Q. Are there any known conflicts with
other software?
A. We are not currently aware of any
incompatibilities. The SpyCop software does not modify
your system's core files in any way nor does it remain resident
in memory. If problems appear to be caused after SpyCop
is installed, the reason is an error on your system which caused
the addition of new files to be corrupted or cause corruption.
As with any software, run SCANDISK or CHKDSK to check for disk errors
and close down background tasks before installing and have a recent
system backup.
Q. Can the person spying on me see that
I used SpyCop?
A. Starting with SpyCop v3.5,
the answer will usually be no. SpyCop is now
configured in such a way that it appears to be a standard Windows
utility to the majority of spy programs and therefore is not listed
in their reports. However, spy programs which actually record
snapshots of the screen may still capture SpyCop in operation.
For maximum stealth, run SpyCop in Windows Safe Mode.
Q. Why does SpyCop default to install
in xxxx location?
Q. Why is the filename not simply spycop.exe?
A. Some unethical spyware companies
are developing code to crash privacy protection software such as
SpyCop. We will periodically change the installation directory
and program filename to prevent being crashed by Spy programs that
locate spy detectors based on this information.
Q. What is the difference between the
personal and corporate versions?
A. The difference between the Corporate
and Personal versions is that we provide assistance on getting the
Corporate version running on a network with automated deployment.
This level of support is not available with a Personal license.
A Corporate license also has site licensing options and can be used
on more than one machine. A Personal license is limited to
use on one machine at any one time. Additionally, if the product
is to be used commercially or in a commercial environment, then
a Corporate license must be purchased. There are no feature
differences between the two programs.
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Troubleshooting SpyCop
Q. I am having trouble installing SpyCop
or am receiving an error while trying to run it
A. This is
almost always caused by a conflict with another program that you
may have running on your system. Other times, you just have
way too many things running in the background and so not enough
resources are left for SpyCop to run properly. There
are a couple of ways to get SpyCop going on an overloaded
system:
Method 1: Close down background
tasks (Win95, Win98, WinME, WinNT and Win2k)
To close down background tasks, press CTRL + ALT + DEL once
and then start double clicking everything except EXPLORER and SYSTRAY.
You may want to try SpyCop after you close each thing to
figure out the cause of the problem.
Method 2: Run in safe mode (Win95,
Win98 and WinME users)
To run in safe mode, restart your computer,
and as soon as Starting Windows ## is displayed or your computer
beeps, whichever one comes first, repeatedly press F8 over and over
again until a menu comes up. Select safe mode and your computer
will start in safe mode. Once started, Run SpyCop from
its icon as usual.
Method 3: For errors on Windows XP
systems
If you get an error message when you try to
install or run SpyCop on WindowsXP, try right-clicking on the spycop.exe
file, choose "Run As", and then uncheck the box that says "Protect
my computer and data from unauthorized program activity".
SpyCop should then install and run properly.
Method 4: For KERNEL32 errors during
installation and software startup or random closes
Don't install SpyCop into a folder called SpyCop.
We recommend that you install the software to its default location.
Certain spy programs use this to stop the software from operating
properly and display fake crash screens. You may wish to go
a step further and install SpyCop into a custom, randomly
named folder.
Method 5: Utilize SpyCop's Super STEALTH Mode (v5.5 and
newer)
Super STEALTH Mode will temporarily revert your system to the way
it was after a fresh Windows installation. Any non-standard programs
will be closed automatically, including Spy programs. NO FILES ARE
MODIFIED ON YOUR DISK...this feature only manipulates programs loaded
in memory. For more details on the use of Super STEALTH Mode, refer
to the product documentation.
As soon as you reboot, your system will be back to normal.
Q. SpyCop appears to hang up while pre-scanning
or is listed as non-responsive
A. During the pre-scan stage, SpyCop
may appear to hang up and even be marked as an unresponsive application
by Windows XP. This can occur if you have a slow system or
lots of files on your drive. The pre-scan process indexes
the files on your drives and figures out which ones to scan.
Because of the large amount of calculations that occur, the application
may temporarily be unresponsive, especially on slower systems.
You can ignore this and eventually the scan will proceed as normal.
Q. How do I uninstall
SpyCop?
A. To uninstall the software, go to
Start, Programs, SpyCop, Uninstall. SpyCop is
not listed in Add/remove programs for obvious security reasons.
You can delete the uninstall icon from the start menu for increased
security.You can also navigate to your SpyCop folder via
Windows explorer and double click the unins000.exe file.
Q. I removed the software and still get
reminders on startup to scan or register.
A. You must uninstall the software properly
using the included uninstaller. Deleting it via explorer before
running the uninstaller will result in bits and pieces being left
behind. To fix the situation, you must reinstall the software and
then properly uninstall it. To properly uninstall the software,
click Start, Programs, SpyCop, Uninstall. If you set up the
screensaver, you should go back into the screensaver settings and
choose a different screensaver before uninstalling. Lastly,
be sure that the product is not currently running before uninstalling
it.
Q. SpyCop is scanning slowly!
A. SpyCop is the most thorough spy scanner
available as it searches every byte of every program file on your
system. This makes it impossible for spy software to go undetected
once we know about it. It is also recommended to close down
background applications as they tend to waste system resources and
slow down your entire system. Don't forget that SpyCop
can be minimized while scanning, so you can do other things on your
computer while the scan proceeds. When minimized, SpyCop
switches to low priority so that it does not affect your other tasks.
There is no need to sit there and watch SpyCop scan your
system!
Please see the manual
for more techniques on optimizing the software.
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Downloading and Updating
Q. How do I download
the software?
A. Here are step-by-step instructions
for downloading and installation:
1. Once you have paid and received your access
and registration codes, click the download link HERE
2. Select "Save As" and navigate to or create
an empty folder.
3. Wait until the download completes and close
your browser.
4. Navigate to the folder that you saved the
downloaded file in via My Computer.
5. Run the downloaded file and follow the onscreen
instructions to install the software.
6. Follow the instructions for activation in the email sent
after you registered.
Q. I download and install a new version,
but the old version still remains.
A. This is the main reason for our recommendation
to uninstall and completely remove any old versions before upgrading.
Here are step by step instructions for upgrading:
1. Completely uninstall the old version.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Use Windows Explorer to manually delete any
remaining SpyCop/ET files, if any.
4. Download the new version of
the software.
5. Install the new version.
6. Run the new version and enter your existing registration
data.
Q. The automatic database update is not
working properly
A. The database update feature requires
that your IE Internet settings are configured properly. If
your IE browser works, then the SpyCop update function will
work. You do not have to use IE as your primary Internet browser
and you don't need to have IE set as your default browser!
You can change your IE settings via Control Panel, Internet Settings.
You may also need to upgrade the software itself to get any more
database updates. This normally occurs when a change is made
to the internal database layout. It is required that you completely
uninstall your old version and make sure the SpyCop folder
is gone through explorer before installing a new version.
Q. How do I update the Software or Signature
Database?
A. New spyware is continuously being
released and SpyCop is continually being updated to detect
these latest releases. To update the SpyCop software itself,
simply visit the purchase page again and re-download the software
or use the download links above. Remember to uninstall the
old version first, and make sure the folder is gone through explorer.
To update the signature database, use the File, Update Database
feature.
Q. Can I manually update the spyware
database?
A. If the database update feature is
not working on your system, you can manually update the database
by re-downloading and installing the whole software package.
The database in the downloadable package is updated less frequently
than the one available from File, Update Database, but it is updated
at least monthly.
Q. Should I upgrade frequently?
A. There are two major parts of the
SpyCop software package, the scanning engine or software,
and signature databases. The Signature databases are updated
whenever new spy programs are discovered, when new versions are
released that become undetectable with the current database, and
to correct false alarms. The scanning engine is updated whenever
a new feature must be added, when a bug is discovered, when a spy
program is found to be attacking SpyCop to try and escape
detection or to improve overall performance. Although it can
be time consuming to upgrade frequently for both you and us, it
is necessary to keep SpyCop top-notch in quality, capability
and performance.
Q. Can I download the software to a CD
or Diskette?
A. Yes, however be careful not to violate
the license agreement displayed when you install the software. To
place SpyCop onto a CD, download the SPYCOP.EXE file to a
temporary location on your system and then start your CD burning
Software (Adaptec, Nero, WinonCD, etc). Make a data disc,
and place the SPYCOP.EXE on the disc. Use "Disk At Once" to
create a CD compatible with all systems. To place the software
on a floppy diskette, simply select drive 'A' when prompted to save
the file during download.
Q. I get a message that the download
file is corrupt
A. This may be caused by Internet congestion
or problems with your ISP. Please re-try your download at
a different time. We've also noticed that AOL 7 users are
the ones with most of the download corruption problems. If
you are unable to download the software successfully, email us using
the information in the Technical
Support section of this FAQ and we will send the software as
an attachment.
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Scanning With SpyCop
Q. SpyCop detects a spy program but I
believe it to be a false alarm
A. Just like anti virus programs can
falsely detect a virus in a non infected program, SpyCop
may detect spyware in a non spyware file. This is a rare condition
with the most recent versions of SpyCop. If you would
like the detection confirmed, email us with the name of the spyware
detected and the filenames of the file it has been found
in. It is highly recommended that you update the spyware
database (File, Update Database) before scanning your system as
false alarms may have been corrected and new spyware added.
Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to test scan every program
out there. Certain types of anti-virus or anti-trojan programs
may set off a false alarm due to the way the program stores its
own signature database. Please be sure you are using the latest
software and signature release before emailing us about false alarms.
Q. What is your false alarm policy?
A. If a file is falsely reported to
be a spy program and we are alerted to it, we will immediately issue
a database update within hours to correct the error. If you
are a software developer and your program is being reported as a
spy program but it is not a spy program, let us know and we will
correct the problem as soon as possible. Due to the huge number
of programs and files out there, it is impossible for us to test
scan every one of them. We must rely on false alarm reports
to correct these problems.
Q. SpyCop found a spy program, how do
I remove or disable it?
A. Do not email us about spy programs
that are found on your system except to report a possible false
alarm. If a spy program is found on your system, please follow
these steps to remove it:
- The first and best way to remove a spy program
is to use its uninstaller which is often available via control
panel add/remove programs. Check the add/remove programs
list in Control Panel and look for suspicious entries. Fortunately,
there are many spy programs that fail to hide themselves from
this list.
- Contact the person who installed it and
have them remove it. Please note that we do not have a "crystal
ball" and can't look to see who installed spy software on your
machine. Use the information provided in 'Spy Info' to see
when the files appeared in order to deduct who may have had access
to your system at that time.
- Contact the company who developed the spy
program for proper removal instructions. Most spy developers will
help you remove their software from your personal machine.
The 'Spy Info' button provides an option to learn more about the
spy program, including the company name.
- Lastly, you can try using SpyCop's powerful
rename feature to disable the spy program. We rename the
file instead of deleting it to allow you to restore it if for
some reason you need to. The Rename button is located in
the Spy Info dialog. You can then delete the renamed file
after restarting your system.
Q. I've renamed some spy files to .SPY,
how do I rename them back later? A.
The best way to find the .spy files and rename them back is to use
the built in Windows find dialog. Go into My Computer and
press F3. In the find dialog that appears, enter *.spy as
the search query. Once all the files are found, you can click
them one at a time in the list and press F2 to rename them back.
Q. How can I check to see if a spy program
that I heard about is detectable?
A. You can check the SpyCop database
for a spy program in the Trial and registered versions by going
to File, Check Signature Database. If a spy program is not
detectable, use the link provided in the software to let us know
about it and we will make it detectable.
Q. Will SpyCop find government spy programs?
A. If we can obtain a copy of ANY spy
program, we will make it detectable. Our commitment to your
privacy is to find ALL computer monitoring spy programs available.
Q. A spy program that I myself installed
is not being detected!
A. New spy programs come out all the
time, and we do everything possible to keep up and make them all
detectable. In some instances, you may find a spy program
which is not yet detectable. Don't panic! Send us a
link to where we can obtain the spy program in question and we will
investigate it for inclusion in a future database. Don't forget
to check your settings to make sure that SpyCop is properly
configured and that your database is up to date.
Q. Can I use SpyCop on my work computer?
A. SpyCop is licensed for use
on computers that you own or that you have authorization to scan.
We do not support the use of any of our products illegally, to impede
an ongoing police investigation or in any other unauthorized manner.
You assume all responsibility for your use of the product.
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What Spyware is and what SpyCop does
Q. What is SpyCop?
A. SpyCop is to computer
monitoring spy programs as a virus scanner is to viruses.
Once downloaded and installed on your system, SpyCop can
be used to scan your entire system for the presence of the computer monitoring spy programs available.
SpyCop is not an anti-spam, anti-virus, anti-trojan, anti-webbug
or anti-advertiser scanner. SpyCop is not an anonymizing
service or email filter. SpyCop is the leading non-memory
resident monitoring detector which gives you the power to scan your
system for spy programs whenever you feel it prudent to do so.
Q. I have Ad-Aware, why use SpyCop?
A. SpyCop and Ad-Aware detect different
types of spyware. We recommend that you use an advertiser
scanner such as Ad-Aware in addition to SpyCop.
Q. Can SpyCop find Hidden and Stealth
spy programs?
A. Yes. SpyCop uses a search
method which goes far and beyond other spyware scanners in that
it does not simply scan your registry or go by filename. SpyCop
can find spy programs that are not shown in the task list and are
not present in the registry. SpyCop can even find those spy
programs where the installer renamed the files to make them appear
to be part of the system! If we are aware of a spy program
(and we are aware of just about all of them), it can not escape
detection.
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Technical Support
Q. How do I contact SpyCop?
A. If you ever need assistance with
an antiespion product you can use our contact form HERE
Q. How do I report new spyware?
A. If you have found out about a new
computer monitoring spy program which had been released recently,
you can report it to us for inclusion in a future SpyCop
database update. First, check the SpyCop database via
File, Check Signature Database before reporting spy programs.
If a match is not found, use the 'Report a Spy' button in the query
dialog. To enable us to investigate the program quickly, please
send us a direct download URL for the spy program.
If this is not possible, please send us a link to the home page
of the manufacturer.
Q. I reported a spy program but
it has not been added
A. There are many spy program resellers
out there who use "Private Labeling" to sell other products as their
own brand. Many spy programs that you discover, but can not
be queried in the SpyCop database, are in fact detectable under
their original brand names. Run a test scan on the spy program
in question to be sure. Secondly, we get quite a few spy program
reports which are advertiser spy related. SpyCop is
a computer monitoring spy detector, not an advertiser spy
detector.
Q. Is there a technical support number
I can call?
A. All technical support is handled
via Email.
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Ordering, Licenses & Registration
Q. I ordered the software online but
never got my serial number.
A. The registration information e-mail
may take up to 24 hours to arrive. It is important that you
use an accurate e-mail address when ordering the software.
We've had hundreds of orders where mis-typed e-mail
addresses have results in bounced registration emails. If
you believe you entered your address wrong, please contact
us and let us know. Lastly, some people are using services
which require email senders to reply to a second message with a
code as an anti-spam tool. RegNow's automated registration
messages tend to be bounced by these services, so disable them before
ordering if necessary.
Q. How do I
enter my registration information?
A. The registration procedure is as
follows:
1. Start the trial version of the software
2. Enter the name exactly as it appears in the
email sent
3. Enter the serial number (not the order number)
in the three boxes exactly as it was sent
4. Click Submit to accept the information.
The software will exit.
5. Start the software again and it will be fully functional.
Q. My serial number is not working!
A. Please keep in mind that your name
is case sensitive, and spacing of the letters must be exact.
The serial number is a three part code clearly labeled as such in
the email sent after you ordered. The order number is NOT
the same as the serial number. The serial number is also sometimes
referred to as an authentication key, registration code, etc.
They are all the same code. We highly recommend that you copy
and paste the registration information directly from the e-mail
sent to you to ensure accuracy. Lastly, Evidence Terminator
codes and SpyCop codes are not interchangeable. If you are
sure that you are entering the correct information and the code
is failing, please send an e-mail and we will create new registration
information for you if necessary.
Q. How is the software shipped to me?
A. SpyCop is distributed via
the Internet as an electronic download. After purchasing the
software, you will be given a download link and your registration
information to unlock the software. With this method of distribution,
there is no shipping to wait or pay for. Within minutes after
ordering you can have the full version up and running!
Q. Is purchasing online safe and secure?
A. Absolutely! Ordering
via telephone or snail-mail because these "old-fashioned" methods
are not encrypted and can be intercepted easily. You can rest
assured that your information is safe while purchasing any of our
software.
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